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| Available at Amazon.com |
When a film is compared to I Spit On Your Grave and calls itself Britain’s version of it, it makes a horror guru stop and think. I Spit On Your Grave is an incredibly awful film that I’ll watch time and time again not only because of the cult status it has garnered over the years, but because it’s so bad that it’s good. Taking that film though, comparing yourself too, and then saying it is even dirtier and sleazier? Then my friends, you have accomplished something that I’m willing to bet you weren’t exactly trying to do: alienate yourselves and offend ninety-five percent of the world’s population.
A tour bus full of girls on their way to a singing contest in Edinburgh has broken down on a backwoods country road. The passengers on the bus (a group of school girls and two teachers) are just waiting as the bus driver attempts to repair the engine. Instead of spending a night sleeping in the bus; the teachers take the girls and walk to the nearest village hoping they can find a place to stay for the evening. A local groundskeeper sees them and leads them to the hotel where they can eat, wash up, and spend the night. The bus driver isn’t so lucky though as he gets met by four men as he goes back to check on the bus. These four men are known as Mr. Smith, Mr. Muldoon, Mr. Jones, and Mr. Trubshaw. They are four escape mental patients living in a dream world and just wanting to live out their fantasies so they do pretty much whatever they please. That includes having their way with a hotel full of women.
My dear God that is in Heaven. Have any of you ever seen any of the Faces Of Death tapes? Well, this film has a bit of that feel to it. When the back of the DVD compares it to I Spit On Your Grave but only sleazier, it isn’t kidding. There are worse films out there that I’ve seen depicting much more disturbing things and in greater number, but it’s been a while so this one kind of got to me. There is some murder with a decent enough deal of bloodshed, but it’s the rape scenes that make it feel so unsettling. Rape is just one of those things that is really a touchy subject with virtually everyone (or should be at least) and it’s never good to see it taking place, even on film.
Killer’s Moon is a film that will never be viewed by me again. I’m sorry to up and say that, but it’s true. It was boring for a while, but then a lot of action kicked everything up and it was stuff I could have cared less to ever see. This is coming from someone who loves horror films and gives a devilish smile if one is actually starting to frighten me even the smallest bit. Disturbing is something I’m all about because I feel that it makes films more realistic when they show the sides of humanity that are really out there, but most are scared to talk about. This film just upset my stomach though and is not what I was looking for in terms of a good horror flick.
The film is shown in 1.66:1 Anamorphic Widescreen format and it looks alright for the most part. The brighter colors are vibrant and look good, but the darker scenes indoors, at night, or outside get too much in shadow and not everything can always be seen.
The film is heard in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Sound and comes through fine. All dialogue can be heard clearly and the music is at a good volume that keeps a creepy mood throughout.
Exclusive Interview With Director Alan Birkinshaw – The person asking the questions is rather hard to hear here without turning up the volume during their questioning, but you get the idea when the director starts giving his answers. He goes on about what the film was originally called, the idea they were trying to get across, and other things pertaining to writing and shooting. This feature runs about fifteen minutes.
Exclusive Interview With Star JoAnne Good – Again, can’t hear the guy asking the questions at all. Good goes on about getting the call for the film, the audition, filming, and even where they stayed while on location. It’s a very informative interview and it lasts just over twelve minutes.
Audio Commentary – Director Alan Birkinshaw and star JoAnne Good sit together for this commentary track. At times their accents are a bit thick and it makes them hard to understand, but the further along you get, the more you can interpret what they’re saying. An interviewer is also with them asking them questions about scenes since it seems they can’t just talk as they please about it. Nothing of real interest is revealed here.
Theatrical Trailers – Includes the X-rated trailer and the original trailer.
Stills Galleries – Both a color and black & white gallery with still frames from the film.
Trailers – Nature Morte
The premise of Killer’s Moon is simple and as contrived as any horror film ever made. Four escape lunatics torture a houseful of girls. Only this time there is a lot more shown and not much left to the imagination. That’s not all that turned me off about this film though. It just wasn’t that good and is quite dull for most of the time. The characters are incredibly overacted and it just makes for more “oh come on!” moments then “they really are convincing” moments. The special features are nothing good either except for the two interviews which reveal a lot about the shoot which was close to thirty years ago. Nice hearing some of the differences between how things were then as compared to today. Killer’s Moon would be good for some, but I’ll be happy sticking to cult classics that don’t leave me feeling uncomfortable and awkward after they’re over.
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Redemption Films presents Killer’s Moon. Directed by: Alan Birkinshaw. Starring: Anthony Forrest, Tom Marshall, David Jackson, JoAnne Good, and more. Running time: 90 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Released on DVD: June 24, 2008. Available at Amazon.com
About Danny Cox
