Cold Moon

I'm sick today. Called in sick, dropped my daughter off at school, grabbed my dog, and headed to the sofa. I was done. Bundled up and cozy, I fired up COLD MOON and settled in to watch, not rally knowing much about the film or who was in it. I love watching films this way. In a world filled with trailers coming out months before the film does, it's nice to go into something and just having it wash over you. And Cold Moon does that in spades!

Now, I don't want to say too much about this film. The press kit blurb sums things up nicely.

"In a sleepy southern town, the Larkin family suffers a terrible tragedy. Now the Larkin's are about to endure another: Traffic lights blink an eerie warning, a ghostly visage prowls in the streets, and graves erupt from the local cemetery in an implacable march of terror . . . And beneath the murky surface of the river, a shifting, almost human shape slowly takes form to seek a terrible vengeance."

I think that's vague enough as not to spoil much.

I was pleasantly surprised by Cold Moon on several fronts. The cast really through me for a little loop. Christopher Lloyd, Frank Whaley, Candy Clark....  I wasn't expecting this level of talent, to be honest. Everyone brings their "A game" to the movie and there are no weak performances.

The story was super strong and crafted expertly. I'm definitely going to have to pick up Cold Moon Over Babylon by Michael McDowell - the book on which this film is based. I love these small town horror movies. People up to no good in a tiny town is really a fun little sub-genre and this story really takes advantage of the small town feel as the sheriff tries to piece together why bad things are happening in his small community. And bad things happen. A lot of bad, shocking things.

And, this is a ghost story with some effects that I have not seen played out to death...so to speak. :::grin:::  For instance, there are no massive, wide open mouths screaming in this film, thank God. These effects are fun and help to seal the deal on this lovely, vicious little Tell Tale Heart-like tale. We have some jump-scare shocks, but they also have some simply haunting visual elements that will surely please fans of the paranormal.

The cinematography is beautiful and Griff Furst's direction is interesting and kinetic.  There's a care taken with the shots and storytelling that you don't always find in horror. There are no music video style cuts here.

Do yourselves a favor and make an effort to get out and see Cold Moon in a theater with an audience. It's released in theaters October 6th, 2017.  




Starring Josh Stewart ("Shooter", The Dark Knight Rises), Christopher Lloyd (the Back to the Future series), Robbie Kay ("Once Upon a Time", Pirates of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides), Candy Clark ("Twin Peaks", Zodiac), Rachele Brooke Smith (Center Stage : On Pointe, The Nice Guys) and Frank Whaley ("Luke Cage", The Doors), Cold Moon is based on the novel Cold Moon Over Babylon by the late Michael McDowell, author Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas.