Horror Movie Review: Cold Moon (2017)

A chilling tale of supernatural vengeance arrives this October with Cold Moon. Co-written and directed by Griff Furst, in theatres and VOD from Uncork’d Entertainment.

Starring Josh Stewart (Shooter, The Dark Knight Rises) & Christopher Lloyd (the Back to the Future series). As well as 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.

Cold Moon introduces the Larkin family who live in the small town of Babylon. The family are under pressure owing money to the bank run by the unfeeling Nathan Redfield (Josh Stewart). Things get worse for the family when sixteen-year-old Margaret Larkin (Sara Kathryn Bellamy) is murdered & her body found in the lake tied to her bicycle.

Early on the killer’s identity is actually revealed as Cold Moon is basically a movie of two parts. The first all about the mystery of the killers’ identity. The second about the killer being haunted by his victims. Heavily weighted towards building credible characters with layered motives & emotions, it’s a slow burner of a movie but is better for it.

Nothing is black & white, even the killer’s motives are drenched in grey areas. On the one hand evil & sadistic, on the other clearly under huge pressure to live up to expectations.

A strong cast that all excel in their roles helps make the events feel more real. It helps keep the spooky shenanigans grounded in a bit of reality. Mixing jump scares with some nice tension based spookiness, the ghostly side of the movie has some fun & exciting moments. Some scenes really standout such as the ghostly bike riding & the shot of a ghost sitting on a traffic light while a train passes giving only a fleeting glimpse.

All spooky moments that work well because they are from a distance so the CGI never looks bad. However, when things get a bit closer to the screen they don’t hold up so well.

Cold Moon is a lot of fun even if its subject matter is very dark & very serious. The story isn’t the easiest to follow at times & the ending is dragged out but it keeps you hooked. You want to see how it will end & you want to see the killer get comeuppance. The sign of a good horror movie.