Review: Cold Moon

(imdb.com)

What counts as a horror film? For some, horror movies are exclusively supernatural in nature. Haunted houses and aliens, werewolves and vampires, these movies represent a pretty narrow perspective. But for others, the broader definition includes thrillers like The Gift or The Invitation; movies designed to create a sense of dread or by definition, horror. This second world, the one in which more movies count in the genre because they truly deserve to, is the one that should be the rule, not the exception. Unfortunately though, this opens up the door to some bad ideas and some even worse films that horror sites must review. Movies like Cold Moon.

Following an investigation into a young woman's murder, this southern thriller is an absolute mess of a movie. With little actual direction and a main villain that is relatively unstoppable or suspected by the characters until the ghastly images he sees cause him to go insane, Cold Moon is like Gone Girl if Gone Girl was filtered through a horrendous, supernatural lens.  It stars Josh Stewart (Interstellar), Robbie Kay (Fugitive Pieces), Candy Clark (Zodiac), Frank Whaley (Pulp Fiction) and Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future), all playing what is probably their worst roles to date.


The stupidity of the characters is constantly on full display. One scene where a character just leaves his car at the beckon call of a masked man possibly seeking help is completely ridiculous and unrealistic. There is no actual substance, rhyme or reason to him willingly getting out of the vehicle, and yet, here we are with two dead main characters. Then there's the awkward male gaze in one particular scene seems negligent considering it serves little purpose outside of showcasing a barely clothed woman in the woods with her fully clothed boyfriend. It’s a smaller part of a whole mess, but important to note nonetheless.


But the character work isn't the only thing wrong with Cold Moon. All too frequently, the dialogue relies on buzzwords like rattlesnakes and phrases like "the sticks," making blatantly clear that the filmmaker's perception of the South is relatively shallow, Its score - melodramatic and overstated - removes any sense of suspense or atmosphere. The flashback cutaways seem pulled from dramatic PSAs from the 90s.


Cold Moon is bad, almost offensively so. It's predictable, uninteresting and drearily tossed together. Viewers able to stick through this movie in its entirety deserve a reward, especially considering the film gives little to satisfy. They'll find little quality in this mystery thriller- if you can even call it that.