This is a difficult movie to review. It had both good acting and bad acting. Good visual effects and bad visual effects. Interesting story line and a boring story line. The start played out kind-a-like a 90s B movie and then it got better, then it got worse, then better, then worse.Christopher Lloyd appeared all of 10-15 minutes throughout. Tommy Wiseau said 1 - 2 lines...so giving them first billing is dishonest. Overall there were some OK scares and I Liked the bizarre imagery at times. Otherwise the story was a bit disjointed and the editing felt a bit jerky. It wasn't good enough to like, but not bad enough to hate. 4/10
46 Reviews
Cold Moon: Interesting but flawed
Platypuschow16 October 2017
The nice thing about Cold Moon is that it near immediately gripped me, this is a movie that got my attention early on.
Set during the late 80's the tale is told of a young murdered girl and her family seeking justice while the killer is besieged by terrifying apparitions.
The film looks beautiful with a decent cast including the living legend that is Christopher (Doc Brown, Uncle fester) Lloyd.
It delivers and is a very riveting interesting piece of cinema that thoroughly fell under the radar.
Sadly it gradually loses steam and when the vague and open to interpretation ending happens and the credits roll I was left finding myself sad that a few lose endings still remained.
Cold Moon is a decent enough film, I think it could have benefited from another 30 minutes to flesh it out but kudos to all involved for a damn fine effort.
The Good:
Very impressive cinematography
Christopher Lloyd
Great sfx
Genuinely creepy
The Bad:
Feels a bit incomplete
Inconsistent in its quality
Set during the late 80's the tale is told of a young murdered girl and her family seeking justice while the killer is besieged by terrifying apparitions.
The film looks beautiful with a decent cast including the living legend that is Christopher (Doc Brown, Uncle fester) Lloyd.
It delivers and is a very riveting interesting piece of cinema that thoroughly fell under the radar.
Sadly it gradually loses steam and when the vague and open to interpretation ending happens and the credits roll I was left finding myself sad that a few lose endings still remained.
Cold Moon is a decent enough film, I think it could have benefited from another 30 minutes to flesh it out but kudos to all involved for a damn fine effort.
The Good:
Very impressive cinematography
Christopher Lloyd
Great sfx
Genuinely creepy
The Bad:
Feels a bit incomplete
Inconsistent in its quality
A little bit dumb
phenomynouss16 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Normally I try to avoid doing reviews with spoilers but this one I just can't help it because it sticks with me long after the movie ends.
The movie itself is rather fun, not particularly amazing or interesting. It is a little bit sudden how the center of focus shifts very abruptly from focusing on one set of protagonists to suddenly focusing on another. As well, revealing very clearly who the killer is makes for this to not be much of a mystery but more of a character study/psychological type horror.
Unfortunately, the character, Nathan, is very dumb. Virtually every scene he's in he's drunk or drinking, acting creepy and smarmy, and frequently hallucinating ghosts of the people he's killed.
This is the most important part of why this character is so dumb, and thus why this movie is a little bit dumb.
The antagonist, Nathan, is constantly seeing ghosts of the people he's killed. He knows they are not real; they are demonic-looking and mutilated and gray. He even toys with one of the ghosts by running into it with his car and having it explode into ectoplasm or whatever.
Despite frequently seeing these ghosts and KNOWING they are ghosts or not real, this stupid idiot still freaks out every time he sees them, drawing tons of attention to himself in the process. He sees a ghost at a restaurant while out with his friends, and he tackles the ghost through a table, the ghost ending up being a random woman. Then he runs out in a panic.
Later on, he sees his girlfriend turn into a ghost repeatedly, and he violently attacks her, nearly killing her. Then he sees his younger brother, whom he dragged along to a murder, become a ghost, and he freaks out and kills him.
Obviously it's this sequence of events which leads to him being discovered, while he proceeds to then freak out and accidentally kill himself while having another ghost encounter. Despite the fact that he had been seeing ghosts for a long period of time, he reacts like a dumb animal each time he sees them.
He's just too dumb for his own good and it's kind of a wonder that he completely avoids suspicion until he starts smacking random people he sees as ghosts.
The movie itself is rather fun, not particularly amazing or interesting. It is a little bit sudden how the center of focus shifts very abruptly from focusing on one set of protagonists to suddenly focusing on another. As well, revealing very clearly who the killer is makes for this to not be much of a mystery but more of a character study/psychological type horror.
Unfortunately, the character, Nathan, is very dumb. Virtually every scene he's in he's drunk or drinking, acting creepy and smarmy, and frequently hallucinating ghosts of the people he's killed.
This is the most important part of why this character is so dumb, and thus why this movie is a little bit dumb.
The antagonist, Nathan, is constantly seeing ghosts of the people he's killed. He knows they are not real; they are demonic-looking and mutilated and gray. He even toys with one of the ghosts by running into it with his car and having it explode into ectoplasm or whatever.
Despite frequently seeing these ghosts and KNOWING they are ghosts or not real, this stupid idiot still freaks out every time he sees them, drawing tons of attention to himself in the process. He sees a ghost at a restaurant while out with his friends, and he tackles the ghost through a table, the ghost ending up being a random woman. Then he runs out in a panic.
Later on, he sees his girlfriend turn into a ghost repeatedly, and he violently attacks her, nearly killing her. Then he sees his younger brother, whom he dragged along to a murder, become a ghost, and he freaks out and kills him.
Obviously it's this sequence of events which leads to him being discovered, while he proceeds to then freak out and accidentally kill himself while having another ghost encounter. Despite the fact that he had been seeing ghosts for a long period of time, he reacts like a dumb animal each time he sees them.
He's just too dumb for his own good and it's kind of a wonder that he completely avoids suspicion until he starts smacking random people he sees as ghosts.
Actors vs. Cliche
kosmasp5 September 2018
I think the actors deserve a better rating than the movie/script gave them. Illogical twists and mad entities included. I guess you could explain the latter with just being mean, but the way some of the characters have to behave is just plain wrong - in the wrongest sense possible.
And it's a bit of a shame because the actors really seem to give it their all. Be it Josh Stewart or anyone else from the cast. The advertising for the movie might have been missleading as some other user suggested, I never saw it, someone gave me the movie as a gift, so I went in there without any knowledge of it. I've seen worse ...
And it's a bit of a shame because the actors really seem to give it their all. Be it Josh Stewart or anyone else from the cast. The advertising for the movie might have been missleading as some other user suggested, I never saw it, someone gave me the movie as a gift, so I went in there without any knowledge of it. I've seen worse ...
Just Not That Great
wandernn1-81-68327418 December 2019
Kinda your average ghostly revenge type movie where the ghost's target really has no chance at all. I mean....not really any twists involved. You can pretty much see what's coming.
Now the best part of the movie is when the credits start and it says in loving memory of Stephen Furst. Yes, we do all love 'Dorfman' and he will be in our hearts forever. Thank you Stephen Furst for your whole career and many many memorable roles. +1 Star just for that.
A Solid effort...but not quite getting there.
Now the best part of the movie is when the credits start and it says in loving memory of Stephen Furst. Yes, we do all love 'Dorfman' and he will be in our hearts forever. Thank you Stephen Furst for your whole career and many many memorable roles. +1 Star just for that.
A Solid effort...but not quite getting there.
Sadly not as good as the book
MikeWright754 March 2022
Just an average horror with an 80's vibe.
peterp-450-2987163 November 2017
"I never seen nothing like this. Well, you might want to have a little chat with the father. He's dead. In fact, he died in the sticks too, about 13 years ago. No, I mean the father of the baby she's carrying. This girl's about four months pregnant."
Not long ago I received an invitation to attend the premiere of "Cold Moon" in the company of the creators and actors, including Christopher Lloyd. Needless to say, I was slightly excited at that moment. Imagine me being in the same room together with one of my youth idols. Together in the same movie theater with Dr. Emmett Brown, the crazy professor who made the time-spiral unsafe with his converted Deloreon in "Back to the Future". Would I be as enthusiast about the movie in question, I would have been mad at myself for not booking a flight. Unfortunately, the enthusiasm was totally absent while watching the screener that was sent to me. Even though "Cold Moon" is similar to those cheap 80s vintage horror-films. I get melancholic when I think about that period. In those days, I always came home overloaded with a stack of rented VHS cassettes, after which I sat down in front of the TV the whole weekend.
"Cold moon" is an ordinary crime story that could serve as an episode in the Columbo series. However, there are also supernatural entities scaring the living sh*t out of the perpetrator (although he turns his back to them during most confrontations. Nerves of steel, I guess). And all this begins the day Margaret Larkin (Sara Catherine Bellamy) is on her way home and is being thrown into the local creek with her bike. She drowns on the spot. When her body is caught by a fisherman out of the water, it's the beginning of a search for the perpetrator (That shouldn't be such a hard task for the sheriff, since it's such a small community). Grandmother Evelyn Larkin (Candy Clark) points her accusatory finger at Nathan Redfield (Josh Stewart), son of James Redfield (Christopher Lloyd) tycoon and founder of the only bank there.
And at the same time, Margaret's wicked spirit winches itself out of the water and starts to haunt the killer. It's not entirely clear why Margaret returns as a revenge-seeking spirit. It's also unclear why the identity of the perpetrator was announced so quickly. In my opinion, the rest of the movie must be damn intriguing enough and of high quality when doing that. There's no tension anymore. And that's the big drawback in this movie. It's not really scary or thrilling. A horror without creepy moments or a frightening atmosphere can hardly be called a horror. Even though the apparitions and ghostly images are at times quite successful.
The acting performances are equivalent to that of the overall atmosphere of the film. Rather bland with a few exceptions. The only one who sort of made an impression was Josh Stewart. Although most of the time he walks around with sleepy, semi-closed eyes due to the amount of alcohol he consumed throughout the day. He doesn't look like a real manic psychopath, but his personality shows some dark sides. Christopher Lloyd's role is no big deal and is limited to a few minutes. The only thing he does is gaze at the local beauty queen (Rachel "Miss Pie" Brooke Smith) while jabbering unintelligible sentences. And then you have Evelyn (Candy Clark) and Jerry Larkin (Chester "My father die" Rushing), trying to run a blueberries farm. You can't say it's high-quality acting during their short-term presence. Especially Candy Clark was an annoying character who constantly acts hysterically after the death of her granddaughter.
"Cold Moon" isn't extremely bad, but it wasn't convincing either. Personally, I think the movie poster is brilliant, but overall the movie is just a weak attempt. The attempt to make some kind of horror didn't work well. The movie has nostalgic value. Certainly if you've experienced the 80's intensely when talking about horror movies. I'm sure you'll see this movie on some television channel in the middle of the night in the future. However, I wouldn't stay up for it.
More reviews here : http://movie-freak.be/
Not long ago I received an invitation to attend the premiere of "Cold Moon" in the company of the creators and actors, including Christopher Lloyd. Needless to say, I was slightly excited at that moment. Imagine me being in the same room together with one of my youth idols. Together in the same movie theater with Dr. Emmett Brown, the crazy professor who made the time-spiral unsafe with his converted Deloreon in "Back to the Future". Would I be as enthusiast about the movie in question, I would have been mad at myself for not booking a flight. Unfortunately, the enthusiasm was totally absent while watching the screener that was sent to me. Even though "Cold Moon" is similar to those cheap 80s vintage horror-films. I get melancholic when I think about that period. In those days, I always came home overloaded with a stack of rented VHS cassettes, after which I sat down in front of the TV the whole weekend.
"Cold moon" is an ordinary crime story that could serve as an episode in the Columbo series. However, there are also supernatural entities scaring the living sh*t out of the perpetrator (although he turns his back to them during most confrontations. Nerves of steel, I guess). And all this begins the day Margaret Larkin (Sara Catherine Bellamy) is on her way home and is being thrown into the local creek with her bike. She drowns on the spot. When her body is caught by a fisherman out of the water, it's the beginning of a search for the perpetrator (That shouldn't be such a hard task for the sheriff, since it's such a small community). Grandmother Evelyn Larkin (Candy Clark) points her accusatory finger at Nathan Redfield (Josh Stewart), son of James Redfield (Christopher Lloyd) tycoon and founder of the only bank there.
And at the same time, Margaret's wicked spirit winches itself out of the water and starts to haunt the killer. It's not entirely clear why Margaret returns as a revenge-seeking spirit. It's also unclear why the identity of the perpetrator was announced so quickly. In my opinion, the rest of the movie must be damn intriguing enough and of high quality when doing that. There's no tension anymore. And that's the big drawback in this movie. It's not really scary or thrilling. A horror without creepy moments or a frightening atmosphere can hardly be called a horror. Even though the apparitions and ghostly images are at times quite successful.
The acting performances are equivalent to that of the overall atmosphere of the film. Rather bland with a few exceptions. The only one who sort of made an impression was Josh Stewart. Although most of the time he walks around with sleepy, semi-closed eyes due to the amount of alcohol he consumed throughout the day. He doesn't look like a real manic psychopath, but his personality shows some dark sides. Christopher Lloyd's role is no big deal and is limited to a few minutes. The only thing he does is gaze at the local beauty queen (Rachel "Miss Pie" Brooke Smith) while jabbering unintelligible sentences. And then you have Evelyn (Candy Clark) and Jerry Larkin (Chester "My father die" Rushing), trying to run a blueberries farm. You can't say it's high-quality acting during their short-term presence. Especially Candy Clark was an annoying character who constantly acts hysterically after the death of her granddaughter.
"Cold Moon" isn't extremely bad, but it wasn't convincing either. Personally, I think the movie poster is brilliant, but overall the movie is just a weak attempt. The attempt to make some kind of horror didn't work well. The movie has nostalgic value. Certainly if you've experienced the 80's intensely when talking about horror movies. I'm sure you'll see this movie on some television channel in the middle of the night in the future. However, I wouldn't stay up for it.
More reviews here : http://movie-freak.be/
What was going on in there
kaefab13 October 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I am giving it a 4 rating because i really don't know what the hell was going on or what that movie wanted to be.
When you have scary movies like Annabelle creation and the Conjuring that scare the bejesus out of you.
I understand it was made by the people who made beetle juice, which is more dark comedy then horror, etc.
First off what was the Sheriff daughter doing living with that family instead of him and is wife? lots of weird stuff.
The story as been done a zillion times but why did those spirits come back from the dead to take revenge? was that place a special place? haunted? In part this movie makes no sense at all, the special effects where very good but the rest was confusing.
The acting was very good too.
When you have scary movies like Annabelle creation and the Conjuring that scare the bejesus out of you.
I understand it was made by the people who made beetle juice, which is more dark comedy then horror, etc.
First off what was the Sheriff daughter doing living with that family instead of him and is wife? lots of weird stuff.
The story as been done a zillion times but why did those spirits come back from the dead to take revenge? was that place a special place? haunted? In part this movie makes no sense at all, the special effects where very good but the rest was confusing.
The acting was very good too.
No complaints here, good watch
kmc339817 March 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I didn't watch because of particular actors being billed so that wasn't a turn off for me like it was for others. It was a lot better than the typical 3/4 star horror movies I watch on Amazon. I agree with those who consider it more of a ghost/supernatural flick rather than a horror. I think since the ghosts were after the bad guy it didn't seem scary, although it did have some freaky scenes toward the end. It did have a bit of a slow start, but after the first murder it kept me engaged throughout. It also had me emotionally vested in the movie as I just kept getting angrier that the D-bag antagonist just kept getting away with more and more stuff. It really had me hoping he would get what was coming to him. It really got to the point where I was thinking that simply getting killed wouldn't be enough punishment for him, and I must admit I wasn't disappointed with how it all caught up with him...very satisfying. If you're like me and are constantly scouring Amazon and Netflix for a nightly horror flick I would definitely recommend this one. It's by far the best I've seen this week (turning off Mr. Cleaver as I type, this seems awful).
Fake advertising indeed
seanmichaelb-1847010 October 2017
Someone reviewed before about Tommy Wieseau being in the movie for 10 seconds, I'd say that's an overstatement. He's kind of on screen clearly for maybe 5 seconds tops. Cheesy cameo he say's a line almost directly from "The Room".
I went to see this movie thinking it might have some terribly bad but amusing parts. I was wrong, just bad everything. Surprised movies like this still exist somehow.
I went to see this movie thinking it might have some terribly bad but amusing parts. I was wrong, just bad everything. Surprised movies like this still exist somehow.
If you like 80s horror I think you might like this one
nessapalmer18 October 2017
If you want a movie with some chills and thrills I feel like this might be a movie you would be interested. in For a movie based in the 80s I feel like the movie hit on the campy style that a 80s horror movies had and this is coming from someone who really enjoys the horror/thriller genre. As someone who has read and enjoyed the book that this movie is based on I feel like the movie was right on with the source material. The movie gave many of the same chills that the book did and having watch it twice I found I really enjoyed the feel of it. While the plot line is not 100% exact I still found there were few plot points like character deaths that were right on. Now if you walk into this movie expecting the modern horror movie effects then yes you will likely be disappointed. But if you like the old school horror/thriller feel I think you will very much enjoy this movie. This is definitely a movie that I will watch again.
Entertaining Flick Better than Reviews Suggest
parsonm223 March 2018
This movie came and went with apparently little notice from the general public or horror fans, unless I just missed it. I came upon it by chance almost two years after it's release so I wasn't expecting much. Set in the 80's, it's a horror ghost story about revenge. It has more than a few genre actors that you'll recognize and a decent story. I found it well-made and entertaining, certainly better than it's rating suggest. There is a bit of a murder mystery but don't expect to much depth there. Nevertheless, I recommend this one to fans of supernatural horror.
Pretty Bad
dcarsonhagy2 December 2017
Warning: Spoilers
"Cold Moon" is a ghost story, albeit a BAD ghost story. It seems a local family is about to go tits up on their mortgage with the local bank...and...it seems the evident bad guy at the bank is after that land.
"Cold Moon" managed to misadvertise itself all over the place. "Coffins will rise from the earth" (there was actually one that did that). The story is just too lame--not to mention too unscary--to pass for horror. Couple that with the fact the audience knows from the beginning who the bad guy is and you've got yourself a movie that has no way to entertain anyone. EVERY person in this "small southern town" is diabolical and/or already bought by the bank president. The people involved did try to create a few scares, but even they became laughable after a point.
The version I saw is unrated. It contains nudity, sexual situations, violence, and language. Can't recommend it.
"Cold Moon" managed to misadvertise itself all over the place. "Coffins will rise from the earth" (there was actually one that did that). The story is just too lame--not to mention too unscary--to pass for horror. Couple that with the fact the audience knows from the beginning who the bad guy is and you've got yourself a movie that has no way to entertain anyone. EVERY person in this "small southern town" is diabolical and/or already bought by the bank president. The people involved did try to create a few scares, but even they became laughable after a point.
The version I saw is unrated. It contains nudity, sexual situations, violence, and language. Can't recommend it.
Should'a Stuck To Comedy
twelve-house-books26 March 2018
The writer wrote Beetlejuice and Nightmare Before Christmas? He also wrote "Halloween Candy," probably one of the creepiest Tales of the Darkside--and certainly my favorite. Maybe he didn't fail here. Maybe it was the director. In any case, the accents for Northwest Florida are all wrong. Why does Hollywood insist on making all Southerners sound like Antebellum Georgians? This could have been a good film, if it had been a comedy. Instead, it's a mish-mosh of really good CGI and really bad acting and dialogue. The characters are, for the most part, two-dimensional comic book people. Smartass rich Southern gentleman, bumbling bought-out small town sheriff, ditzy high school cheerleader (played by a woman far older than 16 or 17), and a grandmother who is no more from the Pensacola area of NW FLA than she is from New Jersey. And the men's haircuts for 1989, when the film is set: all wrong. In that part of the country in that year the men still wore their hair parted down the middle and feathered back on the sides. And if they were a lot older, they might have had WW II military haircuts, that is if they could find barbers in the 80s who still knew how to cut that style (I was a barber in Pensacola just two years before that.) The kid that assists in the crimes would have either had really long hair pulled back in a ponytail (the trend in '89) or the previously described 1970s cut. Anyway, this movie is a disaster overall, so don't waste your time.
Like Other Viewers, Not Sure About This One..
Mehki_Girl7 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Unclear the motivations of the protagonist and his gullible sidekick.
You pretty much know who did it from the beginning, but you keep asking why? I guess the answer is he's just an alcoholic sociopath running rampant through a little southern town, cause he's rich and can do whatever he wants.
Characters'do stupid things. Like getting out of their car to see after some weirdo in a mask. Every big city instinct says stay in your car, keep driving.
The cops are idiots. I mean the first thought would be way too convenient when someone casually points to someone else and evidence is conveniently right there. The victimizer had the same dumb expressionl throughout - none.
Some special effects are good and interesting. Others are over the top or cheesy and ruin the movie.
Keeps you interested if only to see some justice. Anyway, this is one busy ghosts. No reason why this ghost is so active. Haunted town???
You pretty much know who did it from the beginning, but you keep asking why? I guess the answer is he's just an alcoholic sociopath running rampant through a little southern town, cause he's rich and can do whatever he wants.
Characters'do stupid things. Like getting out of their car to see after some weirdo in a mask. Every big city instinct says stay in your car, keep driving.
The cops are idiots. I mean the first thought would be way too convenient when someone casually points to someone else and evidence is conveniently right there. The victimizer had the same dumb expressionl throughout - none.
Some special effects are good and interesting. Others are over the top or cheesy and ruin the movie.
Keeps you interested if only to see some justice. Anyway, this is one busy ghosts. No reason why this ghost is so active. Haunted town???
What a mess....
niniel197021 March 2022
Don't waste your time...
Joispa9 October 2017
The movie poster is nice and inspires much higher expectations... but the story eventually meanders into a travesty of a climax and finale... It packs no mystery or intelligent story lines. The viewers are bombarded with a beaten-track B level movie-making and a story that could've worked but never did. It's got a childish plot and bad acting that's not worth the time spent on it. The characters and the ridiculous looking monsters do not develop and stay as static as the first time you meet them... they're just there to fill the screen. I gave the 3 points to the cinematographer and the set manager.
Fail
bob-bershad7 October 2017
The scary stuff is pointed at the antagonist. It was good scary stuff. The antagonist was great (reminded me of Robert Mitchum). Aiming the scary at the antagonist makes the viewer a disinterested third party. Had the scary stuff been aimed at a sympathetic protagonist, then - with all the talent on both sides of the camera in this movie - wowee.
Not as bad as I thought.
tamstarqueen-38-11922713 January 2019
This was actually a pretty good movie. Not gory or any kind, but more chiller "I'll haunt you 'til you admit" type thing. A lot of nice twist and turns and it tells you who the killer is straight up, but it doesn't stray from the movie.
Fake advertising
subwayss8 October 2017
Tommy Wiseau is in there for like 10 seconds. And what about Christopher Lloyd? I'm gonna guess ≅ 6/7 minutes.
Oh, and the movie is bad in every way: the effects, the acting is mostly awful (with a few exceptions), the story is really simple and boring. Don't watch this one.
Oh, and the movie is bad in every way: the effects, the acting is mostly awful (with a few exceptions), the story is really simple and boring. Don't watch this one.
Vengeance best left cold
TheLittleSongbird5 June 2018
Saw 'Cold Moon', being fond of horror regardless of budget (even if not my favourite genre), Christopher Lloyd and being intrigued somewhat by the idea. Being behind on my film watching and reviewing, with a long to watch and review list that keeps getting longer, it took me a while to get round to watching and reviewing it.
Giving 'Cold Moon' a fair chance with being interest and apprehension, it turned out to be far better than expected. Won't say that 'The Haunting of Helena' is a great film because it isn't and the potential, while not wasted, is not fully lived up to. Considering the large number of films seen recently being mediocre and less and wasting potential, was expecting worse and was relieved that while wanting in a fair few areas it was actually one of my better recent low-budget viewings.
'Cold Moon' started off quite well, the first half is promising, unsettling and atmospheric and really does intrigue.
Production values did have some eeriness and nowhere near as cheap as expected, and the music, which not the most memorable in the world, didn't detract from the atmosphere.
The setting is effectively spooky and some of the acting in support was not bad. Christopher Lloyd turns his limited screen time into gold, he clearly enjoys himself here and shows everyone how it's done. There are spooky and suspenseful moments and it isn't dull. The direction doesn't feel phoned in and the storytelling in the first half does intrigue.
However, the story was severely wanting in the second half after starting off promisingly. It is very disjointed and after the promising start the final third especially loses atmosphere, one loses interest and things start to not make sense. Too much of the film is vague and doesn't explore some elements and story strands enough, some dropped soon after being introduced, go nowhere or serve much point.
Ending is unsatisfying, on top of feeling hasty there are too many loose ends hanging in the air. Got the sense that the writers didn't know how to end the film. Would have liked much more tension and suspense which dissipated as the film got duller, more predictable and senseless, scares could have been more consistent and some weren't surprising or unnerving enough, the over-obviousness hurts it.
Found too the script to lack natural flow and with a bit of cheese going on, and the characters bland with some adopting some annoying and not always logical decision making. 'Cold Moon' contains perhaps the most annoying grandmother in film history, and Candy Clark's acting is just horrendous for reasons too numerous to list (namely because it is some of the most painful over-acting personally seen anywhere). Tommy Wiseau's involvement is basically a walk on cameo if even that.
Overall, better than expected but not great still. 5/10 Bethany Cox
Giving 'Cold Moon' a fair chance with being interest and apprehension, it turned out to be far better than expected. Won't say that 'The Haunting of Helena' is a great film because it isn't and the potential, while not wasted, is not fully lived up to. Considering the large number of films seen recently being mediocre and less and wasting potential, was expecting worse and was relieved that while wanting in a fair few areas it was actually one of my better recent low-budget viewings.
'Cold Moon' started off quite well, the first half is promising, unsettling and atmospheric and really does intrigue.
Production values did have some eeriness and nowhere near as cheap as expected, and the music, which not the most memorable in the world, didn't detract from the atmosphere.
The setting is effectively spooky and some of the acting in support was not bad. Christopher Lloyd turns his limited screen time into gold, he clearly enjoys himself here and shows everyone how it's done. There are spooky and suspenseful moments and it isn't dull. The direction doesn't feel phoned in and the storytelling in the first half does intrigue.
However, the story was severely wanting in the second half after starting off promisingly. It is very disjointed and after the promising start the final third especially loses atmosphere, one loses interest and things start to not make sense. Too much of the film is vague and doesn't explore some elements and story strands enough, some dropped soon after being introduced, go nowhere or serve much point.
Ending is unsatisfying, on top of feeling hasty there are too many loose ends hanging in the air. Got the sense that the writers didn't know how to end the film. Would have liked much more tension and suspense which dissipated as the film got duller, more predictable and senseless, scares could have been more consistent and some weren't surprising or unnerving enough, the over-obviousness hurts it.
Found too the script to lack natural flow and with a bit of cheese going on, and the characters bland with some adopting some annoying and not always logical decision making. 'Cold Moon' contains perhaps the most annoying grandmother in film history, and Candy Clark's acting is just horrendous for reasons too numerous to list (namely because it is some of the most painful over-acting personally seen anywhere). Tommy Wiseau's involvement is basically a walk on cameo if even that.
Overall, better than expected but not great still. 5/10 Bethany Cox
Boring at first but Interesting at ending
wolfcresecnt13 October 2017
When I saw the trailer, I was excited but mad that I had to wait a whole year for us just to rent the movie. I was happy when I rented it, sat down immediately and watched it. There were some things that I didn't know would be in the movie but I blindly went in without reading the book so...yeah. You can tell that there are some people who just started out acting because it shows. All I'm gonna say is that it is kind of boring and bland at the beginning but as the movie progresses, it becomes more interesting and pretty good. The characters do talk low to the point where you need to turn up the volume a lot in order to hear but when the intense scenes come in, it explodes in your eardrums so....just wanted to warn you.
I do, however, find it as a good movie. It was kind of worth the year of waiting. I actually watched it twice and hoped that it would later be released on DVD so I can watch it whenever I please. It was bland at first but it gets juicy later on.
I do, however, find it as a good movie. It was kind of worth the year of waiting. I actually watched it twice and hoped that it would later be released on DVD so I can watch it whenever I please. It was bland at first but it gets juicy later on.
As good as a low budget horror could be
danielsholmes28 January 2020
I actually enjoyed this film. I was a little put off from the 4.5 rating, but I thought the trailer looked interesting so gave it a go. It was a very strange cast, some good veteran actors and some very poor new actors which made it a little confusing sometimes. The ghosts are good, some good jump scares, even a few moments I had a few chills down my spine, but then every now and then a rubbish cgi moment. So it's best not to take this film too seriously and to just enjoy it for its entertainment purpose.
Had the hardest time understanding Josh Stewart
kristinesklarz29 October 2019
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
