HUNTER’S MOON

Directed by: Michael Caissie

Starring; Thomas Jane, Sean Patric Flannery, Jay Mohr, Katrina Bowden, India Ennenga, Amanda Wyss,  Will Carlson, Spenser Daniels

When the Delaney family move into their new home, the three teen daughters are none too happy to be dragged across country, especially the oldest, Juliet. Even less when they discover that the house was the location of a couple of grizzly murders a few months earlier, and that the killer still hasn't been caught…

With Hunter's Moon, director Michael Caissie delivers a fun horror film which plays around with conventions and expectations.

The film starts really well with a great red herring in the guise of Sean Patrick Flannery, who we witness murdering a young woman before himself falling foul to an unseen killer in the orchard outside his house (the film was originally going to be called The Orchard btw). This is kind of the DTV equivalent of Drew Barrymore appearing in Scream, as Flannery is a well-known actor, recently seen as the grizzled trainer in American Fighter.

Then we meet the Delaney family, a wholesome group on their way to their new home. It's not clear why they are moving but dad Thomas seems to be suffering the after-effects of some kind of trauma which the kids are forbidden to discuss. The eldest daughter, Juliet, is about to turn 18 and is going through a number of adolescent changes, not just sexual but also challenging authority figures. Her younger sisters, Lisa and Wendy, both look up to her and want to emulate her as much as possible.

We meet Billy at the convenience store and there is definitely an exchange of pheromones between him and Juliet. However we don't really understand how much bad news Billy is going to be until a later scene where he's at the local bar, playing pool with what seems to be an older, tougher guy who keeps berating him. That is until Billy's brothers, Lenny and Daryl arrive, and the whole dynamic changes. In fact that could be considered a theme for the film as a whole - scenes which start off with a well-established direction suddenly taking a shift into a different direction. Even the arrival of the sheriff (played by the always awesome Thomas Jane) does not go in any way you might expect.

The film sets up a typical home-invasion set-up, with Billy and his brothers arriving to rob the house and have some - ahem - fun with the three young ladies (their parents had left for a roadtrip). Seasoned horror fans may still understand where the film is heading but I felt the film does a very good job of walking the tightrope as long as possible before it starts to spell out what is going on.

The film keeps its creature off-screen as much as possible, mostly using POV shots to emphasise its presence. Its apparent why when we do see the full creature as it’s a bit stiff and all the drool in the world can't hide that the mouth doesn't seem to move. However the film has built up enough good will by this point that it doesn't impact the film, and is more important for how parents Thomas and Bernice react to it.

Hunter's Moon is a well put-together film with a very good cast. As well as the aforementioned Thomas Jane and Sean Patrick Flannery there is Katrina Bowden, who plays Juliet, will be known to most horror fans for her role as Alison in Tucker and Dale Vs Evil. Amanda Wyss, who plays Bernice, was Beth in the cult classic Better of Dead. Jay Mohr seems a strange choice for this type of film at first but he has fun with the role as the story develops.

THE VERDICT

The Home Invasion genre isn't known for being 'fun' - in fact it can be downright nihilistic, but Michael Caissie's script manages to keep the threat of nastiness and peril alive without lurching too far into the darkness before things start to change. On the downside, the cinematography is a little flat in the mist-shrouded orchard scenes and the monster suit is a bit stiff, which are likely down to budget constraints. But these seem like small issues and at the end of the day, Hunters Moon is a very entertaining horror film.

7 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)