The Burning Moon

 

Name: The Burning Moon

Directed By: Olaf Ittenbach 

Subgenre: Foreign, Anthology, Gore, Supernatural

Series: Spooktober 2021 entry #3; review #96; Chad's On a List Now #1

Review: We're going back to the 90's this time, folks! We're hunting for a very specific, very niche horror movie from that bygone era of single dangling earrings, denim overalls, and big hair holding over from the late 80's: we're moving past the self-aware Scream, the blood-sucking madness of From Dusk till Dawn, and even beyond the descent into Hell that is Event Horizon. Our trip back in time will bring us to Hell, yes, but it will be unlike anything that you've ever seen. Today, we're feasting on the extreme carnage and nightmarish debauchery that is The Burning Moon. If you're a casual fan of horror, then you've likely never heard of The Burning Moon (and, if you are, then for the love of God turn back now). Even if you're a dunked your toes into the waters of extreme horror, there's a good chance this might have flown under your radar given its indie, shot-on-video nature. But those who have watched it (and survived) wear that experience like a badge of honor. It's in those circles that you'll hear about the film, and heavy emphasis will be placed on the film's climactic--and gut-wrenching--trip to Hell. I knew I had to track it down. Luckily, that's much easier to do these days: you can simply rent the film on Amazon Prime for like $3. Something something, hail corporate, something something. Moving on! The Burning Moon is a technically an anthology film, though it only consists of two stories and a wrap-around segment. Like with most anthologies, we're introduced to the real meat of the movie through the wrap-around storyline, and The Burning Moon follows writer, director, and stunt-man Olaf Ittenbach who plays a drug-addicted teen who, after getting into a shoving match with his parents, shoots up some heroin, goes star-gazing, sees that the moon is on fire, and decides to tell his kid sister (whom he's been voluntold to babysit) some bed-time stories. The character is a shitbag, and his aggression and instability only foreshadow what's to come in the remainder of the film.

From there, we get into our two stories: Julia's Love and The Purity. The former is about a psychotic serial-killer who escapes from the mental hospital and goes on an obscenely-graphic killing spree in order to win over...you guessed it! Julia's Love. Sound familiar? Yup, if you've seen Halloween, The Sorority House Massacre, or even The Slumber Party Massacre, then you've seen this film before. Sure, the expressly stated romantic angle is a bit of a departure, but all of the other boxes get checked, too. One extra box gets checked as well: dialing the gory practical effects to 11. Some scenes are pretty obviously fake (the mannequin getting smeared by a car), but most remain pretty visceral compared to what you're likely used to. Intended or not, Julia's Love is punctuated by bits of black comedy that contrast pretty notably with the segment to follow. Oh, and this segment is so quintessentially 90's in Germany that it brought me back to learning the language via VHS tapes in high school. So, that was fun. Julia's Love is, frankly, pretty skip-able. The gore is great and the comedy helps make for a cult classic among like-minded friends, but you're not watching this particular film for the laughs. No, you're watching it for the extreme gore. The Purity opens up with a scene of blatant sexual assault and murder. I told you, this one gets pretty dark, folks. We immediately find out that this was perpetrated by the town's priest who is, in actuality, a clandestine Luciferian who believes that death is the purification of the soul. Most of the story's run-time is dedicated to showing the priest simultaneously trying to lead the town and masquerade as a good guy (with occasional scenes of ultra-violent murder) while the rest of the town tries exercising mob justice for the murders on a completely innocent dude. Eventually, that comes to pass, and Mr. Priest decides to purify his own soul via full metal jacket to the noggin. And whoops, turns out that Hell isn't such a fun place! The climax of the story is a barrage of hyper-graphic Hellish imagery. Sure, images of demons and devils, fire and brimstone, can be scary in their own way, but The Purity's Hell perfectly encapsulates endless, mindless suffering. We see image after image of mangled corpses leaking viscera with a slowly crescendoing loop of agonized screams. There's a good chance you'll reach a borderline (if not macabre) state of Zen as all thoughts are replaced by the suffering of the damned. Eventually, the trauma boils over and one of the souls whips out a rifle and starts blasting away at his fellow prisoners. While it's not directly stated, there's an implication that every single body--whether it's animated or not--every single bit of shredded flesh and mound of gore is still alive. It's Hell, the suffering is eternal: death is no reprieve. It is the most effective portrayal of Hell that I've seen thus far, and you can find the scene (without any context--and the scene immediately following) on YouTube of all places! You've been warned. From there, Mr. Priest gets his just rewards, and Ittenbach really unleashes on the gore here. It is gross and mean and nasty and I couldn't look away. From there, we learn about our drug-addled bard's fate. It's as nihilistic as the rest of the film. So, I realize my whole schtick is being succinct in my reviews, and this isn't exactly that. I'll leave by giving my take on the question on whether the film is worth the cult classic hype in the extreme underground. Yes, and no. If you couldn't tell from the last paragraph, the culmination of the film is an incredible feat in gross-out gore; the effects remain incredible and, well, effective. But the stories themselves feel overly long, as if they're just padding to get to the big, bloody money-shot. They add some context and depth to what follows, but it the acting is pretty terrible and the shot-on-video quality will either make this feel even cheaper (or more notorious). And, while Julia's Love is a pretty fun segment, I didn't actually give a damn about it. Should you go watch this film? I mean, if you're looking to push the envelope and willing to spend an hour and a half to get to the real reason why the film is infamous, then sure. Otherwise, just watch the YouTube clip and move on. But then again, I've got my Burning Moon badge of honor--will you?

Overall Score: 3.5 out of 5 Chads trying in vain to claw back out of Hell. Did The Burning Moon scare you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

IMDB: Here

How to Watch: The Burning Moon is available on these platforms.

Official Trailer