Its 1:57 am
warm/dark/awooooo!
Last Sunday saw me saddling up and going back to my video store,when it had re-opened,I dropped by in hopes of snagging a few films that I missed getting because of the Covid-19. But because a lot of the newer films never had a chance to be rented out enough,they couldn’t be priced to sell for about three weeks.
When I heard “Hunter’s Moon” had been priced,the cheetah tossed me the car keys and sent me on my way. We had been holding out for the big 4th of July sale but I suspected that “Hunter’s Moon” wouldn’t be there and I really wanted to check it out.
“Hunter’s Moon” is very interesting idea of mixing various genres and seeing how they turn out. You have the home invasion theme,you have a origin story them,a creature feature theme and vigilante theme all fighting within the same film.
The film opens up with a young woman being drugged and then killed by a serial killer (Sean Patrick Flanery),as he is burying his latest victim in his orchard,he in turn,becomes the hunted and meets a grisly and justified end.
Flash forward and we meet the Delaney family,Thomas the dad,(Jay Mohr),mom Bernice (Amanda Wyss),eldest daughter Juliet (Katrina Bowden),middle daughter Lisa (India Ennenga) and Wendy (Emmalee Parker) as they are driving to their new home.
They pull over at a gas station in town to get some snacks and Juliet starts flirting brazenly with store clerk Billy Bloomfield (Will Carlson),she lets it slip they are moving to the home of the dead serial killer.
Thomas and Bernice are talking about how its time for their daughters to be themselves and and despite the girls being a little cranky about moving to another house,the family comes together and moves in.
Meanwhile Billy tells his two other brothers,Lenny (Spencer Daniels) and Daryl (Daniel R. Hill) about the new family and the three daughters as well. They make plans to visit the family that night and they’re not bringing a welcome to the neighborhood cheese platter.
Thomas and Bernice tell the girls they are leaving for while (the day they got there!!) and leave Juliet in charge. They leave and the Bloomfield brothers watch them leave and then move in on the girls,not realizing that the hunters are being hunted and there is a full moon in the night sky……
So I did some poking around about “Hunter’s Moon” and discovered many things I didn’t know. The film,despite being released by Grindstone/Lionsgate,sat on the shelf for three years before being released. It was director Michael Caissie’s feature film debut and he also wrote the story as well.
So did we like “Hunter’s Moon”?? We loved the concept,having a family of werewolves as vigilantes hunting serial killers is pretty awesome. But I think that Michael fell into the same trap that Max Martini fell into in his film “SGT Will Gardner” and that was wearing too many hats. In trying to write a good script and also direct,the pressure of doing both dooms “Hunter”. Plus when you add the fact you’re also doing a origin story,that is a LOT of pressure to put on oneself for a debut.
You can see the results also in the acting,its very uneven and scattershot. On the surface,the cast isn’t half bad but once the camera starts rolling…..Thomas Jane,who has a key role,is aimless and comes actross as a almost a parody of himself. He is clearly bored here and isn’t giving any kind of effort. Mohr looks completely lost as well. I was looking forward to watching Daniel R. Hill but was really bummed that he played a mute with no lines.
The two best performances were given by beloved horror icon Amanda Wyss (A Nightmare On Elm Street) and by Carlson as Billy Bloomfield. Both gave solid efforts and did the best they could with what they were given.
I could go on about the many flaws in “Moon” but I think I made my point.
I wish that Michael could have gotten 3-4 films under his belt before he had tackled “Moon” because the concept is bloody brilliant and I would have loved to seen this film made with a more experienced hand.
“Hunter’s Moon” has a run time of 82 minutes and is rated “R” for language.
There are no special features other then some previews.
The cheetah and I give Hunter’s Moon concept a BIG thumbs/paw up but the finished product is disappointing and gets a thumbs/paw down. But we are fans of Caissie,especially if he keeps on coming up with ideas like this.
What is your favorite werewolf story in a film? Drop a comment below and share it with us.
The Inner Circle 
I think you hit the nail on the head. Writing and directing comes with a lot of hats and not enough time to wear them, or in this case, give better direction. I like the cast and the concept of werewolf vigilantes as you, but Michael Caissie’s film sounds better than it is.
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I love the concept too. It’s brilliant. What a shame. It could have been (that’s a big maybe) like the original Halloween, except that Caissie treated it more like a vanity project–or that’s what it sounds like.
So, you have a great concept for a movie, and you’re a director, what do you do? You utilize your connections from film school, the independent film industry, commercial shoots, video shoots, shorts, etc…and get with a script writer and a producer.
Halloween is a case in point.
Indy film producer gets a great idea for a movie. He hooks up with an independent director that he admires who also writes his own scripts. The independent director likes the producers idea and tweaks it. The producer likes the preliminary script and tweaks it. They work together with a skeleton crew of people they know and admire and produce a super classic on a shoestring budget that makes millions.
Too bad. I think the concept had this kind of potential.
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I can’t think of anything worse than looking forward to a favorite actor and they’re mute with no lines. What a let-down!!! This one looks like a pass…..
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