"Warlock Moon" is a very strange and unique movie. Certainly not David Lynch strange or Alexandro Jodorowsky unique, mind you, but the plot enfolds itself so extremely unusual! Yet for some reason you unconsciously accept what's going on, even though it makes little sense, because you're somewhat curious and intrigued. The two main characters make each their acquaintance rather
exceptionally, to say the least. She's a student and he's a tacky newspaper reporter who sneaks up on her, wearing a fake mustache and ridiculous goggles, and insists that she goes picnicking with him. Odd
but effective apparently, because the naive girl falls for it and a couple of days later they head out to the countryside together. They end up in a ramshackle old spa where they get a tour from an uncanny albeit friendly lady. Yet another few days later, the spa is totally abandoned and a hunter tells the girl about the morbid past of the place. But then when the boy pops up, the old lady returns as well. And so does a guy wielding an axe. What the hell? Following the good old clichés of the horror genre, one thing's for sure: the girl just learned about deviant patterns in school, like incest and cannibalism, so they sure as hell going to encounter some of that! "Warlock Moon" isn't a very good occult horror film, but I inexplicably appreciated it, and there are still a few things to recommend to fans of low-budget drive-in movies. The film features that typically 70's atmosphere, you know? Anything can happen, even the most absurd plot twists appear to be very normal and the most likable characters can get killed off at any second. The plot is mysterious enough and even a bit compelling, but the film is unfortunately also very slow-moving and uneventful. And then I'm not even mentioning the awfully redundant and head-scratching empty swimming pool sequence. That was the second "what the hell" moment already! Around the hour, the whole thing just gets too weird and you'll wonder where the hell they're going with it, but still I'd encourage people to see it, as there are a few neat twists in the end. "Warlock Moon" is the only film (at least, that I've seen) that uses freeze-frame shots during the actual film. We've seen a lot of movies end in a freeze-frame, but this crazy flick has several throughout the film and for no apparent reason other than the lack of budgetary means. Well, those are the 70's for you, any weirdo with a typewriter and a demented idea for a horror movie could raise a handful of dollars to actually make it. And there are plenty of punks, myself included, that make it their life's mission to hunt all this obscure junk down.
Review of Warlock Moon
