Killer’s Moon Review

• 3rd May 2011

Redemption DVD are back and have released Killer’s Moon which may just be my new favourite film. Having never heard of it I was surprised to read that it’s a sleazy British horror film from the 70s. Being a massive fan of horror and, more specifically, British horror from the inception of Hammer to the early 80s, I was intrigued to say the least.

Killer’s Moon was first released in 1978 and directed by Alan Birkinshaw, who became known for being able to complete films on an exceptionally tight budget. The film opens with a bus full of teenage school girls travelling through the Lake District en route to an unnamed destination. After a breakdown they’re forced to seek refuge at a local hotel that’s closed for refurbishment. The group is attacked in the night by three escaped mental patients who’ve been undergoing dream therapy.  We learn that they’ve escaped whilst in a trance resulting in them thinking that everything they do is actually a dream.

Killer’s Moon is hampered by poor production values and terrible acting. The three killers, however, played by Nigel Gregory (Mr Smith), Paul Rattee (Mr Muldoon) and Peter Spraggon (Mr Jones) are amazingly sleazy. Given the pretext that they’re dreaming, the fact that they overdo everything is entirely believable. They also seem to have walked into the film directly from a B-grade re-make of A Clockwork Orange which just adds to the wonderful weirdness of the proceedings. All three characters appear to have been told to pitch their performances somewhere between hysteria and Shakespeare, resulting in much hilarity for the viewer.

Having fallen in love with Pete Walker’s 70s output, the revelation of Killer’s Moon has taken me back to the joy of finding classics such as House of Whipcord and Frightmare. The British aren’t known for making nasty, violent or sleazy films like Killer’s Moon; British horror is marked far more by the gothic, the occult and suspense throughout the heyday of Hammer, Amicus and Tigon. The 70s saw these great studios struggling to produce profitable films which paved the way for Walker and Norman J Warren to deliver far nastier films. Killer’s Moon follows this trend with an edgy and dangerous mix of violent murder and disturbing paedophilia. The dream-like state of the lunatics allows for a free-for-all of brutality with astounding dialogue such as “Of course it’s a dream! And stuffed full of jailbait!” that would be unheard of today.

Fans of the outrageous will find much to revel in when it comes to Killer’s Moon. Personally, this film was a staggering surprise and its remarkable sleaze and violence was a complete joy. Given the prudish British sensibility when it comes to almost anything sexual, this film is like a breath of fresh air. Anyone with a passion for violent, ultra-nasty horror will find a veritable Pandora’s Box of delights in Killer’s Moon. Presented in a superb re-mastered print, this Redemption DVD is a must for all true fans of UK horror.

Aled Jones