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The Plot: The Burning Moon begins by introducing us to Peter (Olaf Ittenbach) as he pulls up to an office building where he has an interview for a job. After telling the potential employer “kiss my ass”, he leaves to meet up with his gang buddies in order to fight a rival gang. After the fight, Peter heads home where he’s forced to baby-sit his little sister for the night. After Peter shoots up with a little heroin (yeah, this guys a winner) he visits his sisters bedroom and reads her two bedtime stories.
The first story, Julia’s Love, begins when Julia (Beate Neumeyer) agrees to go on a date with a new boy she’s recently met. Julia and Cliff (Bernd Muggenthaler) meet at a restaurant for dinner and appear to be having a good time. After dinner, Julia waits in Cliffs car while he goes to buy a pack of cigarettes. During her wait, she hears about an escaped lunatic named Cliff Parker on the car radio. In a panic, Julia gets out of the car running for her life. However, once Julia is home, she realizes that she’s left her wallet in Cliffs car and he now knows where she lives. The fun ensues…
The second story, The Purity, begins when we see a man raping a woman on a darkened street. This particular man turns out to be the village Priest, Ralf (Rudolf Hub). Next we’re introduced to Justuz (Andre Stryi). Justuz is a troubled farmer who confides in the Priest his feelings and troubles. Not long after this, we learn that the Priest is practicing black magic and shoots himself in the head committing suicide all in the name of Satan. After the death of the Priest, the townsfolk believe that Justuz is responsible for all that is wrong in the village . At this point, one of the locals kills Justuz. Once dead, Justuz rises to seek revenge and kill the man responsible for his death. He does so by dragging the man to hell for a torturous ending to his life.
The Takeaway: The Burning Moon sets itself up as an anthology with three short stories, or chapters if you will. The first builds on Peter’s character as we learn that he’s a troubled individual. The second and third chapters revolve around two different unrelated stories, Julia’s Love and The Purity. Julia’s Love is a take on the so-called American Slasher as it uses all the components of said genre and puts them to work in a fairly fast paced story that ends with Julia surviving, much like that of Alice from the first Friday the 13th (1980) film. The third and final story, The Purity, is similar to that of Clive Barker’s Hellraiser (1987), at least in terms of how the film ends (although the stories are quite different).
Considering The Burning Moon was shot on video and with little to no budget, director Olaf Ittenbach managed to produce a very entertaining film. By no means is it Oscar worthy, but it’s a film that most gore-hounds will really appreciate, and could learn from, if wanting to produce a horror film. The special effects alone must have been a huge undertaking for Ittenbach, let alone writing a coherent script that wraps itself around all the special effects. I found the film to be a bit slow during the third half but the payoff is well worth the slight slow pace. I also found the films direction fairly solid considering Ittenbach’s lack of experience at the time. Performances from the cast are acceptable, but clearly amateur in nature. Remember, when you’re friends offer to be in your film at no cost, you don’t have the right to be too picky.
Film Facts: The Burning Moon was written and directed by the German born Olaf Ittenbach. Prior to The Burning Moon Ittenbach had only directed one other film, Black Past (1989). After The Burning Moon Ittenbach directed what has become his landmark gore film, Premutos: Lord of the Living Dead (1999). He has since gone on to direct many other films and continues to work in the business as a director and special effects artist.
Thoughts In My Head: - If my son was this fucked up, there’s no way he’s baby-sitting my daughter - You can always depend on heroin when nothing else is going your way - How is it that an institute doctor doesn’t know they’re housing a patient whose killed 21 people - This music is soooo 90′s - Julia is like a Timex watch. She takes a Licking and Keeps On Ticking - What a nice Priest, he rapes then shoots a girl and then gives her, her eulogy afterwards - Apparently, Priests also like adult naked men - I want to move to Germany. A small pocket of change gets you a full pitcher of beer - Holy Jesus, is that a Jesus zombie
Favorite Badass or Badass Moment: Sorry kids, no badasses in this one Favorite Boobs or Boobs in a Scene: Sorry kids, no boobs in this one Favorite Death Scene: The final gore scene in the film. HOLY SHIT…
Boob Count: 0 pair Body Count: 13
IMDB Rating: 4.6 / 10 My Rating: 6.0 / 10
Final Thoughts: The Burning Moon is a must own for fans of gore, German underground horror or fans of Ittenbach’s other landmark film, Premutos: Lord of the Living Dead . It is however, a bit rough around the edges and at times feels like very much like a video nasty out of the 80′s (which is a good thing I suppose).
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