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BLOODY MOON (1980)
Directed by Jess Franco
Trans World Entertainment VHS
Reviewed 05.10.07
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
And on the seventh day, God rested.
And on the eighth day, Jesus Franco
made a slasher.
In December, 1985, the British government
released the DPP 39 Video Nasties
list. 39 controversial trash-horror
films ranging from Unhinged
to Night
Of The Bloody Apes to Nightmares
In A Damaged Brain were
banned, illegal-ized, and instantly
elevated to near urban legend status.
Jesus "Jess" Franco, being
no stranger to European perversion
with films such as The
Erotic Rites Of Frankenstein,
was naturally on board. Hang on
to your incest.
Brewster, Fenton, and Morris's Shock!
Horror! tells us that Franco's
Bloody Moon, which was
made explicitly to cash in on the
American slasher volcano, made the
DPP 39 due to "shots of blood-on-breasts
and an unforgettable scene involving
decapitation by circular saw."
That's all good and well, but this
is Jess Franco we're talking about.
Bloody Moon is not Final
Exam. Bloody Moon
is foreplay but no sex, sis-bro
incest, a soundtrack inspired by
ELO, Herb Alpert, Bill Haley And
The Comets, and Sparks (often at
the same time), and a little kid
who gets run over by a Rolls Royce.
Yes, A ROLLS ROYCE. Calling Dr.
Black And Mr. Hyde! Plus,
there's all that aggressive violence.
If these signals seem jumbled, consider
yourself astute. The Franco confidence
is in full bloom.
At "The International Youth
Club Boarding School Of Languages",
a group of girls learn Spanish,
hang out by the topless pool, and
lust after Antonio, the gardener-tennis
instructor-casanova. The headmistress,
who sits in a wheelchair and yells
a lot, will be leaving a large fortune
to her children after passing. Her
children, the incest couple (she:
green-spandexed priss, he: meatloaf-faced
killer), obviously have a few issues.
But what of the sinister teacher?
The retarded handyman? The girl
who pretends to make love by herself
in the name of social equality?
You've met the players. Now, reap
the rewards.
"As they say, suffering is
good for pleasure!"
The backdrop may be fresh, but disguising
the truth is impossible. Bloody
Moon has "Property Of
J. Franco" written all over
it. That's why it's so appealing.
But there's no Dracula humping;
no Frankenstein whipping. Just a
lot of ambient hula-hoop synth noises,
zooming urgency, bizarre sexual
touches, insanely poor dubbing,
and yes, even a little monotony,
all wrapped up within the periphery
of a cheap American slasher. Bloody
Moon wields the familiarity
of our beloved trash-slashers, but
thanks to Mr. Franco's entertaining
personal and filmic obsessions,
the end result is always exotic
and rarely conventional. It's a
good taste.
And on the ninth day, Jesus Franco
rested. But only for a moment.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
This is the stuff. The presentation
of Bloody Moon encapsulates
the preferred method for
viewing early 80s slashers. Dark,
grainy, washed of color, and just
a touch of dirt and grime. The sound
was in mono, too. That's the recipe
for a hit -- at least in my living
room.
EXTRAS
None, but I rewound the tape to
make absolutely sure that Grace
Jones was plastered all over a t-shirt.
Indeed she was!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Rev up the Rolls! With the jumbled-yet-satisfying
Bloody Moon, Jess Franco
made a Jess Franco slasher. While
some may be terrified by that very
thought, you and I know differently.
This one delivers. Let the search
begin.
Thanks to Eric Robitaille for
providing a copy of this film! |
Mr. Meatloaf
Don't mess with my sister
Property Of J. Franco
Look sharp
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