A view to a Kill(er’s Moon)
No, I wasn’t being complimentary, Alan.
It’s been a while, Killer’s Moon. When I first saw you it was on an ex rental VHS I bought off Ebay (because at that time, hardly anyone had seen it) - and as anyone who’s read the review on this site knows, I couldn’t quite believe my eyes. 20 years on from that first viewing, VHS (and indeed VHS player) now long gone, I remembered this week that the old DVD releases of this very film had a quote from yours truly on the box, and wondered if I could get hold of a copy. Turns out I could, and here it is, four quid thank you very much (wonder how much I paid for the tape? Probs more than that!).
Quite nice to own a copy of the one item of movie memorabilia that actually saw fit to include a quote from this site on it (unless you know any better?).
And it also means I can revisit this “classic” in all its shoddy glory. Would it still be jaw-droppingly crass? Or has 20 years of irony and every-increasing movie violence dulled its impact? Well, I’m only 20 or so minutes in, and to a certain extent the passage of time has changed my view on it slightly. I don’t think I’ll be rushing to the laptop to bang out a revisionist review, but it certainly doesn’t seem quite as barking mad as I remember it… yet.
For one thing, the “Carry On Clockwork Orange” description I foisted on it back in the day seems more apt than ever. It may actually have been filmed tongue in cheek - the girls are just a bit too self aware, the teachers and the bus driver are broad caricatures. Plus… and this is why I stick to the older stuff for the website… it’s a proper film. No straight to video cash-in, this. Someone somewhere stumped up the cash for big cameras and location filming, and occasionally it shows. There’s recognisable faces from 70s TV comedy in there (a bit of Brushstrokes, a dash of Citizen Smith).
Is even the exchange between the minister and the doctors who have unwittingly released four sleepwalking psychopaths into the community meant to be played for laughs? I’m no longer sure what I think.
Of course, all this speculation is pretty moot because it doesn’t really matter whether it starts off as a comedy, because things are about to descend into a maelstrom of poorly considered bad taste, including animal mutilation, sexual assault, gratuitous nudity and odd violence, liberally dashed with what can only be described as a very 1978 sensibility when it comes to the dialogue. If they did think they were making a comedy, then seriously - what were they thinking?
As I said earlier, when I first reviewed this film it felt like a lost classic. For all I know, it’s on regular rotation on Talking Pictures TV these days. Which may mean lots of people have their own view on what it’s all about. I’d be interested in hearing what you think.
And yeah, I’ve got a quote on a (now deleted) DVD box! How cool is that?
