Making
a welcome return to DVD, this lurid shocker from Alan Birkinshaw
– auteur of the recently reissued Confessions
of a Sex Maniac – proves that British horror
films could be every bit as squalid as their American and European
counterparts, and is all the more fun for it.
Set in the Lake District, the film pits a bus full of schoolgirls,
stranded and forced to shack up at a remote hotel, against a trio
of escaped lunatics who have been subjected to experimental LSD
therapy and believe that all their actions are but a dream. As
you might expect, the loonies have a tendency to dream about mutilating
animals and murdering ‘jailbait’, and so before long,
murder, mayhem and gratuitous nudity ensues.
With
some splendidly quotable dialogue – penned by Birkinshaw’s
sister, the famed novelist Fay Weldon! – including the notorious
line “look, you were only raped. As long as you don’t
tell anyone about it you’ll be alright”, suitably
drooling psychos who all look like Clockwork Orange
cast-offs, nubile schoolgirls who struggle to stay in their nighties,
Linda Hayden’s sister and a three-legged dog, this is exploitation
at its finest – no-nonsense sleaze that knows what the audience
wants and delivers it with gleeful abandon. With its heady mix
of sex and violence, it’s surprising that the film passed
through the censors at the time intact (there’s an old-school
BBFC ‘X’ Rating at the start of the film), and even
now it seems to be close to the limits of acceptability.
A much-loved (really!) and sought-after slice of Brit sleaze,
Killer’s Moon is a marvel to behold –
as grotty and grim as any other shocker from the decade with enough
jaw-dropping ridiculousness to impress anyone – who out
there could honestly resist a film about acid-crazed loonies raping
and murdering schoolgirls? Okay, anyone with a sense of decency
I guess, but if that’s you, you’ve probably stumbled
upon this site by accident.
Redemption’s DVD is impressive – nicely slipcased
and with more extra content that a film like this deserves. A
chatty commentary from Birkinshaw and star JoAnne Good, plus video
interviews with the pair, trailers and extensive stills galleries.
With
some splendidly quotable dialogue – penned by Birkinshaw’s
sister, the famed novelist Fay Weldon! – including the notorious
line “look, you were only raped. As long as you don’t
tell anyone about it you’ll be alright”, suitably
drooling psychos who all look like Clockwork Orange
cast-offs, nubile schoolgirls who struggle to stay in their nighties,
Linda Hayden’s sister and a three-legged dog, this is exploitation
at its finest – no-nonsense sleaze that knows what the audience
wants and delivers it with gleeful abandon. With its heady mix
of sex and violence, it’s surprising that the film passed
through the censors at the time intact (there’s an old-school
BBFC ‘X’ Rating at the start of the film), and even
now it seems to be close to the limits of acceptability. 
