Killer's Moon (1978)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Alan Birkinshaw

Writer:

Alan Birkinshaw (writer)
(more)

Genre:

Crime | Horror

Tagline:

One endless night of terror!

Plot:

Four mental patients - who, due to unauthorized experiments, believe they're living in a dream and have shed all moral imperatives - escape and find their way to the nearest bus-load of stranded schoolgirls. |

Plot Keywords:

Mental Patient | Dream | Escape | Hotel | Teen

Cast

Anthony Forrest	...	Pete
David Jackson	...	Mr. Trubshaw
Tom Marshall	...	Mike
Georgina Kean	...	Agatha
Nigel Gregory	...	Mr. Smith
Paul Rattee	...	Mr. Muldoon
Peter Spraggon	...	Mr. Jones
Jane Hayden	...	Julie
Alison Elliott	...	Sandy
Joanne Good	...	Mary (as Jo-Anne Good)
Jayne Lester	...	Elizabeth
Lisa Vanderpump	...	Anne
Debbie Martyn	...	Deirdre
Christina Jones	...	Carol
Lynne Morgan	...	Sue
Jean Reeve	...	Mrs. Hargreaves
Elizabeth Counsell	...	Miss Lilac
Charles Stewart	...	Bert
Edwina Wray	...	Enid
Hilda Braid	...	Mrs. May
Chubby Oates	...	Bus Driver
Hugh Ross	...	Government Minister
Graham Rowe	...	Prison Governor
James Kerry	...	Psychiatrist
Carol Binstead	...	Telephone Operator

Directed by
Alan Birkinshaw

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Alan Birkinshaw		writer
Fay Weldon		uncredited

Produced by
Alan Birkinshaw	....	producer
Gordon Keymer	....	producer

Original Music by
John Shakespeare
Derek Warne

Cinematography by
Arthur Lavis

Film Editing by
David White

Art Direction by
Carolyn Scott

Costume Design by
Maggie Wyre

Makeup Department
Anne Fairbain	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Ron Hyde	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Cormack Clark	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Bill Burgess	....	boom operator
Doug Smith	....	sound recordist
Brenda Taylor	....	sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Nick Pearson	....	key grip

Production Companies

• Rothernorth

Distributors

• Citadel Films (1981) (Canada) (theatrical)
• CIC Video (????) (Canada) (VHS)
• Inter Ocean Video (1981) (UK) (video)
• Redemption Films (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• VCL Communications (1985) (USA) (video)

Other Companies

• Animals Unlimited  animals provided by

Also Known As:

Killers Moon (West Germany) [de]

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Certification:

Australia:R | Iceland:(Banned) | UK:X | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Lake District, Cumbria, England, UK

Company:

Rothernorth

Trivia:

Dialogue for the film was written by Fay Weldon. "In the original script, the girls were ciphers. I gave them characters, which had the unfortunate effect of turning the film into a cult movie. I should have left it as it was. Picture dialogue: A. Picture movie: D. A terrible mix."

Quotes:

Mr. Jones: Mr psychiatrist, are you there?
Pete: Go to hell you bastard you're mad!
Mr. Jones: What sort of reply is that from a National Health psychiatrist? I should have gone private.

Sleazy, but not in a good way

This is an interesting piece of sleaze from that morally upright island off the northwest coast of Europe. I first saw it on a double bill with "House on Straw Hill" and I have no idea why the latter got branded a "video nasty" in Britain but this one didn't. Three homicidal maniacs who are fed LSD and believe they're dreaming terrorize a broken-down bus full of schoolgirls in the Lake District. You might ask yourself several questions: Why would anyone feed homicidal maniacs LSD (not to mention dress them in bowler hats like the droogs in "A Clockwork Orange")? Why would LSD make someone think they're dreaming? (Do the lecherous sleazeballs who made this have no firsthand experience with drug abuse?) If the characters think they're dreaming, why do they talk to each other? Finally, and most importantly, why would being doped up on LSD make homicidal maniacs any more frightening than they already are?

Some people found the fact that the victims are schoolgirls quite offensive. Well, it would be if the buxom, overage East End strippers they cast in this movie, dressed in schoolgirl outfits, and handed out teddy bears to were remotely believable as schoolgirls. What is more offensive is the cavalier attitude the movie has toward rape. One girl tells another not to be upset because she was "only raped" by the maniacs (if she'd been murdered THEN she could complain). The movie shows such empathy for its characters that one major character simply disappears halfway through and her dead body shows up as an after-thought in the closing credits. And if this movie isn't enough of a geek show, there's a three-legged dog wandering around, and, oh never mind. I'm trying to find something good to say about this movie--well, if you fall asleep and dream (or you are given a strong dose of LSD) you can imagine that you're watching "Breakfast at Manchester Morgue" or one of the other good horror movies made in the Lake District.