October Moon

Director - Jason Paul Collum (5 Dark Souls, Safe Inside)

Starring - Sean Michael Lambrecht (October Moon 2: November Son), Jeff Dylan Graham (The Day of the Living Dead, Land Shark), and Jerod Howard (Chicago P.D., Chicago Fire)

Release Date - 2005

Genre - Horror/Drama

Tagline - "Love is not patient.  Love is not kind"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     I've been collecting the films of J.R. Bookwalter and his Tempe Video for sometime now.  With the launch of his Makeflix company he has upgraded several films from DVD to blu which means I've been updating my DVD copies to blu as well.  However, Makeflix has released a few blus for movies that I never actually owned before.  One such release is Jason Paul Collum's October Moon.  When Makeflix announced the release of this one I was excited to check it out.  It was one I had never heard of before but I couldn't wait to add it to my collection.  When Black Friday rolled around I went ahead and snagged it for my collection.  I'm glad I did because this one really impressed me.  

     The film follows Elliot (Howard) who gets a job as an assistant to Corin (Lambrecht).  Corin is openly gay and in a relationship with the much younger Jake (Graham).  Corin can tell that Elliot is secretly gay but Elliot is confused by his sexual identity...that is until he starts spending time with Corin.  It's then that he realizes that he is gay.  However, he becomes obsessed with Corin but Corin doesn't find him attractive.  Heartbroken and confused, Eliott sets out to kill the one he can't have.

     October Moon is one of those movies I would have never went out of my way to see before.  In fact, if it wasn't for MakeFlix I highly doubt I would ever check it out.  It just doesn't look like something I would like but I'm the first to admit that I'm a fucking idiot.  I have no issues with it being centered around a questionable gay man.  Hell, I've watched the gay sexploitation flicks Vinegar Syndrome has released.  I'm comfortable enough in my sexuality that stuff like this doesn't bother me.  However, the film looked like it was more a romantic drama with horror sprinkled throughout.  That assumption is not far from the truth but it was an entertaining film regardless.  I will admit that this one is not for everyone but for those of you looking for an indie production that is more than just torture porn then you may enjoy it.  The acting in this one is very well done.  The film's love triangle, Howard, Graham, and Lambrecht all work incredibly well together.  Their characters really feed on one another and their chemistry on screen is unmatchable.  We also get some horror royalty delivering solid performances from Night of the Living Dead's Judith O'Dea and scream queen Brinke Stevens.  Sadly, their characters are not huge parts of the story so they are only in the film for filler.  The story for this one is a drama centered around a sexually confused deadbeat who gets a job as an assistant to a very successful openly gay man.  His success, confidence, and lifestyle opens the lost young man up to who he really is.  The story then transforms from this drama to a dark horror tale of obsession and greed.  It's a very well written story and one I'm sure that really spoke out for it's time with many people suppressing their true selves in the late 90 and early 00s due to the stigmas being gay presented.  With that being said, the movie did not need to be almost 2 hours long.  Some of the earlier scenes in the film could be cut to make the movie a little more easier to swallow.  Finally, this is not a brutally violent film.  Most horror films, especially from this time, was known for going above and beyond to deliver gore to the viewer.  However, October Moon is very character driven and focuses more on the character's back story and progression.  Overall, October Moon is a fantastic film that I would highly recommend to any genre fans.  I know some out there are not mature enough to watch a film centered around a gay relationship but for those of you out there that are open to watchng a great story then I recommend checking this one out.  The blu release from MakeFlix is not that impressive.  The film is presented in full screen and looks as if it was the same scan as the DVD release.  What makes this release stand out is the additon of the sequel as one of the special features.  It's well worth the price if you want my honest opinion.