Review of Night of the Dark Full Moon (1972) by Jacob F — 17 Oct 2008

No, this isn't the "Garbage Day" movie. And if I had not seen the release date on this film I would have missed this horror gem. Made in '72 this may be one of the earliest of the maniacal killer returns home on anniversary of (insert holiday related trauma here) films.

But this is not a slasher film. The story is quite complex, rooted more in 19th century short stories or Grand-Guignol theater than in a typical killer set-piece horror film that this film prefigures.

Here, a simple, red-hearing-like, premise leads to the discovery of a dark and terrible family secret. Its aesthetic impulses rest somewhere in between the Corman Poe films and the gritty New York City productions of the early-mid 70's.

The film is rare in its use of still images which create an uncanny and creepy atmosphere during its use of voice over narration (which is surprisingly effective, and also interesting in it predates the most famous use of voice over prologue in horror, in Texas Chain Saw), and there is an extended and gorgeously filmed sepia toned flashback scene which feels ghost-like (the deterioration of the print actually enhanced this).

This is an able cast, essentially taken from Andy Warhol's collaborators, and one wonders how much input Jack Smith had on some of the scenes, plus John Carradine who plays a silent role yet still manages to steal every scene he's in, and a terrific score.

What all of this adds up to is this is a horror masterpiece hardly anyone's seen and few know exists. It's creepy more than scary, tragic more than demented, and its low budget forces it to rely on collision montage suggestion rather than all out gore shock cuts, which is, in my opinion, far more effective, especially with a lower budget.

All the more surprising is that this sometimes artful (accident, excess, or intention?) film was the production of soon to be exploitation figureheads; this is one of Lloyd Kaufman's first credits.

This deserves a remaster, the print I saw was too dark to see some of the night exteriors, and was showing signs of some decay.