October Moon

I really enjoyed this movie. It was edgy, heart-warming (at times) and disturbing (at times). It took some unexpected turns and kept me guessing where it was going to end up. I feel the individual performances were strong. Jerod Howard, Jeff Dylan Graham and Sean Michael Lambrecht each made their character their own. My emotions were all over the board on this one... just the way I like a film. Watch the 10 minute mini-feature in the "extras" section to find out some of the motivations of the director and cast. Jerod delivers a great performance even when dealing with a personal tragedy during filming. My guess is that he used that tragedy in his character. Because of October Moon, I am a new fan of all three main actors (Jerod, Dylan and Sean).

Here's Fatal Attraction for the gay set with a few additional twists. The basic premise holds some definite potential but it's soon stamped out by severe reality-killing amateur acting (Sean Michael Lambrecht and Jeff Dylan Graham being the worst offenders there) and mediocre writing, and ends up basically coming off like a rushed production job. The character of Elliot is potentially interesting but he's not fleshed out to the point where his sexual transition or obsession is at all convincing.

Shot on video with the lowest production values you're likely to stumble across (I stumbled across them on Netflix), best I can say here is that the filmmakers tried but failed to come up with something a little different, though it's nice seeing Judith O'Dea again after such a long absence from films. Other than that, this offers very little of value and is instantly forgettable. I will not discount the director's future endeavors on behalf of this weak effort but will just advise him to sharpen up on his writing and hire better actors next time. It's also fishy that there are currently five glowing reviews for this film on IMDb. Even more fishy is that four of them were submitted in the same day!

Giving it was a terribly low budget, I like the storyline I didn't mind the actors at least it wasn't one of those soft porn gay movies that all gay movies are usually about yuck, but all in all I enjoyed it good job guys

After 40 minutes we called it quits. Poor acting and boring story line. Gay characters were dull and the supposed straight man was a joke. I didn't recognize Elliot's mother but I remembered her name from a horror movie back in the 60's...Night of the Living Dead. Her acting was bad back then and she never improved. Don't waste your time on this TURKEY! And, unbelievably, they made a sequel of this trach 2 years later!

Contrary to my initial assumption, "October Moon" really isn't a horror movie. Not that there aren't some rather disturbing moments, but the film plays itself out more like a psychological drama in the vain of "Fatal Attraction" (yes, the comparison is inevitable) or "Unfaithful." The climax of the film verges on "slasher" territory, but ends up being more depressing that actual scary.

The film centers around Corin, a thirty year old professional, and his younger, party-loving boyfriend Jake. The two have been together for awhile. but it is obvious that all is not rosy in their relationship. While Corin has settled down and likes to spend quiet evenings at home, Jake still loves the "bar" scene, and often views his relationship with Corin as holding him back from enjoying his youth. At work, Corin is able to confide in his boss and good friend Nancy (Brinke Stevens) about his relationship troubles. She listens with a caring ear and seems to be the only person to really understand him. Due to an increased work load and his unstable home life with Jake, Nancy decides to hire an assistant of sorts name Elliot to help Corin with some of his duties. At first, Elliot is awkward and somewhat nerdy, but likable nonetheless. Corin learns that Elliot lives with his over-protective mother (Judith O'Dea) and is engaged to be married to long-time girlfriend, Marti. Corin begins spending some time outside of work with Elliot, inviting him home and to various outings. Before long, Elliot begins to develop feelings for Corin and realizes that he is a homosexual. This causes severe mixed emotions in him; his mother is deeply against this lifestyle because he husband left her years earlier for another man. With no real support for his new feelings, Elliot's feelings for Corin begin to become a dangerous and disturbing obsession, resulting in a dark, depressing climax.

"October Moon" is truly a character driven story and because of this, may cause some viewers to lose interest. No real action occurs until the films final moments, but the build-up is almost more intense. Elliot's behavior does become more and more disturbing and where the film excels is in its believability. The characters actions and reactions are realistic and because the characters are developed extremely well, it is easy to sympathize with their individual situations. Even at the end of the film, it is hard to really blame Elliot for his actions; he desperately just wanted to be loved and accepted, and like many gay men, the emotions that came with falling for another man, when his entire life he had been told how wrong that was, were almost too much to handle. The writers takes careful steps to ensure that Elliot never becomes a despicable character and it works to the film's benefit. While there is some clichéd and dialogue steeped with stereotypes, overall, it does an adequate job of moving the plot along and creating interesting characters.

The biggest flaw present in "October Moon" is certainly its low-budget, resulting in extremely amateur looking production values. For example, the picture looks dated and often times is no better quality than you'd get with an old hand-held camera. The sound fades in and out in many spots, making conversations hard to comprehend. These issues don't necessarily make this a bad film, but do, at times, make it hard to take seriously. The acting really is a mixed bag; the actors portraying Corin and Jake are adequate, but often times some cheesy dialogue interrupts their performances. Jerod Howard is effective as Elliot, but some particular scenes seem to put noticeable strain on his range. Horror veterans Brinke Stevens and Judith O'Dea are both serviceable, but criminally underused. What is really distracting about the performances is that in some scenes, the actors are brilliant, but in the very next scene, verge on being terrible. The climax is rushed and, while somewhat effective, doesn't pack the punch that it really could have.

Overall, "October Moon" is an interesting, engaging little independent film. Like so many other low-budget films out there, it is very apparent that the filmmakers actually cared about the final product and did the best of their ability and resources to make a decent film. While those expecting gore and non-stop action will likely become extremely bored with "October Moon," it is an effective that not only cares about its characters and presents a believable portrait of obsession and desperation, it subtly makes a statement about expectations, relationships, and the consequences of intolerance. It's a slow burn, but "October Moon" is an effective, creepy film that puts substance before style; the end result and a memorable portrait of love gone wrong on many levels.