Embrujado

I sat through this preponderant ayahuasca head-trip twice, and I'm still rather unresolved with my feelings about it. The story, while not at all uninteresting, is extremely vague(and probably deliberately so). As I see it, a deceased killer's soul is forever damned to seek lodging in an incommunicado mission-style villa, tenanted by an odd assemblage of necromantic characters. It's a bizarre Hell in which he's forever bound to perpetually relive one brief sequence from his mortal existence.

I personally found the quizzical exposition of MOONCHILD intriguing, though these fustian art-house ambitions result in a drastically muddled narrative and exegesis. The film is further injured by lengthy torpid stretches, and a passively limned central character who's overshadowed effortlessly by the veteran support players.

I appreciate the creative vitality which fuels experimental cinema, and I did find a unique polestar to this project. One chief debilitation, however, is the dizzyingly inchoate illustration of an umbilical concept that's already quite abstract. This eccentric stagecrafting gives rise to a vaporous psychedelic quality which might appeal to the cannabis clique...a rank-and-file viewership, on the other hand, will likely be left in a fog.

5.5/10

Shot in 1971 as a student film under the title FULL MOON and given a brief theatrical release as THE MOON CHILD by Filmakers Limited in 1974, Alan Gadney's sole directorial effort tells the story of a student (Mark Travis) whose pursuit of artistic perfection leads him to a desert mission-cum-hotel where a wandering `keeper of words' (John Carradine) introduces him to a small society of odd personalities – the pious Maitre D' (Victor Buono), the granite-faced Manager (BULLET's Pat Renella), a kindly old man (William Challee, from BILLY THE KID MEETS DRACULA) and his beautiful daughter (THE SWIMMER's Janet Landgard). Before the youth has passed his first night under their roof, his wildly combative hosts set themselves in fervid competition for receipt of his immortal soul.

As far as overeager allegories go, THE MOON CHILD isn't bad and predates Stanley Kubrick's somewhat similar THE SHINING by nearly a decade (it also can be said to anticipate other full circle thrillers as ANGEL HEART and THE SIXTH SENSE, albeit taking a less horrific tack in favor of New Age notions of circularity and karma filtered through the visions of Jean Genet, Samuel Beckett and Luis Bunuel). Long neglected, and too often written off as a bad horror movie (a classification it does not deserve), THE MOON CHILD is, if not entirely persuasive, at least a refreshing reminder of a time when film students sought to use the medium for a purpose higher than attention-getting.

A young man (The Moon Child) is reincarnated every 25 years, with each life ending in a stay at a mission hotel.

There he meets characters from his first life, all of whom are doomed to relive their roles in his life (and death) as well.

The cycle will end when his spirit reaches a state of perfection by purging its negative (violent) impulses.

Actor John Carradine is The Walker of The World, an otherworldly poet who is there to observe, and record for posterity, the proceedings.

Supposedly this was shot as a student film. I find that hard to believe considering the impressive cast. This film is not going to wow you, but it sure does deserve a better than 2.0 rating that it currently has here on IMDb. And certainly deserves to re-discovered for a cult following.

It's well filmed and very strange in a compelling sort of way. It's shocking that the director never worked again! Wish there was more info on him somewhere. He was talented.

Even if this movie wasn't a hit, the directing alone -- as a student film -- should have gotten him offers. Hell, David Lunch went on to make a movies after that Eraserhead which put me to sleep!

It's so well filmed (even if you can see the boom mike shadow in a scene or two). The framing is spot on and the color is superb.

It's a weird surreal trippy film. Give it a chance.

"Moonchild" ran on German TV under the title "Im Jenseits ist die Hölle los" (roughly translated as „All Hell breaks loose in the hereafter"), which led many viewers to expect a horror-comedy, since a zillion comedies ran under the moniker 'All Hell breaks loose …' (you just need to fill the blanks). Having recorded it on video tape and watching it many month later, I was surprised to find that this was neither a horror film nor a comedy – in fact, at the time I couldn't have put it under any genre apart from, say, experimental film.

I don't want to say much about the story; this is one of those cases, where the viewer is best left to his own conclusions.

The movie shouldn't be based so much on the story (which should really be left to the interpretations of the viewers) but rather on the excellent atmosphere: despite taking place in the seemingly endless, sun-showered desert, the atmosphere throughout is gloomy, claustrophobic, even suffocating. Although it is obvious that the director is young and inexperienced, there are traces of Bunuel, Kenneth Anger and even the "weirdness" of Salvatore Dali.

While Carradine seems frail and sickly, bent by age. Victor Buono, as he does in most performances, hams it up to 11, swinging easily from gentle, benevolent giant to steely eyed and threatening menace. Over-acting isn't for everybody, but it has always worked for Buono. A similar thing could be said for Pat Renella with piercing eyes and sharp, chiselled features, there is an air of violence about his character throughout, until revealing a strange gentleness at the end of the film; evidence of a very distinct, versatile actor, making one sad that Renella hasn't gotten many bigger roles in his career.

On the other hand, Mark Travis isn't altogether convincing as protagonist and it's no surprise that he only appeared in a handful of TV-shows after "Moonchild" – let's just say that acting isn't for everybody. Same goes for Janet Landgard and Frank Corsentino, whose performance as Homunculus is plain embarrassing. So, it doesn't come as much of a surprise that Buono and Renella easily steal the show.

Compared to many contemporary, over-ambitious and self-important student- and experimental-films, this film is a little, albeit almost forgotten gem, even though it's probably not everybody's cup of tea. Highly recommendable if you're into "weird movies".

While watching this strange 70's gem, it struck me that could have been the inspiration for the Eagles hit song Hotel California. The movie came out a few years before and is full of parallels to the song. I did a quick web search and was amazed to see there is no connections between the two.

Weary traveler in a desert highway hearing Mission Bells and Checking in to a hotel that he can never leave.

Yes, I'm aware the Eagles have stated the song is about their experiences in Hollywood, but keep an open mind and check this out for yourself. It's actually pretty eerie. You won't be able to keep the idea out of your head while watching it!