Beyond the Rising Moon

At first glance one might think this is going to be just a cheap SF B-movie, but if one considers how it was made (practically "in the backyard"), it is simply fantastic.

A lot of care went into the production, even with the very limited constraints these independent filmmakers were working in, and one can notice this.

One thing: this is not a movie of the "Spielberg-Lucas-etc.-Roller-Coaster-Ride-with Special-Effects"-kind, so if you expect something of that sort, you will be disappointed. Though it comes with an action-style plot, this is almost a quiet movie - which is one of its charms, if one can appreciate that.

The story, about an female android seeking freedom and teaming up with a space pilot to find a lost alien spaceship, battling an evil corporation on the way, is no big deal, but quite nicely done, human and believable in its context - more than can be said about some multi-million-dollar-productions. The acting sometimes is a bit on the heavy side, but strangely this somehow adds to the atmosphere this film manages to produce (rare in a SF-Film nowadays), and even helps in creating a sense of wonder, which you wouldn't expect in a movie on that budget ... The special effects are done with miniatures and they are in in their way almost stylish, so that you know you're looking at models but you don't care; one can admire what has been done here with a extremely tiny budget and how the filmmakers even managed to achieve a certain visual consistency in their film.

I bought this video by chance, not expecting much, and now find that I've seen it several times already and will continue to see it again from time to time, because in its own unpretentious, not-quite-professional way it manages to take me into another world of infinite possibilities, and what more could one ask from an SF-movie?

Note, from the beginning, that I gave this film an "8". That's because it was shot on a shoestring budget and limited resources by a guy who took it seriously and worked hard on it. Low-buck effort it may be, but it used that tiny budget to best effect, and the result IS a nicely done piece of sci-fi that, although technically dated today, will still hold up well if you overlook the fact that CGI, which is second-nature today, was something which this film did not have the advantage of enjoying.

Most of the F/X filming was done with miniatures, and I mean miniatures, along with stop-motion film work to depict the characters on "large" sets which the production simply did not have, which DID come off pretty well when you consider the limitations they were working with. Some of the F/X models of vessels were hardly larger than a human hand. Other models/sets were assembled from carefully selected ordinary consumer hardware and old military/NASA surplus items that were arranged and configured to good effect.

It was a fine effort that actually does have a decent story line that makes it interesting to watch, particularly considering that it was such a low budget film where innovation, hard work, and dedication helped to make up for the lack of Star Wars style F/X and major studio facilities, with much of this film having been shot in farmland not very far from where I live.

I had a chance to meet and speak with the director/writer at an expo/screening here in town, and he talked about many of the obstacles he and the crew had to overcome while making this film, particularly with doing the sets and F/X, interesting stuff and all in all an enlightening lecture for independent movie makers and/or anyone involved with film.

This film doesn't show up often, but when it does, you should take a look. It's made the way movies used to be made before current day standards turned many small film maker's dreams and labors of love into multi-million buck big-wheel efforts glitzed with fla$h and "kewl 'splosions an' stuff". This film is not too far removed from being a bit of an icon of how it used to be done... with some decent visuals combined with an interesting story.

I applaud it not because it's a great film, but because it turned out as well as it did with such a small amount of resources to work with. I thought enough of it to seek out and purchase a copy on video, took a while but it was out there. Check it out, and give credit where it's due.

My friend Kevin was the stunt coordinator for the film, so I lucked into being invited into town for the Kennedy Center premier of this film. I had read a copy of the shooting script (back when the title was still PENTAN) and had visited the sets on an "open house" night for some of the sets. I was wholeheartedly intrigued with what I was hoping would be a great low-budget SciFi film. What I saw on the silver screen was what could have been a great pitch film for a bigger budget release, but with much of the miniature effects very poorly done, the film was doomed. With the advent of digital filming and home-grown CGI, I'd love to see this film remade. The story had great potential, but alas not the budget to grow beyond a low-grade B-movie. With a little polishing on the script, it would have made a great multi-part episode for a show like the Outer Limits or some other SciFi anthology...even a 4-hr miniseries.

Originally released in 1987 as "Star Quest: Beyond The Rising Moon", this movie is a minor indie triumph with ambitious and charming old school, "Space:1999"-style model work and effects supporting stiff performances, pedestrian direction, and a derivative, predictable screenplay. That version is currently available on Youtube.

The "Outerworld" version now on Netflix and other sources is an appalling attempt to update and revise the film a la George Lucas's tweaks to the original STAR WARS trilogy and is about a thousand times less successful (and Lucas attempts were abject failures). No attempt has been made to mesh the original effects with the tacky and immediately-dated 2005 CGI and the film source appears to come from a very dated, late 1980s master. At the very least, a new film scan should have been struck and the original, unadulterated version made available to exist along side this "special edition" abortion but that is not the case. Ugh.

I happen to like miniature F/X when done well and while this movie sort of tips its hand that you're looking at miniatures, I liked the overall visual feel. I think some of the F/X were probably handled with very early CG mixed in (if anyone knows I'd be interested to know). There are some decent "dog fights" between the spaceships and a few good action sequences.

Overall, where the movie's lower budget showed through in my mind, was with the audio and acting. The one thing that can'e be chalked up to it having been done over 20 years ago is the acting. At times it just screams "B-movie!", but as another reviewer said, that adds to the charm. If you like older sci-fi and movies with their own stylized atmosphere, you'll probably enjoy this film.