A 1994 low-budget first feature, Steven Hanft's barely watchable "Kill the Moonlight" is a black comedy about a hapless "good old boy" named Chance who cruises through a month of misadventures in the working-class milieu of suburban Southern California.
There are more than a few heavy-metal desperadoes out there who might relate to the laconic lead character, but it's no shock that "Moonlight" is only booked for Friday-Saturday midnight shows at Laemmle's Sunset 5 Theatre.
Starring nonactors, the movie is neither realistic nor surrealistic enough to achieve its goals. Costing only $14,000, "Moonlight" is anything but polished technically, while the storytelling is heavily reliant on narration and montages.
Living with his bitter, nasty old dad (Ralston Regan), young long-hair Chance Thomas Hendrix) is separated from his party-girl wife (Maria Hassabi), but dreams of fame and fortune as a professional race-car driver.
The film concerns his quest to find money to repair his stock car in time for a local race.
A gardener and can-recycler on the side, Chance's primary job is at a fishery.
In desperation he steals a shotgun, sells it and contemplates more serious heists. But in the dreary odyssey of this comfortably numb loser, a friendly stripper (Beata Henrichs) invites him into her bed and even helps him out financially.
Other developments include Chance's career selling drugs for a slick frat-boy gangster (Hanft), but this leads to a confrontation that is little more than a tiresome inside joke, with the lead actor getting to deck the filmmaker. It is the most passionate moment in a world of sluggish, dense people who just aren't that funny to spend time with.
A successful music video director (Beck's "Loser" and "Where It's At"), Hanft employs every film-school device to cinematically stretch out sequences, but it all comes off as pretentious nonsense.
The performances, albeit raw, are a major problem. Hendrix is stiff and lacks charisma, while the character itself needed far more development to keep one's interest.
KILL THE MOONLIGHT
Rabid Jester Films
Writer-director-producer Steven Hanft
Director of photography-editor Steven Hanft
Color/stereo
Cast:
Chance Thomas Hendrix
Father Ralston Regan
Cindy Beata Henrichs
Sandra Maria Hassabi
Running time -- 78 minutes
No MPAA rating...
There are more than a few heavy-metal desperadoes out there who might relate to the laconic lead character, but it's no shock that "Moonlight" is only booked for Friday-Saturday midnight shows at Laemmle's Sunset 5 Theatre.
Starring nonactors, the movie is neither realistic nor surrealistic enough to achieve its goals. Costing only $14,000, "Moonlight" is anything but polished technically, while the storytelling is heavily reliant on narration and montages.
Living with his bitter, nasty old dad (Ralston Regan), young long-hair Chance Thomas Hendrix) is separated from his party-girl wife (Maria Hassabi), but dreams of fame and fortune as a professional race-car driver.
The film concerns his quest to find money to repair his stock car in time for a local race.
A gardener and can-recycler on the side, Chance's primary job is at a fishery.
In desperation he steals a shotgun, sells it and contemplates more serious heists. But in the dreary odyssey of this comfortably numb loser, a friendly stripper (Beata Henrichs) invites him into her bed and even helps him out financially.
Other developments include Chance's career selling drugs for a slick frat-boy gangster (Hanft), but this leads to a confrontation that is little more than a tiresome inside joke, with the lead actor getting to deck the filmmaker. It is the most passionate moment in a world of sluggish, dense people who just aren't that funny to spend time with.
A successful music video director (Beck's "Loser" and "Where It's At"), Hanft employs every film-school device to cinematically stretch out sequences, but it all comes off as pretentious nonsense.
The performances, albeit raw, are a major problem. Hendrix is stiff and lacks charisma, while the character itself needed far more development to keep one's interest.
KILL THE MOONLIGHT
Rabid Jester Films
Writer-director-producer Steven Hanft
Director of photography-editor Steven Hanft
Color/stereo
Cast:
Chance Thomas Hendrix
Father Ralston Regan
Cindy Beata Henrichs
Sandra Maria Hassabi
Running time -- 78 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 6/16/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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