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Seventh Moon

Synopsis

A stunning and nail-biting horror experience from the director of The Blair Witch Project. American tourists Melissa and Yul are honeymooning in rural China and enjoying the exotic 'Hungry Ghost' festival, as night falls however they find they've been abandoned in a remote and seemingly deserted village. Frustration soon gives way to fear as the young couple try to find their way back to the main road and realise they are being stalked by strange and disturbing figures that suddenly and shockingly appear out of the darkness.

Reviews

10 years ago The Blair Witch Project set the film world alight with a level of realism never seen before, and the horror genre was given a new kind of fear to live up to. As part of the Blair Witch anniversary celebrations which include a special screening of the original print of the movie, director Eduardo Sanchez’s second non-Blair Witch feature gets its UK premiere at Day of the Dead, one of the must-see events of the Fanomenon calendar. Amy Smart, best known for her Hollywood roles in Just Friends, Crank and Scrubs, makes the move from being just the object of some love struck guy’s affections to scream queen extraordinaire. Melissa (Smart) and Yul’s trip across China to meet Yul’s family in preparation for their imminent wedding is soon interrupted when their suspicious taxi driver disappears after stopping to ask for directions. Whilst trying to find him, it is soon clear they are not alone: it is the seventh moon of the calendar when, as we are told by an expositional intertitle, the gates of hell open and demons walk the earth. Mysteriously blood drenched cars and grating screams with no origin are just some of the trademark signifiers of all not being well, and will be definitely ring a bell for Blair Witch fans. When we meet the cause of these happenings, the film takes a terrifying turn as Melissa and Yul give a very literal meaning to the phrase ‘running from your demons’ as the borders of their reality and nightmares become blurred in a seemingly inescapable hell on earth where no-one will help them but each other. Yes, the love story between Melissa and Yul is quite sweet and believable, but the demons themselves are what the film will be about for horror fans. They are perhaps all too similar but no less disturbing than those of The Descent; further comparisons with which come thick and fast towards the end of the film. Still, there is certainly something terrifying about the ghoulish humanoid monster that can chill you to the bone, an effect greatened by the unusual yet effective use, or lack of, lighting. Who knows what could be lurking in the dark? Seventh Moon plays on this childhood fear with heart-in-your-mouth results. The woodland setting, the mysterious noises, the entire film comprising of handheld camera shots – you might be fooled that this is indeed going to be Blair Witch 3 (which, incidentally, is rumoured to be Sanchez’s next project; a prequel to the original or a sequel set 15 years on). As with Blair Witch, it may have you screaming ‘for the love of God use a steadycam!’, and some negativity may be directed towards the American xenophobic paranoia at Melissa and Yul not being helped by the stubborn rural Chinese characters, or the sexualised cultish sequences reminiscent of Blair Witch 2. Taking a more positive stance, the handheld camera creates a realist documentary-style, added to by acting which feels almost improvised. This provides an ominous sense of voyeurism which is distinct from Sanchez’s previous offerings, adding realism to what could otherwise have been a mediocre narrative in other directorial hands. Seventh Moon is a suspenseful opener for Night of the Dead, and being introduced by Robin Cowie who also produced Blair Witch, it will be the start of one hell of a night. Suspense, darkness, mysterious figures and cultish elements are becoming iconic of Sanchez and Cowie’s productions, so if for some reason you fancy a change from zombies, guts and gore, then Seventh Moon will serve you well as an edge-of-your-seat spine-tingler.