Charisma Carpenter stars in Voodoo Moon, a horror fantasy that’s laden with special effects galore. Carpenter, best known to TV viewers as Cordelia from Buffy The Vampire Slayer and its spin off Angel, appears here as Heather, one half of a brother/sister team who barely escaped with their lives from a massacre that slaughtered their parents--along with most of the population of their hometown--when they were kids. In the years since, her brother Cole (played with straight-laced, B-movie intensity by Eric Mabius) has become something of a demon hunter in his own right who could rival Buffy. He’s been hunting down the demonic force that was responsible for the massacre of his hometown.
But while in the past Cole had defeated this evil meanie--who usually appears in the form of a
handsome, charismatic young man who sweet talks people into doing his bidding--these
were only skirmishes in an ongoing war
that is continuously being waged all over the world. But the war will soon have its
climatic battle as Cole telepathically calls together all of those whom he had
helped in the past for a final showdown in his former hometown, which has now
been completely submerged. Written and directed by Kevin Van Hook, who got his
start in the special effects field, Voodoo Moon has its share of impressive
visual effects that are very well done.
The cast is also very impressive in how it's filled with solid professionals; as well as having the aforementioned Carpenter, John Amos also stars as Dutch, a rough and tumble biker who answers Cole’s call. And The Re-animator’s Jeffery Combs, as well as ET’s Dee Wallace, also round out the army of light. Yet despite a great cast and solid production values, there are moments when the pacing of Voodoo Moon slows to that of a zombie’s gait, especially where everybody finally meets up. There’s also some gaping plot holes, such as if Cole is such a badass who can fling zombies away with just the flick of his hand, then why does he even need this large group of assistants to begin with?
But if you’re willing to accept the plot holes--as well as fast forward through
the really slow parts--then Voodoo Moon should be a fun popcorn flick for horror
movie fans. The DVD is loaded with special features, including a commentary,
deleted scenes, a pair of short making of featurettes, and a photo gallery.
The film is not rated, but it has plenty of gore effects, as well as nude
scenes--including one with full frontal female nudity--so it’s not for the kids.
While not perfect, Voodoo Moon is still an imaginative supernatural horror film
that’s filled with plenty of B-movie fun. Here’s hoping Kevin Van Hook and his
talented crew keep making more movies.
--SF
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