by Michelle Willson, Feature/Entertainment Editor
“In the Shadow of the Moon” is a drama movie with a syfy twist. It starts out as a realistic fiction cop movie but quickly gets a dramatic twist.
The movie starts out in Philadelphia in the year 2024. The camera pans an empty office with telephones ringing and ominous music. The computers shake and out the window, the ground is on fire.
Then the screen goes black with just the numbers 1988 showing. So one would guess that it is showing how the world got to where it did.
It then cuts to 3 random people bleeding and falling.
At this point, I would like to say if you are afraid or sickened at the sight of blood I would not suggest watching this. I would say that you could skip the scenes with blood but that would be a majority of the movie and you would miss some major plot points.
It’s quickly evident that the three random victims are all linked. Though their deaths were minutes apart and their bodies were miles apart. They were all injected with an unstable isotope.
The movie progresses through time in steps of 9 years from 1997, 2006 and 2015. The screen goes black with the year flashed up so it is easy to follow the progression of time.
The time period is evident throughout the movie. It is shown in the used character development, the wardrobe, and the setting if you are paying enough attention.
Viewers get a look into how the characters age and viewers are left to dwell upon what happened to them in those 9 years.
I liked this tactic because the movie is set up so well that viewers can come up with the missing info on their own with a little thought.
The use of slow-motion and subtle effects adds to the story. In some cases, I think too much of it can be a distraction and take attention away from the plot but I feel like “In the Shadow of the Moon” had a really good balance.
There were some sound effects that I thought were so loud it was distracting. Like car screeches and horns but some of my favorite scenes were the ones that the dialogue faded out leaving just subtle background music and you just got to watch the actors.
The foreshadowing is evident when you finnish the movie. You are left thinking “why didn’t I catch that”
The movie really leaves nothing to the imagination. No one is left wondering what happens next. It really just irons itself out.
I like this kind of ending. I hate when movies end on a cliffhanger and never wrap up the story. I understand if they expect to have a sequel but if a sequel is not coming I want to leave the movie feeling satisfied with the ending.
I would give this movie 3.5 out of 5 stars.