Tweet
Released by: Scorpion Releasing
Released on: July 22nd, 2019.
Director: Gary Graver
Cast: Britt Ekland, John Phillip Law, William Smith, Lewis Van Bergen, April Wayne, Robert Quarry
Year: 1987
Purchase From RoninFlix
Moon In Scorpio - Movie Review:
Gary Graver is best known for a host of adult pictures he made from the 70's on into the 90's - either that or his affiliation with Orson Welles. Or maybe for directing Trick Of Treats in 1982. Or maybe even 1990's Evil Spirits. He's definitely not best known for 1987's Moon In Scorpio, and that's because it's a mess.
Dr. Khorda (Robert Quarry) and a private dick named Richard Vargas (Don Scribner) are on the hunt for a killer recently escaped from St. Annia's Hospital. In process of tracking the killer down, the board a boat floating off of the California coast. Here they're surprised to find Linda (Britt Ekland) who tells them that her husband, Allen (John Phillip Law), decided at the last second that they were going to travel to Acapulco - how romantic! Nope, not romantic at all, because along for the sail are Allen's pals from the time he spent overseas in Vietnam, Mark (Lewis Van Bergen) and Burt (William Smith). We see some Vietnam flashbacks and learn of some of the killings that occurred at the hospital, launching Khorda and Vargas' investigation.
They set sail and things quickly go south as Burt's lady friend Claire (Jillian Kesner), a raging drunk, soon winds up overboard. Mark's girlfriend Isabel (April Wayne) then starts muttering something about 'Moon in Scorpio' and eventually someone starts killing people off.
The structure of this film is problematic. It's clear that reshoots and reediting was done, possibly a few times, so it's tough to say completely how much of this is Graver's actual vision, but yeah, issues abound, not the least of which is the monotoned narration from Ekland's character that frequently just tells us what we're looking at, kind of like a bad William Friedkin commentary (as opposed to a good one, and they do exist, but you know… sometimes he likes to narrate things). Much of the story unfolds via flashback with Linda talking to Khorda about her experiences. It seems like this material was added later, it doesn't always jibe with the footage that takes place in and around the boat. It's all very clunky and not particularly well put together.
Ekland is not good here, but she isn't the only problem. Quarry often time had exception screen presence but that's never duly exploited in this picture. John Phillip Law is okay and William Smith is fun but they don't get enough screen time to save the picture. Kesner and Wayne are little more than eye candy, but they do that well enough.
The movie does have some nice atmosphere at times. Those with a soft spot for horror pictures that take place at sea will appreciate the setting and, to be fair, a couple of the kill scenes are nicely staged and surprisingly effective.
Moon In Scorpio - Blu-ray Review:
Moon In Scorpio is presented in AVC encoded 1080p high definition and framed at 1.85.1 widescreen on a 25GB disc. This isn't the flashiest looking film ever made but the transfer does it justice without any issues. Aside from some print damage in the opening credits the picture is very clean, showing a natural amount of grain but not much in the way of scratches or debris. Colors are rendered nicely and black levels are fine. No problems with compression or DNR and no edge enhancement to complain about.
The only audio option for the feature is a DTS-HD 2.0 Mono mix. Optional subtitles are provided in English only. Audio quality is fine. Dialogue stays clean and clear throughout and the track is properly balanced, free of any hiss or distortion.
Extras are limited to trailers for Shredder, Curse III: Blood Sacrifice, Land Of Doom, Gas Pump Girls and The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood. Menus and chapter selection are also provided. The cover art is pretty bad ass though!
Moon In Scorpio - The Final Word:
Moon In Scorpio is weird enough to work as a curiosity item but man oh man does this film have a host of problems. You'd think with a cast as strong as this picture can boast, it would rise above the meager levels it hits but it just doesn't happen. There's some atmosphere here and there and some interesting moments that will appeal to cult film enthusiasts, but definitely keep your expectations in check here. That said, Scorpion's Blu-ray release looks and sounds quite good, making it the ideal way to see this clunker.
Click on the images below for full sized Moon In Scorpio Blu-ray screen caps!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5WG...R9GbtiRIQk7z6A
So, with this podcast, I was expecting something lengthy and detailed, similar to a commentary. Instead it's a 20 min overview that doesn't get into MOON for nearly the first third. So, it seems like Scorpion was correct to request a video interview.
This was during the last set of reshoots.