Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Moon In Scorpio (Scorpion Releasing) Blu-ray Review

Collapse
X
Collapse
  •  
    Ian Jane
    Administrator

  • Moon In Scorpio (Scorpion Releasing) Blu-ray Review



    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!






























    • Nabonga
      #1
      Nabonga
      Senior Member
      Nabonga commented
      Editing a comment
      Fred Olen Ray did an interesting episode on his fun bite sized "One Take Territory" podcast (it's on Spotify) shedding some light on the production. Recommended listening.

      https://open.spotify.com/episode/5WG...R9GbtiRIQk7z6A
      Nabonga
      Senior Member
      Last edited by Nabonga; 09-14-2019, 12:57 PM.

    • John Lyons
      #2
      John Lyons
      Senior Member
      John Lyons commented
      Editing a comment
      Apparently, Ray was approached by Scorpion to do a video interview and turned down the request (he claims he wanted to do a commentary instead, something which Scorpion reportedly was unable to accommodate), so he's not present on the disc.
      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.

    • JoeS
      #3
      JoeS
      Senior Member
      JoeS commented
      Editing a comment
      Here's my cameo in the film! The handsome Baseball Cap dude on the left. With character actor Carl D. Parker (r).

      This was during the last set of reshoots.


      Click image for larger version

Name:	moon in scorpio.jpg
Views:	1
Size:	26.1 KB
ID:	356706
    Posting comments is disabled.

Latest Articles

Collapse

  • Hot Spur (Severin Films) Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Severin Films
    Released on: April 30th, 2024.
    Director: Lee Frost
    Cast: Joseph Mascolo, Virginia Goodman, John Alderman
    Year: 1969
    Purchase From Amazon

    Hot Spur – Movie Review:

    Director Lee Frost and Producer Bob Cresse's film, Hot Spur, opens in Texas in 1869 with a scene where a pair of cowboys wanders into a bar where they call over a pretty Mexican waitress and coerce her into dancing for them. She obliges, but
    ...
    03-22-2024, 11:53 AM
  • Death Squad (Mondo Macabro) Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Mondo Macabro
    Released on: April 9th, 2024.
    Director: Max Pecas
    Cast: Thierry de Carbonnières, Jean-Marc Maurel, Denis Karvil, Lillemour Jonsson
    Year: 1985
    Purchase From Amazon

    Death Squad – Movie Review:

    Also known as Brigade Of Death, French sleaze auteur Max Pecas’ 1985 film, Death Squad, opens with a night time scene outside of Paris in the Bois de Boulogne Forest where cars pass by a small gang of transsexual
    ...
    03-22-2024, 11:46 AM
  • Roommates (Quality X) Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Quality X
    Released on: February 28th, 2024.
    Director: Chuck Vincent
    Cast: Samantha Fox, Vernoica Hart, Kelly Nichols, Jerry Butler, Jamie Gillis
    Year: 1982
    Purchase From Amazon

    Roommates – Movie Review:

    Directed by Chuck Vincent and released in 1982, Roommates opens with a scene where a young woman named Joan Harmon (Veronica Hart) gets a hotel room with an older man named Ken (Don Peterson, credited as Phil Smith),
    ...
    03-15-2024, 01:10 PM
  • Night Of The Blood Monster (Blue Underground) UHD/Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Blue Underground
    Released on: March 26th, 2024.
    Director: Jess Franco
    Cast: Christopher Lee, Maria Rohm, Dennis Price
    Year: 1970
    Purchase From Amazon

    Night Of The Blood Monster – Movie Review:

    Directed by Jess Franco, The Bloody Judge (or, Night Of The Blood Monster, as it is going by on this new release from Blue Underground) isn't quite the salacious exercise in Eurotrash you might expect it to be, and while it
    ...
    03-15-2024, 01:07 PM
  • Phase IV (Vinegar Syndrome) UHD/Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
    Released on: March 26th, 2024.
    Director: Saul Bass
    Cast: Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy, Lynne Frederick, Alan Gifford, Robert Henderson, Helen Horton
    Year: 1974
    Purchase From Amazon

    Phase IV – Movie Review:

    Saul Bass’ 1974 sci-fi/thriller Phase IV is an interesting blend of nature run amuck stereotypes and Natural Geographic style nature footage mixed into one delicious cocktail of suspense and
    ...
    03-15-2024, 01:02 PM
  • The Bounty Hunter Trilogy (Radiance Films) Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Radiance Films
    Released on: March 26th, 2024.
    Director: Shigehiro Ozawa, Eiichi Kudo
    Cast: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Minoru Ôki, Arashi Kanjuro, Bin Amatsu, Chiezo Kataoka
    Year: 1969-1972
    Purchase From Amazon

    The Bounty Hunter Trilogy – Movie Review:

    Radiance Films gathers together the three films in Toie Studios’ Bounty Hunter Trilogy, starring the inimitable Tomisaburo Wakayama. Here’s how the three movies in this
    ...
    03-13-2024, 11:30 AM
Working...
X