First Moon – Movie Review
First Reaction – First Moon is an interesting spin on the sub-genre of horror.
Where to Watch
FIRST MOON ON DIGITAL AND ON DEMAND MAY 06
Director: Peter McLeod
Writer: Peter McLeod (Screenplay)
Cast
- Lauren Esposito (The Conjuring 2)
- Julian Curtis (Love, Courage and the Battle of Bushy Run)
- Shannon Ryan
- Soren Jensen (Portable Door)
- Mitchell Slater (Malibu Crush)
Plot: A young waitress is abducted by a religious cult, who are hell-bent on curing her from a sexually transmitted werewolf virus – or killing her in the process. Will she escape before the first full moon?
Runtime: 1 Hour 37 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: First Moon starts when Jessica (Esposito) is abducted by a religious cult led by Thomas (Curtis) and Elyse (Ryan). They claim to be saving her from an evil that has taken over her body. Jessica is put through intense tests to prove who she is, as the cult promises to save her.
As Jessica questions how she can escape her captors, she begins getting visits from past victims. There is a threat coming that she isn’t prepared for, as the cult continues attempting to rescue her before it is too late.
Verdict on First Moon
Recap
The movie follows a young waitress who is abducted by a religious cult. They believe she has evil in her and plan to help her get rid of the problems she is facing. However, she is unaware of the changes she is going through and must rush to escape before it is too late.
Best Parts
The movie takes a fresh approach to the werewolf story, while leaning into the potential of it being in the cult’s heads. It uses their preparations to save someone to drive the story forward. The pacing until the reveal is effective, not giving too much away too early. Elsewhere, the performances are strong throughout the movie.
Worst Parts
Some of the tests are too generic for the torture and felt more like wanting to shock than achieving anything. We could have also dived deeper into the previous connections with the other victims.
Final Thoughts –First Moon is a twisted change to the werewolf sub-genre.