Four escapees from a mental facility have escaped. They’re also high on LSD that has been given to them as part of their treatment (!) They start to terrorise the residents (and pets) of a small community, primarily a hotel which houses a choral troupe from a posh all-girls school and their teachers.

I had only heard of Killers Moon a couple of days ago when I saw the trailer for the first time. Thankfully, the full film was on YouTube.

What was it about British-made exploitation films from the 70s? These films seem to have acted as a social barometer for a certain element of British society at this time, with as many boundaries being pushed as possible and transgression being the sole purpose (not that I’m complaining). This would arguably lead onto Throbbing Gristle and punk rock.

Killer’s Moon is a fantastically extreme piece of 70s horror cinema. It also steers itself into some VERY challenging places with its subject matter and the fact that most of the film’s characters are schoolgirls. One young actress had to prove to the BBFC that she was over 16 when the film was shot.

I love that the killers all wear white a la A Clockwork Orange. It’s also very novel that they all think they are experiencing a group dream and that the events they’re going through aren’t real and so they can be as extreme as they like.

The film’s escaped criminals reminded me of Wes Craven’s Last House on the Left, and I wonder if the director had seen this opus before he started work on this movie.

Killers Moon can be compared to other such brilliant pieces of British exploitation, some of which got the kudos they deserved (Straw Dogs, A Clockwork Orange) and some which didn’t (the filmography of the great Pete Walker). It’s edgy, unsettling, but thoroughly British through and through.

The great Fay Weldon apparently wrote a lot of the screenplay but is uncredited. She is the sister of credited screenwriter and director of Killer’s Moon, Alan Birkinshaw.

Killer’s Moon is well worth checking out.

4 out of 5 stars