'In the Shadow of the Moon' Is a Gripping Science Fiction Mystery Thriller

The critical reaction for In the Shadow of the Moon was mixed.  But, flawed as it is, I like it.  Such kind of low-key science fiction movie is my jam, and I can’t believe it flew under my radar last year.

The film follows a detective named Thomas Lockhart (Boyd Holbrook) through the course of decades as he resolves on stopping an enigmatic serial killer.  It starts in 1988, when Lockhart, still a beat cop, first encounters the remarkable case which will consume his life ahead.  Several seemingly unrelated victims spontaneously hemorrhage to death, and the sole suspect is a young black woman with a hoodie and a wounded hand (Cleopatra Coleman).  Since then, every nine years, during a blood moon and within one day, the same kind of murders occurs, and the same hooded woman pops out.  As he becomes more obsessed with the case, his sanity, hygiene, career, and relationship with his family deteriorate further.

It’s like True Detective with a sci-fi twist.  And, for the most part, it’s exactly as interesting as that concept sounds.  It has a gripping mystery at the center, in which the “who” isn’t the intriguing unknown, but the “how” and “why.”  Although one who watches enough movies will easily guess the sci-fi twist at play here as well as the probable motivation of the villain, the narrative that incrementally reveals the answers is still compelling.  In other words, it’s somewhat predictable, but it’s not boring.

(Warning: I will not directly reveal what’s the main sci-fi conceit involved in this movie, but I will be dropping some hints that will heavily suggest what it is.  So, if you plan to watch the movie and don’t want that element fully revealed, then I suggest you stop reading further and just watch it. Otherwise, read on.)

So, if I have to make a more accurate allusion or description for its premise, In the Shadow of the Moon is True Detective (or Zodiac) and 12 Monkeys rolled into one.  And such premise creates a unique dynamic where the protagonist (Lockhart) and the antagonist (the serial killer) are both the hero and villain of the story, depending on the perspective, as one is moving forward and the other is moving backward.

It has a lot of good things going for it, but it’s also not perfect.  The ending, while arguably moving in a dramatic sense for its main character, is a bit weak.  Let’s put it this way: while the movie never gets boring, the ending part nearly becomes so as it becomes a tad reliant on exposition dumps.  Moreover, while I understand that it’s going for a more sentimental ending, I think it would have been more cerebrally gratifying if it had a more 12 Monkeys-ish ending.

Its moral is also fundamentally awkward and shallow.  It presents an “ends justify the means” message with no substantial ethical struggling involved with it.  It might be just me, but it even feels like it somewhat relishes in it.  In relation to this, it has a racial-political undertone that isn’t necessarily invalid, but doesn’t have the cleverness or creativity that allows it to not feel forced and tired.

In the end, I found In the Shadow of the Moon to be generally riveting and fresh.  As a genre film, it’ll please one’s cravings for both kinetic, methodical police procedurals and smart, connect-the-dots science fiction.