Summer's Moon Review
Starring: Twilight's Ashley Greene
This movie was intense! Read my reaction throughout the movie or skip to the bottom after "OVERALL" to read my basic review of the movie.
The beginning scene was eerie and immediately reminded me of the 100 Monkeys comical song, Keep Awake. "I'm in the kitchen with the knife that's itching for your red blood... on those white sheets." Watch it and you'll be humming it to yourself as well. (BTW the logo looks like the twilight logo, same font or something).
So Ashley comes on screen and I immediately hear the hint of a southern accent. It's very slight, but I think she pulls it off quite well. Of course with the perverted guy whom she had taken a ride from, Summer (Greene) puts him in his place by pulling out a gun and warning him to not make a move on her. A bit of profanity in that southern twang and the movie continues without a hitch.
Summer stops at a convenience store and steals a few bags of chips before a cop chases her out. She joins a guy who offers her a ride and steers the cop toward the other way. Introducing himself as Tom and jokes a bit about the cop nailing him on a DUI a while back. Offering her a joint, they share a beer and converse casually about what else they can do to pass the time. She asks for a place where people in their fifties hang out. She is looking for her father according to the info. Throughout the bar scene, you can tell there is more of an accent.
Random chick on a motorcycle who knows Tom apparently. Sassy remarks from Summer. Next house is about 1/4 mile up. So they are FAR from other houses and people. Uh-oh. There are bolts on the windows.
If you are with your parents and/or someone older over your shoulder, please fast-forward when they lean against the fridge. A risque scene may be inappropriate for your young eyes. If you are like me, and have seen Ashley Greene's nude scandal because Perez Hilton didn't censor the pictures when he posted them on his site, then you are free to watch it. Though, from what I see, the mom is leaning against the door listening to her son do the nasty like she is a pervert. Foreshadowing? Who knows.
Summer leaves the room in the morning, looking to miss those "awkward goodbyes" after stealing some money of course. Tom is not going to let her leave and hard-ass Summer pulls out a gun, with no bullets. Tom has removed the bullets, but his crazy mom smacks her on the head with a frying pan, knocking her out. Something tells me this movie is going to be bad, but nevertheless, let's continue. (as you can tell, I am writing this review while watching the movie).
Dead bird in the cage reminds me of Jefferson, the duck in Hurt (the horror flick with Jackson Rathbone). Moving on... I believe that is the father searching the house for someone named Amber. I'm sure it will come up soon.
Summer wakes up to being chained, hearing the groans of another captive and seeing skulls all around the room. Tom tries to calm her down even though Amber, the other captive, is twitching and barely alice. Tom holds up a skull to show his other former captive. He promises he doesn't hurt women, but something tells me he is telling the truth. I think his father does the hurting. Tom just brings the women.
Ashley once said she hoped the movie was released because she didn't like the months being cooped up in a dirty basement. Watch this movie for that. It must suck to be down there filming for months on end.
Two months have passed since he's captured Amber and they seem to disregard the suspicions. Summer begs to be released, telling him she just wants to see her father before she dies. Lying in a pile of dirt, Summer will be used for another garden. Gross, huh? Note to self: don't go to a bar and go home with a guy.
By this point, I'm confused as hell. What's up with this garden and why is he so determined to keep it? Amber is going crazy... I am, too...
This is worse than Pray For Morning and Hurt combined. My sister disagrees.
Okay, so Summer's mom didn't want to see her dad ever again so she lied and said she had a miscarriage. Summer, pissed beyond belief, runs away with her mother's gun in search of her father. Tom is doing the same as her mother by keeping Summer away from her father. I have a feeling Tom will release her soon to help her find him, maybe fall in love with her or something. When's Amber gunna kick the bucket though?
Mom is wracked with guilt about Amber because the sheriff asked her about the missing girl. She orders Tom to let the girls go. Wrong move, mama, and holy crap INCEST! TOM IS PSYCHO.
Seriously, why doesn't the mom, while Tom is out, go down, let the girls free and then run away? I would. I don't get it. Summer's smart enough to get Amber, who only has chains on her feet, to get a tool so they can escape. Amber smacks her head and dies. Summer begs the mom to let her free. She says no cause it's only about a half hour into the movie.
Tom's crying after burying Amber. Why is he feeling guilty all of a sudden? Now he's going through Summer's clothes and being a perverted guy. He finds her diary(?). After that, he unlocks her chains and promises he won't hurt her. He bathes her and still doesn't hurt her, but also doesn't explain the change of heart.
"I will kill you in your sleep, so you better try, try to keep awake."
She tries to run away and Tom chains her again. So if she plays nice than she can stay upstairs and be safe. My sister thinks that Amber's father is Summer's, too. I agree. Tom allows Summer to bathe frequently. How nice. Now I think that Tom's father is Summer's father after the mom was pissed off and grabbed her face. Now Tom is all lovey-dovey and I think I'm right.
Maybe Amber's father, Darwin, will be the one to expose Tom. Tom agrees to let Summer stay upstairs when he is home, but downstairs when he is gone. The mom tells Summer to think of them as her family. Summer continues to abide by Tom's rules... Be prepared to fast-forward again.
Tom's father picks up a prostitute to add to his son's collection, perhaps? Like father, like son, Tom's dad is a pimp, not literally. He is a pervert.
Summer asks Tom to start a life over with her, saying she loves him and promising that they can have kids and escape. He doesn't like that, sees through her game, and chains her up again.
Smart girl refuses Tom's offer to a ride of death. Tom is crazy in case you didn't know. I feel like this review is starting to suck, but hopefully there is some comic relief for you all if you've even made it this far.
Tom gets the mechanic who knew about him being the last one who saw Amber. Business cards or something falls out of his pocket, which will be used eventually probably. The mechanic uses Summer's distractions as a way to escape. She stabs Tom but Summer trips her from leaving that easy.
Tom took the other one to distract him from Summer? Nah, honey, don't flatter yourself. Oh, the mechanic's name is Jessie. And Amber's father find the business cards. OOOOO! Here's where it picks up(?).
Tom is really considering running away with Summer, but as Amber's dad comes to his house, Summer takes that time to run away. Tom dashes in the house to get a gun and after eventually convincing Darwin to open the freaking car door, Tom is already there, shooting Darwin, leaving Summer covered in blood and running away while Tom yells for her not to do anything stupid. Too freaking late.
Summer is in the basement again. Daddy's home. Oh shitaki mushrooms.
The picture was of Tom's dad and Summer's mom. Uh-oh, perverted dad time! WEEEEE!
This is the WEIRDEST MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN. That's what makes this horror, I guess. Rape with Jessie?
Only 20 minutes left and Tom's dad will now rape the two girls? What is going on?! So Jessie is dead and Summer is shaking with fear, not speaking to him, not moving. Good acting on Ashley's end.
"What is up with the mom?" - my sister
That's my question, too. She's so weird. She was guilty in the beginning and now she's pissy about Summer being Tom's father's daughter. So... Tom and Summer being together is DISGUSTING.
Summer lies about her mom so that the dad doesn't find her, I guess. He claims it's fate.
Cue a knock at the door and the music building up intensity. The sheriff is there, but the mom goes to the door. Darwin's car was burned to a crisp, so he was inquiring about the car. Asks about Tom's friendliness toward Amber.
IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED/PLAN ON WATCHING THIS MOVIE, DON'T READ THIS PART:
Mom's been having fun with the sheriff, or so Gant, the dad, says. Gant tells Summer to pack and follow him upstate, but Tom is staying. Tom refuses to let Summer go. Uses the same threat Tom used on Summer earlier.
Is this a duel? Tom and Kent in a survival of the fittest? Kent begs for death and Tom doesn't do it. Kent is paranoid about his wife's adultery. Tom comes back in with a gun and says, "I'll show you how much of a man I really am." Gant grabs the gun and shoots Tom dead before he has the guts to do it himself. Whoever plays Tom is moving around, twitching on the ground. Gant shoots the mom dead, too.
Gant is an AMAZING actor. He is so crazy. He tells Summer to pack her bags.
Gant walks away from the car to go to the bathroom and summer is left alone. RUN, SUMMER, RUN!!! She didn't run... But she comes right out of the car, walks over to him and stabs him repeatedly, telling the woman that Gant was in the process of seducing that he was going to kill the both of them. Walking toward the car with a bloody hand, it fades to black and the credits roll.
OVERALL:
Overall the movie wasn't half bad. I take back what I said about it being worse than the crap Jackson has done. It took a long time for the plot to set up. That was it's biggest flaw. Ashley Greene = great actress; I thought Ashley Greene did a phenomenal job in showing the anxiety and jumpiness that was a result of what she had witnessed and the abuse she endured.
The end was very 'WTF' all the time, but the suspense gets you going. You don't expect ANYTHING that happens at the end, but overall I recommend the movie. ESPECIALLY if you don't like Ashley Greene and think she can't act (like I did). Ashley Greene can definitely act and she is damn good! I hope to see her in more soon other than Twilight! Some more complex roles like Jackson has tried with Criminal Minds. That'd be a good place to start!
Ashley Greene = Great Actress
Plot Development = long process, quite confusing
Ending = suspenseful and unexpected
4/5 stars
Posts
