Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Whatever Olaf Ittenbach lacks as a technical filmmaker (and that's enough to be an entire book of its own) he makes up for it in pure enthusiasm. In terms of narrative and plot construction, most of this films completely suck—but the gleeful abandon with which he piles on the gore FX makes up for almost all of his shortcomings.

The Burning Moon was Ittenbach's second directorial outing, coming three years after his little-seen debut, Black Past. Like all Ittenbach fare, it exists almost solely as a showcase for some of the most disgustingly graphic special FX ever captured on tape (courtesy of Ittenbach himself—Olaf is something of a renaissance man). Pacing, narrative logic, good acting—all of that takes a backseat to the saucy stuff. His films may not be polished, but they sure are bloody—and that's enough for me.

To be fair, Ittenbach is a better filmmaker than compatriot Andreas Schnaas (of Violent Sh*t fame). Both directors have made a name for themselves in the shot-on-video German gore market—no doubt inspired by guys like Jorg Buttgereit. One thing that both Ittenbach and Schnaas have on Jorg is that there films are actually entertaining—which is not something I can say for any of the Buttgereit films I've sat through (which is all of them). Olaf may have issues with the aesthetics of filmmaking, but at least his films have never put me to sleep.

The Burning Moon is an interesting film in the director's oeuvre—an anthology flick featuring two tales and a framing device about a drug-addled loser reading sick bedtime stories to his little sister. The first story, Julia's Lover, is a straightforward psycho stalker piece. Escaped mental patient Clive Parker (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) goes on a date with the fetching Julia. When she figures out that he's an escaped psycho, she ditches him—and as payback he comes to her house and slaughters everyone he finds in the most grisly fashion possible.

While not nearly as ambitious as the film's second offering, Julia's Lover works because Ittenbach keeps things simple narratively. He does manage to insert one of the oddest dream sequences ever in the episode (which appears almost completely out of left field) and the pacing is terrible at various points, but it's a serviceable entry in the stalk-and-slash subgenre…and it features a great exploding head gag, which is one of the quickest ways to my black and twisted heart.

The second story, The Purity, is far more ambitious—and far more flawed—than Julia's Lover. A satanic priest murders and rapes women in the countryside before committing suicide. Unfortunately, the locals think a bumbling farmer is the real killer, so they off him as retribution. Unfortunately for them, he comes back as a zombie and kills people…then people wind up in Hell, where things get really gory.

As far as gore is concerned, The Purity is a classic. The Hell sequence at the climax is an endless barrage of atrocity that must be seen to be believed. Demons use corkscrews on eyeballs, rip out guts, peel off faces, and in the coup de grace, they quarter a guy. It's truly a thing of beauty.

The shame of The Purity is that the gory excess of the FX sequences carries over to the rest of the plot. I don't mind when Ittenbach has no restraint while showing me disgusting images of human depravity. I do wish he'd reign himself in a bit when the story runs about 20-minutes longer than it needs to following events and characters that are at best tangentially related to the rest of the story. This is, of course, a highlighting of Ittenbach's greatest flaw as an artist—he comes up with some grand ideas, but they're often ideas beyond the scope of his abilities. He needs a collaborator (preferably a writer) to cut the chaff. When he gets this, his films could reach the next level.

Problems aside, fans looking for hardcore gore will not be disappointed. Yes, it often seems like Ittenbach came up with the Hell sequence then had to build a film around it, but if you were gonna build an entire film around one gore sequence, this is one of the ones that's really worthy of the honor. The Burning Moon is not an example of great screenwriting or filmmaking—but as a primer on how to do shot-on-video gore and do it right, the film has few peers.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age