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Cast: William Atherton,Gil Bellows,James Oliver,Charles Napier
When Sheriff Charlie Dexton, of the small town of Wrightsville, Texas investigates a mysterious death at the local diner he is forced to confront his past, when he must navigate his way through the dark underbelly of his seemingly once pleasant home town. During the investigation Charlie uses the sage advice of his eccentric father, who happens to be the retired ex-Sheriff of Wrightsville. When Charlie’s shadowy brother Sam, returns home, the mystery death becomes a mystery murder, as Sam turns into the prime suspect. Soon Charlie’s family is torn apart and as the entire town becomes entangled in the investigation.
The trailer caught my attention right off the bat, a murder/mystery laced with dark humor. The story wastes no timing getting to the point, the murder has happened as the film opens, a body of a man is laying on the floor of a diner. It seems he came in to order some food and before anyone knew it he was on the floor...dead. When Charlie begins his investigation he finds That the dead man might of been doing some illegal hauling, but who would want him dead and why? The town folk all seem nervous and each one seems to be acting as if they are hiding something which gives us a bunch of suspects. That is what I loved about this film, the story is so well-written that it keeps you guessing the entire time as to who might of killed this man and why. As the story unfolds we get some clues as to who had contact with Scotty and just what he was up to on the side. The humor is dark but very funny and it is blends in with the mystery perfectly. The cast is terrific and includes, William Atherton (“Ghost Busters” and “Die Hard 2”), Gil Bellows (“Ally McBeal” and “The Shawshank Redemption”) and James Oliver (“Rescue Dawn” and “House at the End of the Drive”). James Oliver is excellent as the Sheriff who is dealing with the first murder in his little town and also fighting his own past. William Atherton is his usual self, just fantastic as Charlies father and ex-lawman himself, he provides a few of the really funny scenes in the film. Also Gil Bellows is fantastic as Sam, the shady brother of Charlie and the one person that might know who killed Scotty. Black Crescent Moon is a taut mystery that has you in suspense the entire time, the film uses great locations and the music is also fantastic. A film that would make the Coen Brothers proud, a "Redneck Fargo" that is about as entertaining a film as you are going to see this year. I got to say I never once figured out who the killer was till it was revealed at the very end, a solid film on all counts. The DVD will not be out till January, 2010 so make sure you mark this down and be sure to check it out. Tense,hilarious and totally entertaining.
Released by Monarch Home Video **** Out Of *****