"Very much worth seeking out for fans of visually exciting films, especially those that use mixed media to create new and exciting worlds." -- Kyle Logan.
Moon Garden
The film opens May 19 in select U.S. movie theaters via Oscilloscope.
Dreams and nightmares and mothers and a little girl commingle in the fabulous trailer, which immediately piqued my interest -- and everyone else who saw it.
The official synopsis only adds to that: "Shot on expired 35mm film stock with vintage lenses, Moon Garden is a fantastical odyssey and a visionary, handcrafted work of art. When a little girl has a terrible accident and slips into a coma, she finds herself thrust into a darkly surreal industrial dreamworld. Haunted by a nightmarish specter that feeds off her tears, she must follow her mother's radio-static voice to find her way back to consciousness."
We turn now to Kyle Logan's review, published on this site a few weeks ago during the Panic Film Festival:
"Beyond the aforementioned films, the world that Emma [Haven Lee Harris, daughter of the writer/director] enters seems to be inspired by some much darker and less kid-friendly films like The Cell, Silent Hill (as well as the video games that inspired it), and Mad God. From these influences, Stevens Harris does a fantastic job creating a novel world that combines stop motion, forward and backward moving timelapses, and paper cut-out animation with a simple, but incredibly effective monster, as well as sets that are just as beautiful as they are frightening."
Please read Kyle's fair and balanced review in its entirety, then make plans to see Moon Garden in a movie theater, where it can enjoy it in its sumptuous beauty and then argue about it later. Moon Garden opens tomorrow.
Now Playing in Movie Theaters covers international and indie genre films.