Claire is approached by the father of her murdered childhood friend to help investigate the haunted moor he believes is his son’s final resting place.
Chuck says:
A meandering mess of a movie, Chris Cronin’s “The Moor” is an occasionally effective thriller that proves engaging at times, only to squander its potential. Tepid pacing and a directionless script underscore two key problems as there are more than a few moments when it is obvious Cronin isn’t sure how to approach the material while the script by Paul Thomas is a flabby construct in need of serious trimming.
The film opens with an impressive, seemingly single-take sequence that recounts a petty theft from a corner grocery by Claire and Danny (Billie Suggett and Dexter Sol Ansell). While he serves as a distraction, she stuffs her bookbag with sweets, running out the door as soon as possible. However, Danny fails to join her, mysteriously disappearing in broad daylight. Tragically, he is the first in a series of disappearances that culminate in a dubious arrest years later.
25 years pass and the culprit is set for release, prompting Danny’s father Bill (David Edward-Robertson) to enlist Claire’s help (Sophia La Porta) to use her little-listened to podcast to make the public aware of this event. He also wants to venture out on the moors where many believe the bodies of the missing children were disposed. He hopes to find evidence that will put the assailant back in jail, going so far as to hire Alex and Eleanor (Mark Peachey and Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips), a father-daughter team of psychics to help in his search.
I’ll do my best to get around the ridiculous notion that a father would wait 25 years to look for his son and focus on some of the film’s other flaws. Far too many scenes are devoted to characters lamenting about their past, protesting over why they shouldn’t be embarking on this fool’s errand or making dire confessions. The movie is talk heavy when it should be concentrating on building suspense. Heartfelt moments between the characters fall flat because they are slowly rendered, and they prevent this “thriller” from thrilling.
More troubling is the lack of focus in Thomas’ script. There’s little in the way of consistency regarding how this material is approached. At one moment it appears to be a gritty crime thriller, at others there’s a suggestion that supernatural forces are at play, while at times it plays like a straight horror film. The shifting visual perspective adds to the confusion. Hand-held shots, mix with a point-of-view approach, and standard horror images are used as well, while a talking-heads documentary approach is used now and again.
Consistency is sorely lacking here and had Cronin set out to make a “Blair Witch” like feature, “The Moor” could have been special. The setting lends itself to such a film, a genuinely creepy environment that is underutilized. It’s suggested that the various pieces of Stonehenge-like monuments the group discovers are tied in with some ancient evil force, but this is, regrettably not expanded on. Equally frustrating is a sequence in which Eleanor seems to make contact with a malevolent spirit on the moors, but little in the way of explanation is given for this gripping scene.
The cast is game, which helps, and Cronin excels at times in creating genuinely eerie moments, utilizing dense fog, overcast skies, and the murky terrain to great effect. Without question, he shows potential which hopefully will come to fruition with a future project employing a more streamlined, coherent script. As it is, “The Moor” is an intriguing calling card for the director, yet the script casts the viewer adrift, much like the beleaguered characters at its center.
1 1/2 Stars
