Lifetime
Lifetime brings us a film fitting of the ‘Sunday Night Thrills’ theme, a serial killer thriller that is anything but standard issue with interesting characters and a tragic ending that completely catches you off guard.
The Moonlight Murders revolves around a series of murders with the creative twist that they are all tied to the phases of the moon, hence the title. These murders have happened before but the authorities and the press are not sure if the original killer has returned after so many years, or if this is a copycat. May is a journalist who has been covering the murders, creating an entire program devoted to the killings, sort of an Unsolved Mysteries meets Entertainment Tonight type of show. She and her cameraman, Franco, apparently also travel from Orlando to Tampa with their full studio set (even though it’s just the two of them and a van). May and Franco are drawn to Tampa because a security guard named Zeke has discovered another victim with the usual phase of the moon drawn or tattooed on her arm by the killer (as seen in the opening scene). Zeke, who is really socially awkward, is a huge fan of May’s ‘Moonlight Murders’ program, and he fancies himself an investigator, following the original and the new case faithfully, hanging on May’s every word and concocting his own theories about who the killer is, the motives, or who the next victim may be. Zeke also has a sweet, and equally socially awkward neighbor named Poppy, and the two are good friends who watch Survivor-style reality shows together. It’s clear that Poppy likes Zeke as more than a friend, but he is too laser-focused on his job and the murders to even notice.
Lifetime
Zeke is thrilled to meet May at the scene of the crime, and she invites him to be on her show to share what happened when he discovered the body. Unfortunately, Zeke is a little too over-prepared and believes May wants him on the program as an expert on the murders. To be fair, he does know a lot about them and how the phases of the moon relate to each victim, but May only wants his perspective from his own experience, and after excusing herself for a moment Zeke can hear May and Franco, through Franco’s headphones, discuss that perhaps it was a mistake to bring Zeke on the show. Zeke immediately feels that he let May down and begs to do a second interview for which he promises to stick to the facts of his experience. But something else triggers Zeke when he asks if perhaps she wants to talk about the case over dinner. She can’t because she’s already scheduled a dinner with a friend, an ex actually. Zeke is now furious with May, and the fact that his interview time on the broadcast amounted to about 20 seconds only made him more angry. While May is walking to the restaurant to meet Quentin (who has really unfortunate hair), the Black Hoodie stalker returns and she sees the figure at the other end of the alley, which totally spooks her. Dinner goes well, but she doesn’t notice outside the window Zeke glaring at them, and he is also wearing a Black Hoodie. May leaves, but Zeke confronts Quentin, shockingly attacking the man with a police baton, leaving him for dead (he survives but is in a medically induced coma for the time being). This isn’t the first incidence of violence for Zeke, as he took his earlier frustrations out on Franco, pushing the slightly inebriated man down a flight of stairs at his hotel, but neither crime was pinned on him (Zeke was questioned about Quentin’s attack but denied doing it). But is he the same Black Hoodied person that May saw while going to the restaurant?
May gets some information from Detective Doyle about the killings that has not been released to the media, and is asked if she’s received any mail in the last few days. The victims have apparently been getting slips of paper in their mail that appear blank, but have a drawing of the phase of the moon that can only be seen under a UV light or … by the light of the moon! (Okay, this is a fun but very silly plot point because the moon does not emit its own light, it reflects the light of the sun so this gives the movie a bit of magical realism.) May has been in Tampa for several days so any mail she may have gotten at home in Orlando has gone unopened. But she is heading back with Franco the next day, and after she pays a visit to Quentin, who is now awake and recovering in the hospital, to talk about continuing rebuilding their relationship, she and Franco head home. Knowing how upset Zeke is about the whole experience with May, Poppy finally admits to him how she feels and plants a kiss on his lips, but her declaration of love is met with indifference, Zeke telling her he’s not a good person and she should not be with him, breaking her heart in the process. He goes back to his apartment and tosses away all of his clippings about the murders, seemingly done with the whole thing until he hears the weather broadcast mentioning that the full moon is upon them, at its peak after midnight. He also remembers that the original murders ended with a celebrity TV host being killed on the night of the full moon, making him certain that May will be the final victim for this cycle. Orlando is less than a two-hour drive from Tampa, so Zeke knocks on Poppy’s door and apologizes for his behavior, telling her how good of a person she is, and asks that she water his plants if he doesn’t return. Poppy doesn’t answer, but hears everything, and after Zeke leaves she goes into his apartment and sees May’s address on his open laptop, fearful that perhaps he is going to Orlando to kill her. May has gotten home and finds an envelope amongst her mail, blank on the outside, containing what appears to be a blank piece of paper inside. Then there is a knock — a pounding — at her door and it’s Zeke (in his Black Hoodie), but he is in a panic, begging her to let him in, but she is terrified and tells him she’s going to call the police. He tells her to please call the police, but before she can do anything, another figure in a Black Hoodie grabs her from behind, holding a knife to her throat. Zeke may have had some violent tendencies, but he is not the Moonlight Murderer, and he manages to get in the house to try and stop May from being killed. So who is in the Black Hoodie? And can Zeke save May? Will Poppy be able to make her way to Orlando in time? Or will this all end in tragedy?
Lifetime
The Moonlight Murders is really one of the more novel serial killer thrillers that Lifetime has broadcast, many of which are just standard fare with a series of similar killings. Here, the use of the phases of the moon really adds something to the story, by Taylor Warren Goff (em>Murder in the Dark) & Ken Miyamoto (The Bear Lake Murders), with a screenplay by Miyamoto. Fun fact: in astrology, the phases of the moon do have meanings but I believe the writers have created their own set of meanings to apply to the story, some phases being a harbinger of the victims paying for their misdeeds, such as the woman Zeke finds who had been cheating on her husband with a co-worker (how the Moonlight Murderer knows these things about the victims is not really addressed, but it’s entertaining enough that we go along with it). Goff and Miyamoto have really created some interesting characters here, namely Zeke and Poppy, two sort of lost souls who many would dismiss as not being all there, but Zeke is a college graduate. He’s just never been able to earn the respect he deserves because his behavior is just a bit off-putting. Only Poppy appreciates him, having known him since high school as a friend and someone who defended her. Sweet Poppy has always carried a flame for Zeke, and while it’s never made explicit, we have to wonder if it really was just by chance that she happened to move into the same building, directly across the hall from him. Is she a stalker, or just a desperately love-lorn soul who sees him as a kindred spirit? These really are two of the most interesting characters we’ve seen in a Lifetime movie in quite some time. The story also succeeds in that it never plays its hand early, and while we never really believe Zeke is the killer, his violent streak certainly makes us question those beliefs. But with a limited number of characters with speaking roles — May, Franco, Poppy, Detectives Doyle and Foster, Quentin — we know it is one of them, but it’s almost impossible to know who (I did have my own theory through process of elimination, which proved correct, but that guess did not come until late in the story after one very subtle character hint), and if you aren’t thinking ahead you will almost certainly be surprised (and the motives for the murders are also pretty novel in how they also relate to the phases of the moon, adding to the sense of magical realism). Aside from the fact that May and Franco seem to have a full set for their show in Tampa, this is a pretty solid, interesting and entertaining story with a shocking finale that may also bring some tears to your eyes. Director Benjamin Meyerson, aided by a good script, really does a nice job of building the mystery and suspense surrounding the murders and Zeke’s behavior, keeping all of the actors firmly grounded and in character, never allowing the actual perp to telegraph to the audience that they are the killer, making even that little hint seem totally innocuous. The film also has some nice lighting in the nighttime scenes, but if there is one quibble besides the traveling news set — Zeke is said to have arrived at work at 5:00 AM the morning he discovered the body, and he rode his bike. Before leaving he stopped to talk to Poppy, who offered him a ride, which would have been maybe 4:30 AM-ish? However, the scene is shot more like it’s 4:30 PM with the sun shining brightly. A little error that you really don’t think about until much later, but then it becomes a glaring mistake. (But, night shoots can be expensive so the filmmakers have to make do for these tightly budgeted and scheduled productions so we won’t hold it against them too harshly.)
The cast is terrific, headed by Clayton Louis as Zeke. Louis’ credits to date consist mostly of short and indie film roles, with an episode of Chicago Fire his biggest credit (though his character doesn’t even have a name). This may be his biggest role to date, and he is fantastic, bringing a real personality to Zeke, perfectly embodying the awkwardness of the character and bringing him to life, at first making us wonder if his mental development had not progressed into adulthood, but showing how intelligent he really is with all of his research and theories about the serial killer. There is still something a little off about Zeke as demonstrated by his rage issues, particularly in the shockingly brutal attack on Quentin, to the point that we almost fear for Poppy’s life if she pushes him too hard. But Louis still manages to make Zeke a sympathetic character who we cheer for at the end, but we also have to deal with a huge emotional blow as well, and Louis handles that will great feeling. Lauren Cole is also just a delight as Poppy. Cole has had a string of these types of childlike adult characters in I Am Your Biggest Fan and Her Life is On the Line, and it works perfectly here against Louis’ similar portrayal of Zeke. Cole is able to make it crystal clear to the audience that Poppy is in love with Zeke, always trying to find a way to spend time with him watching their favorite shows, showing the subtle heartbreak she feels when he tells her, first, that he does not have time to watch back-to-back episodes of their show, and then when he reacts negatively to her declaration of love, which causes her to totally shut down, yet she still risks her life to follow him to Orlando, perhaps fearful that he is going to kill May. Cole makes Poppy one of the sweetest, vulnerable and endearing characters who really gets the audience wrapped around her little finger, and she really gets to pay it off with a deeply and realistically emotional performance at the end.
Lifetime
Harley Bronwyn is excellent as May, really giving the character a convincing professionalism in her job as a journalist, who isn’t above lying about her relationships to Franco and Quentin when she needs to get into their hospital rooms. Bronwyn allows May to show interest in Zeke’s story, but she never leads him on that she has other interests in him simply because they both share an interest in these murders — that is all on Zeke. She has an authentic relationship with Franco, both on a personal and professional level, she interacts with the police well, never trying to push Doyle for more information about the case (although she does get understandably frustrated when she believes Zeke attacked Quentin and Doyle has to let him go due to a lack of evidence), and making her connection with Quentin feel like they are old friends. Bronwyn keeps May on an even keel, just as a journalist should behave. Shane Costa is also very good as her co-worker and friend Franco, totally professional with her but also a father figure, always watching over her, and making sure to let Zeke know that once they leave Tampa he should not have any further contact with May (seeming to suspect that it was Zeke who pushed him). He’s definitely the guy you want on your side. John Hardy is also very good as Detective Doyle, willing to work on a professional level with May, never being condescending to her, knowing that of anyone she has the most invested into solving the murders as she has devoted a large part of her career to the story. He gives her the information that while the pen strokes of the moon phases on the victims are different, suggesting a copycat, the murders are also moving at a more accelerated pace than before, suggesting it is the same killer but needing to complete this cycle faster for unknown reasons. He is assisted by Courtney Elvira as Detective Foster, and while she only has a few short scenes mainly delivering some exposition or wry commentary, she still makes the most of the role. Russell Bradley Fenton is also fine as Quentin. He has a nice connection with Bronwyn in their dinner scene together (and even in the hospital scene).
Overall, The Moonlight Murders puts a novel spin on the serial killer genre, giving us two very unique characters, at least two suspects, a mystery that is not easily solved, and an unexpectedly heart-wrenching ending that really sets it apart from other films of the genre. I thought it was going to be silly at first, but the story and the actors kept me glued to the screen, playing along to guess whodunit. Highly entertaining, but that gut-punch at the end, and the really emotional coda, made this one unexpectedly special.
The Moonlight Murders has a run time of 1 hour 27 minutes, and is rated TV-14.