Killer’s Moon – 1978 | 90 mins | Horror | Colour

Plot Synopsis

Low-budget exploitation slasher, poorly acted and haphazardly directed by Alan Birkinshaw from his own script and an uncredited Fay Weldon. This bizarre film was described by Birkinshaw as one not to take too seriously; that is probably hindsight on his part as the story has many unintentional moments of hilarity and plot holes aplenty. When we first encounter the school bus it has an obvious overheating problem, yet later breaks down due to an anticipated drive shaft failure. A three legged dog wanders around the countryside without rhyme or reason, and one of the psychopath’s manages to burn to death without singeing his white smock.

Four criminal psychopaths under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs escape from a Cottage Hospital in the Lake District where they were receiving “dream” therapy. Meanwhile, a coach party of schoolgirls from Maidenhill are forced to shelter in a hotel closed for the winter when their bus breaks down. The white-clad psychopaths murder a gamekeeper and his wife, then break into the hotel and begin terrorising the teenage girls. The girl’s school deputy, Ms Lilac (Elizabeth Counsell), faints, and the sole pupil to encounter them, Anne, is raped. The school headmistress, Ms Hargreaves (Jean Reeve) is also murdered by the final, and most dangerous, mental patient to arrive; Mr Jones.

The girls are captured when the escaped patients hold one of their fellow pupils ransom, and quickly put them to work cooking food for their captors. Half-a-mile away, two men, Pete (Anthony Forrest) and Mike (Tom Marshall), are on a camping holiday. They encounter a dead corpse and subsequently attempt to rescue the girls from the hotel. Mr Jones dies when he follows schoolgirl Sandy to the men’s tent, and he is savaged by an injured Doberman. Meanwhile, the three remaining patients are becoming confused by their ‘dream state’ and questioning the reality of their imaginings. Another, Mr Jones, believes a raging fire is a dream and is subsequently burnt to death, whilst a third, Mr. Trubshaw (David Jackson) is killed by one of the schoolgirls. As morning breaks only Mr Muldoon remains.