"To the Moon" - Film Review
This trip to a secluded cabin in the forest was supposed to be a healing weekend for Dennis (Scott Friend) and Mia (Madeleine Morgenweck). The married couple recently suffered a miscarriage, and Dennis decided to become sober just a week ago. Quiet time at the cabin is meant to allow them to escape from the hardships of their daily lives and recenter themselves in nature. These plans are derailed by the arrival of Dennis’ hippie brother, Roger (Will Brill). The line between reality and hallucination begins to blur for Dennis, and the weekend turns far from peaceful.
Those selecting To the Moon for blood and gore will be woefully disappointed. Instead, the film is a slow crescendo into uncertainty. First-time writer/director Friend is not interested in making a gross-out flick. He wants to dig into familial trauma, addiction, and loss through an eerie and supernatural lens. The audience is left to their own devices, like Dennis, to figure out if these visions are real, fake, or some sort of blend between the two. The horror elements take a backseat to the interpersonal relationship of the movie’s three characters. While this approach does wear a little thin toward the middle of the film, the quality of the performances by Friend, Brill, and Morgenweck is undeniable.
To the Moon’s greatest strength is that it delivers on the ending. So often in modern, atmospheric horror, a movie exists merely on vibes and the scarcest plot imaginable. These sparse films like to coast on striking visuals and loud musical stings without substance or purpose. To the Moon, though, has an exceptional third act that justifies the journey these characters are on, and one that will not be spoiled here. It’s a culmination without total ambiguity. Anyone can slap together a bunch of edgy visuals for the sake of creating a trailer that will make people think it’s the latest moody A24 horror flick, but the ending is vastly more important.
At its most basic, this film is about looking for help. Who are the people who will aid you and who are the people whose assistance actually hurts. It’s not always easy to tell. Who is there to provide support and whose kindness has always been a lie. What makes a person trustworthy? Does family simply mean shared genetic code, or is there a grander sense of duty that comes with these ties that bind?
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