The Long Dark Marathon of the Soul 2019: Moon Child, or El niño de la luna (1989), directed by Agustí Villaronga

The Trailer

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The Appropriate Tune: "The Host of Seraphim", by Dead Can Dance

       If there’s one thing people love to talk about, christian and nonchristian alike, it’s the Antichrist. The normal Christ was fine, sure, raising the dead and feeding the hungry and all that jazz, but we already know his deal. The Antichrist, however, could be anybody, and indeed when you bring it up it seems like everybody will have their own opinion on who it is. Popular politicians are the Antichrist, homosexual people are the Antichrist, Muslims are the Antichrist, and so on and on in that fashion. Someone once said that if Jesus himself were to actually reappear on Earth, then even he would be derided as the Antichrist, and I don’t know if that’s too far off from reality. I mean it’s a way to push blind hatred onto the world while avoiding the actual confrontation with the root issues of the world’s problems, so no wonder you see it so often, but at this point I have to wonder if there’s anyone on Earth that isn’t some kind of demon or Antichrist. Joe Pera maybe, but everyone else is to be determined.

       With how popular the Antichrist witch hunt is in real life, it is no wonder that we’ve seen more than a fair share of books, comics, music albums, and of course movies on the subject. Richard Donner’s The Omen, Marathon alum Rosemary’s Baby, and our film today, Moon Child, from Spain’s Agustí Villaronga. Based on the 1923 novel by the famous occultist Aleister Crowley, the film stars Enrique Saldana as David, an orphan boy who possesses not only telekinetic powers, but the belief that he is the legendary Moon Child, which is apparently a big deal although it’s never exactly clear what that even means. It is those abilities that brought him to the attention of a mysterious cult, who are not only collecting psychic children, but are also getting ready to bring about the birth of the Moon Child, with the ultimate intent of ruling the world or whatever. As David is the Moon Child, or at least thinks he is, he develops a relationship with the chosen progenitors, Edgar and Georgina, and decides to help them escape. It’s a cross-continental race against time as David travels toward his ultimate destiny, which is probably important.

        The first thing that came to mind while watching Moon Child was that of Dario Argento’s work, like Phenomena or Suspiria. The Center where is cult is headquartered,  its large opulent architecture adorned almost saturated white in places, emblazoned with this hexagonal logo, feels in line with Argento’s aesthetic, although that’s probably the closest Moon Child ever gets to that level of hyper-stylization. Beyond that though VIllaronga just has a great eye in general, from the crumbling ruins in a North Africa desert to an old woman’s shack it all looks great, period-appropriate (I assume the movie takes place in 1923 as well) but with some wear and tear to it. Something which you don’t often see in more modern period pieces, which like to assume everything from the 20s was dry-cleaned, waxed, and covered in gold leaf.

       Villaronga also takes a cue from Argento in bringing in a band to compose the score for his film, in this case goth rock/darkwave/tribal ambient band Dead Can Dance, even going a step further and casting DCD vocalist Lisa Gerrard as the Moon Child’s mother Georgina. If I’m being honest I never took much notice of the music; Not because it was bad, just that it blended into the scenes to the extent that it became ‘invisible’, so to speak. Which is arguably what you want in a score, music which doesn’t separate itself from the film in your mind, but maybe I just wasn’t paying much attention. A good rule of thumb in these reviews is that if I don’t specifically mention the music, it’s probably okay.

       As you might have guessed from the film summary though, the film is a little obtuse. What is a Moon Child? Who is this cult and why do they want to ‘create’ a Moon Child in the first place? Since when did psychic powers exist, and why is the cult buying up psychic kids if they’re already gunning for the Moon Child? How is David a ten year old boy but is also trying to ensure his own birth like some kind of Back to the Future scenario? All those questions and more will not be answered during the film’s runtime. Yeah, you’re likely pointing an accusing finger at me and say ‘you love to name drop David Lynch and you’re complaining about things being obscure?’, but with Lynch films the intent never seems to be on telling so much as it is attempting to evoke emotions or ideas. Moon Child is more concrete, and thus these questions become more relevant. Why should I care if David succeeds in his quest or not if I don’t know what the quest is, or why it needs to be done? Even if it’s a fairy tale you know why Red Riding Hood does what she does and why the wolf does what it does, and if Moon Child is trying to work the fairy tale vibe like it looks to be doing, then the foundation needs to be built.

       It also doesn’t help that I never found myself caring about the characters. In a two hour movie it feels like the main characters barely interact with each other, and when they do it feels off, like the tone is off. It’s especially bad with David, who is supposed to be having this grand adventure and people are so attached to him or whatever and yet never changes in a tangible way once in the movie. If two hours of looking at some kid’s slack-jawed, wide-eyed stare sounds good to you than this is your Godfather, but honestly I got sick of him early on the movie and nothing ever challenged that opinion. If you want to usher in a new age for mankind you might want to pick someone with a little more charisma, is all I’m saying.

        Moon Child isn’t a bad movie, but for a two hour picture it takes a while to really get going, and even then it stays under the speed limit the whole way through. If you’re into occult stuff, Crowley and tarot cards, shit like that then I would recommend it as an experience, but folks who like a little flash and thrills are probably better off with something like Suspiria or The Omen. If you need your Antichrist fix this Halloween, there’s plenty of options.