Following an explosive prologue set in 2024, the film journeys to 1988, and we meet Thomas “Lock” Lockhart (Boyd Holbrook), a Philadelphia police officer with a pregnant wife at home and plans to make detective at work. While patrolling the streets with partner Maddox (Bokeem Woodbine), Lock stumbles over the case that could make his name.A hooded figure is running around town and sticking seemingly random people with a lethal injection that causes them to bleed profusely, before their brain hemorrhages and melts. The victims’ locations are miles away from each other, but their times of death just minutes apart. The murders – and their aftermath – cause mass panic all across Philly, with violent protests threatening to tear the city apart.
So what connects the victims? Why are they being targeted? Is this the work of a single killer or are there multiple murderers on the loose? Lock endeavors to connect the dots, and following a spectacular chase by car and on foot, pursues a suspect into the subway, where things take a surprising turn.
It’s a breathless opener, which startles and thrills in equal measure, the script by Gregory Weidman and Geoffrey Took motoring at breakneck speed, and director Jim Mickle – whose previous credits include Stake Land and Cold in July – injecting energy, vitality and intensity into every scene.The film then jumps to 1997, where the same hooded figure seems to be committing a similar series of murders. And once they have been investigated, the story jumps ahead to 2006, where the very same figure appears to be killing again. Unfortunately, In the Shadow of the Moon starts to lose its way at this point, the pace slowing down, the dialogue becoming exposition-heavy, and the storyline somewhat repeating itself.
It’s still a fun ride, filled with twists and turns. And what starts out as a cross between Dirty Harry and Zodiac eventually morphs into a combination of The Terminator and Twelve Monkeys. Because as the film powers through the decades, a time travel mystery emerges to which only Lock holds the key.
The character becomes increasingly obsessed with the case, sending him on a downward spiral that threatens to destroy his life. Trouble is, Holbrook – best known for Logan, The Predator, and his TV work in Narcos – doesn’t have the chops to pull that transformation off, the actor lacking the charisma to properly anchor the film. Michael C. Hall plays his brother-in-law – who happens to be a detective working the same case – but he underplays the part, meaning there’s something of a charisma-vacuum at the heart of the feature.In the Shadow of the Moon also becomes increasingly earnest as the denouement nears, with clumsy social and political commentary forced into the narrative, the film tackling everything from race riots and civil unrest to white power and police brutality. But at times it feels like those themes are being exploited by the script, with serious issues getting brief mentions without being fully explored.
The ending is satisfying, neatly bringing events full circle. But as with much of the film, it’s over-explained in somewhat clumsy fashion, and has you wishing the writers had more faith in the audience’s ability to put the pieces of the puzzle together themselves.
![In the Shadow of the Moon [2019]](https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/09/25/in-the-shadow-of-the-moon---2019---button-02-1569451978316.jpg?width=114&auto=webp)
