The Killing Moon

Indulge yourself into the thrilling and suspenseful world of The Killing Moon (2025) from young Director, Writer and Editor Daniel Bogran as his first feature film debut. With its international premiere held at Raindance Film Festival this year. Gaining traction in its circuit with award nominations and outstanding performances. The Killing Moon is definitely one to add to your watchlist.

A wealthy couple escapes the chaos of the city to a remote getaway when an injured stranger knocks at the door. Leading to a wild, tense and seductive power play. Whiplashing you into second guessing true intentions. With clean Cinematography that feels like fresh air transporting you into the centre of nature, holding hands with a tense score which has you white knuckle. The Killing Moon is truly an immersive experience.

We meet our protagonists Elliot (Ryan Caraway) and Olivia (Victoria Diamond) and immediately the audience gains an understanding that this marriage is teetering on the edge. When they quickly begin a sharp back and forth of taking snippy jabs at each other. You begin to almost itch in your own seat feeling uncomfortable, which is an absolute credit to both actors. By the time Rory (Matthew Leone) , our injured stranger, enters the mix, the tone changes when jealousy truly manifests, as a fight of masculinity between the two males begin. It is very evident Elliot is keeping Rory around to push Olivia to give in to her own imperfect desires. When Rory seems to be sticking around for an awkward amount of time, you really have no idea of who is the villain of this story. Where is it all going to lead? A thunderous amount of tension tells your gut something is just around the corner. With an ending that has you questioning your own morals, coming full circle I was totally taken by surprise.

My own criticism was as we entered the third act we introduced broad backstories which are only really drip fed to us. With a longer runtime things could have been fleshed out a bit more, although taking away from the tension. More context to how we get to the ending would have been helpful to understanding characters' reasonings and decisions.

With it being such an intimate film with only having our main three actors on screen for most of the film, it is already a challenge where you need to really hold the viewers attention. That is a lot to carry on your back as an actor. But nevertheless our lead actors make the almost 90 minute runtime fly by as I was totally engrossed. Personally My stand out performance came from Rory (Matthew Leone) who is someone to definitely keep an eye on. On screen he captivates with a compelling performance and an interesting character arc.

You won't be disappointed with Director Daniel Bogran’s The Killing Moon making waves in the festival circuit, it is definitely well earnt. A seductive thriller that leaves you wanting more at its core it really is the breakdown of a not so perfect marriage.