Moon in Scorpio (1987) ★★★
The bulk of the film is set on a small yacht on which three army veterans and their wives have gone for a short cruise down the West Coast of the US, from California to Acapulco. There are flashbacks to the Vietnam War, showing the three men murdering civilians, though these don't seem to have any relevance to the events on the boat.
I understand there's a troubled back story to the film, with director/cinematographer Gary Graver originally intending to tell the story of three soldiers who burned down a temple to a snake goddess, and the goddess or a Vietnamese child comes to exact revenge. Executive producer Moshe Diamant was more interested in 'Halloween on a boat', a body count-type slasher film. It has elements of both but is ultimately neither. Additionally, there is a strange framing device with Linda (Brett Eklund), who is in hospital being questioned by the police about the murders she witnessed and how she survived.
Perhaps best subtitled 'Three Films in Search of a Coherent Narrative', this isn't a particularly good film, but nor is it as terrible as I'd been led to believe. It is certainly strange, a film with characters and storylines which are either irrelevant or red herrings, and the big reveal – the killer's identity – doesn't stand up to any scrutiny.
As the producers hired another editor to reorder some scenes and include others after filming had finished, Gary Graver can't be held responsible for the plot holes and confusing story.
That said, it's fairly enjoyable, it looks very good thanks to Gary Graver's excellent cinematography, and it's ultimately enjoyable because of its flaws.
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