Right, if you're not a complete gore-hound, you might well stop reading now and click that little "x" on the top-right-side of your screen.If you compare Horror-flicks like "The Exorcist" or "Halloween" to fine French cuisine, you might liken the gore- and splatter-fests of Lucio Fulci and Umberto Lenzi to plain working-class food. In that case you'll view the works of Olaf Ittenbach to the cheapest, greasiest burger you've ever put into your mouth. Or, in the case of you being German, "Curry-Wurst". Not the fresh variation, mind you, but rather yesterday's leftover sausage, re-heated."The Burning Moon" can be considered the grandfather of the bottom-of-the-barrel, Z-grade horror-flicks from Germany (in other words: trash that is produced by people like Andreas Bethmann, Oliver Krekel or Marc Vorlander). In other words: expect nothing. Acting that resemble anything in the classical sense? Forget it. A story with a twist, or more depth than a 3rd graders high school-play? Not even close. Any technical talent or finesse? Zilch. But all those lacks are compensated for with gore, gore and more gore. It seems that the few measly bucks that went into the production went solely into the special effects, which consist of a few lackluster murder and torture scenes and the film's highlight, a torture scene in hell which lasts an estimate 20 minutes.If you're familiar with the genre, you know what to expect: red food-colour mixed with hot-chocolate powder and egg-yolk (for consistencies sake), buckets full of them and generously dumped over the "actors".The reason for giving this piece any points at all is the fact that back in 1997 "The Burning Moon" was more or less a "first"; a curiosity rather than a real film. Nowadays these kinds of products have become rampant, especially in Germany. That is no longer the case and Orson Wells prophecy that "everybody wants to make movies and my stupid brother too" has fulfilled itself; an army of "stupid brothers", incompetent and unable to the last one (see above mentioned names). Makes you long for the days when producing films meant that you needed a budget, sponsors, producers and an able team technicians and artists.So, if you want to make a movie, hey, why waste your time with film-school or talent? Assemble a crew of friends and neighbours, invest 100 bucks in a digital camera, find yourself a back-lot or piece of forest where filming is free, and raid the kitchen for special-effects items. Then write yourself a couple of glowing reviews on IMDb and applaud yourself for being "a real film-maker". Again, for above mentioned "film-makers", including director Olaf Ittenbach, this hasn't only become employment but a sport and a virtual way of life.4/10 points – one for being a first, one for the ambition, one for the "hell"-scene and one for the general nihilistic, morbid and misanthropic aura that surrounds the stories.

One day while surfing the net I happened to come upon a gif of some guy getting torn in half from his crotch up. And it was awesome. I happened to find out it was by a guy I was indeed aware of. One of the true gorehound horror directors out there. Mister Olaf Ittenbach. With that scene and the realization it was made by Olaf, it was time to watch The Burning Moon. The story is about some doucher/druggie/low-life who tells his young sister some stories before she goes to bed. Not that she wanted to hear them. He was shootin up so he thought it was a good idea. Anyways, he tells her two grim as hell stories that don't skimp out on the red stuff. The first revolves around an escaped blood-thirsty mental patient and a young girl who accidentally went out on a date with him. Bad things go down. Which is good! The second story revolves around an evil priest, an innocent young man and a bunch of angry town folk. This second story also delivers the red stuff, and the last third of this one is pretty much non-stop grue.Both stories were very grim, very evil, and just flat out what a serious horror fan should appreciate. Olaf's movies are rarely ever produced on high budgets, but what he manages to show us is pretty impressive. The atmospheres and overall tone of this flick really was very ugly and downbeat. And as usual the writing is very weak, but still, as usual, pretty funny.The Burning Moon is another gore-filled flick from Olaf that any fan of said director, gore and horror should definitely give it a peek. And did I mention a dude gets graphically ripped in half? Oh yeah.

I rented this because of the hell sequence. This infamous scene was filmed in a basement or an abandoned school! Why comments don't say this is bull. I did not know hell was made of white concrete walls and shower stalls, yes shower stalls! Ittenbach plays the lead role, and is dressed like he's in a Winger video. There is a gang fight with fake punching, and kicking. Dialog that make no sense, bad lighting.It appears that Olaf even used a blank Wal-Mart VHS cassette to record on instead of spending the extra 2 dollars for a TDK VHS tape Good gore in last 10 minutes, that is it. Bad acting and shot on video.Stick to good gore like Alexander Aja, Savini, or the Italian masters.Burning moon should be burned.

campy low-budget splatter-flick that merits a rental fee only if your VCR has a good fast-forward button. highlights include: the incredibly cheesy dream segue between the serial killer and the girl he's stalking (German shepards running through grassy fields, etc.) and the utterly gratuitous and out-of-context 10-minute gore spectacular at the end of the movie. my friend and i hypothesize that the producers of this movie came up with all the gore footage and realized they couldn't release it without at least 80 more minutes of footage. hence the first 90% of the tape - utter tripe.