Sometime in the future, Albion Moonlight (Sean Allen), a salesman wrecks his spacecraft cutting off all communication from the corporation he works for and has been raised by since childhood. As Moonlight tries to make his way through the barren desert where he is stranded, he is haunted by visions of his past as well as visitors whose presence cannot be explained. Meanwhile, back at The Corporation, Gwen Klaus, a high-ranking executive, is very disturbed by the disappearance of Albion, one of their best salesmen. The Corporation fears that he may be losing his mind or even worse, gaining his independence.

Director Justin Hennard's film is a haunting and frightening look at one man's downfall in a terrifying (but not impossible) future. Moonlight By The Sea is poetic and well realized on its small budget. The minimal score, creative editing, original set designs, and well-executed performances make for a dynamic film.

The cast is very competent and handles the leftfield material with expertise. "The Stranger" played by Kingsley Martin is great as the robot-like copilot spouting out information and having a meltdown due to Albion's lack of interest in reporting to The Corporation. Prince Camp's confrontational Nomman character is equally disturbing and nicely performed. And the eye-catching Mylinda Faith Royer steals the show with her portrayal of Gwen, who is quickly losing grip on her power in The Corporation.

The only problem I have with the film is that the scenes where Albion is lost in the desert become tedious. Despite their usefulness and importance to the symbolism of the film, these scenes make any distraction a blessing. The running time of Moonlight By The Sea is not excessive but I wish it had been cut to compensate for this repetitiveness.

There are plenty of interesting ideas being tossed around in Moonlight By The Sea. One of them is that the film portrays nationalism as product loyalty and citizens are mindless consumers brainwashed into buying into The Corporation. In one of the film’s standout scenes, Albion visits the home of the average Joe to sell him the unending supply of The Corporation’s wares. Albion keeps pitching products until his customer is a drooling mess of a man.

When all is said and done, Moonlight By The Sea is an excellent blend of science fiction and art. Despite its clunky and longwinded desert moments, the film blasts the viewer with a ton of ideas, paranoia, and nosebleeds. From the explosion of sound at the beginning to the surreally peaceful ending, the film's delivery is very original and should tickle just about any art film freak's fancy. Audiences looking for an action-packed and effects-laden picture may want to pass on this one but those who enjoy complex assaults on the senses should check out Moonlight By The Sea.

DVD Stuff

Moonlight By The Sea looks crisp and sounds clear on this Sub Rosa release. There is a feature commentary by the film's director, Justin Hennard, and the film's producer, Gonzalo Gonzalez. There is also an odd short film called "My Skin" by Christopher Alan Broadstone and several trailers for Wicked Pixel and Sub Rosa releases.