Movie - Lunamancer (2021) + Companion Video

Premiere:
September 17, 2021 (Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival)
Country of origin: USA
Directed by: Noah Mucci
Written by: Noah Mucci, Matt Patterson
Produced by: Ooze Productions
Distributed by: Indie Rights
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Fantasy
Runtime:1h11min
Starring: 
Jake Pirkkanen, Nicki Clyne, Nick Denning

Sometimes you don’t find a movie, it finds you.

I was digging through filmography connected to Cannibal Holocaust (1980), curious about what
the cast had done before and after. That’s how I ended up looking into Perry Pirkanen. While
browsing, I came across Lunamancer (2021). I checked out the trailer and instantly got a bit of a
Falling Down (1993) vibe from it.

Out of curiosity, I got in contact with one of the writers, who ended up sending me a physical Blu-
ray copy for review. That alone already made the experience feel special.

What I didn’t realize until the movie arrived was something kind of funny. Looking at IMDb, I
noticed I apparently own every movie Perry Pirkanen has ever appeared in:
Not that many, but still.

All good movies too and all physical editions.

Cannibal Holocaust (1980) – Jack Anders

City of the Living Dead (1980) – Blond Gravedigger (uncredited)

Cannibal Ferox (1981) – Paul (uncredited)

Then next he can be seen in this Lunamancer , let´s see if we find him...
 
The film starts strong. I won’t spoil anything, but the opening works as a real hook. It immediately
makes you want to keep watching just to understand what’s going on. Then the music kicks in. Hard. By Composers Evan Michael Brown and Shayon Daniels. It has this powerful retro energy, almost like an epic thriller from the 80s. As the film goes on the soundtrack starts to feels like something straight out of Drive (2011), mixed with the synth-heavy atmosphere of Stranger Things. That blend works incredibly well and gives the movie a strong identity. 

The story follows Isaac Blake, a man driven by a strong grief. He’s searching for his missing sister, trying to understand what happened to her, where is she? Isaac is very unstable and believable. If someone close to you disappears, that kind of emotional breakdown feels real rather than exaggerated.

Based on the trailer, I expected something closer to Falling Down. What I got instead was a better
slower and more introspective drama-thriller with light fantasy elements woven in. The film leans
heavily into psychological territory. There are moments where reality feels uncertain, like memory
itself might be distorting the truth. That aspect gave me strong Silent Hill vibes, where you’re never
fully sure what is real and what is shaped by the character’s mind.

One thing that stood out was the use of VHS-style filters and flickering effects. It’s not overused,
but when it appears, it adds a layer of unease and reinforces the retro aesthetic.
There’s also a short crowbar scene that immediately brought to mind the famous hammer hallway
sequence from Oldboy (2003). It’s brief, but very well executed and visually striking.

Oldboy (2003)

The Blu-ray release includes a commentary and a VHS version of the film, which is a really nice
touch. It fully commits to the retro style the movie is going for and it shows that the aesthetic wasn’t
just a surface choice, but part of the film’s identity, I wonder if this is the original version...

Coming back to where this started, Perry Pirkanen plays Gordon Blake, Isaac’s father. Doing a sweet and nice role. It’s always interesting to see actors from older cult films appear in newer movies. One do miss that mustache right.

On another note the actress Nicki Clyne that played the missing sister Sue is famous for being in the Battlestar Galactica show. 

Overall, Lunamancer is a deeply atmospheric and emotional experience. It feels surprisingly
European in tone, even though it’s an American production. It takes its time, leans into mood and
psychology and trusts the audience to sit with its ambiguity.

Rating: 8/10 A slow-burning, stylish thriller that sticks with you.

 

Links:
IMDb - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13635040
Homepage: https://lunamancer.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/lunamancer2023

A bit extra for this, it is a first even for the blog, a Companion video with the makers, where they talk about the movie, exclusively made for this article. Made after the article was written.