Review of In the Shadow of the Moon

By Dave B.

​In the Shadow of the Moon (Netflix) is a sci-fi detective mystery that takes place over the span of decades in Philadelphia. Every nine years, a female serial killer is murdering people seemingly at random and a lone police officer is determined to find out how and why she is committing these grisly crimes. 

As I’ve mentioned before, I tend to really dislike time-travel movies. So I fully expected to despise In the Shadow of the Moon. A time-travel detective story has so much potential to piss me off that I almost chose not to watch this movie at all. But I’m glad that I decided to give it a chance. Despite it’s nearly two-hour runtime, In the Shadow of the Moon manages to maintain a credible and interesting mystery for most of that time. 

Admittedly, there isn’t anything particularly special about the movie, and yes, it does contain a huge, infuriating paradox, but for the most part, the film’s execution can be described as “capable”. Watching the protagonist evolve (or devolve) over time as he hunts his nemesis is fascinating and the mystery itself is engaging enough to make up for the movie’s fairly pedestrian performances. 

Overall, In the Shadow of the Moon is a solid, if unspectacular film that is a pretty good way to spend a couple of hours on a rainy, hungover Sunday. I recommend it for those who are looking for a mildly interesting mystery and are willing to overlook a time-travel scenario that isn’t particularly well-thought out. It’s not a great movie in any way, but it’s solid in most. For a Netflix science-fiction movie, that’s a noteworthy accomplishment.

Rating: 5.5/10