In the Shadow of the Moon
A driven Philadelphia cop hunts a serial killer who returns every nine years, forcing his procedural investigation into a paranoid temporal mystery.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Breakneck
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- paranoid
- propulsive
- eerie
- late night thriller viewing
- science fiction double feature
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film energetic and inventive, praising its ambitious science-fiction ideas and performances while viewing its formulaic police framework and unwieldy storytelling as significant weaknesses.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The serial killer resurfaces at nine-year intervals, making repetition across Philadelphia eras the central organizing mystery.
Locke's detective work gradually becomes inseparable from questions about impossible chronology and scientific explanation.
Locke's pursuit threatens his career, family, sanity, and ability to persuade others that the pattern is real.
The investigation moves through Philadelphia police, hospitals, streets, and domestic spaces while extraordinary events remain rooted in urban crime imagery.
Films like In the Shadow of the Moon, and why
Looper
Shares a time travel mystery, serial-killer investigation, paranoid atmosphere, and escalating reality-bending revelations.
Predestination
Combines nonlinear temporal causality, a determined investigator, science fiction puzzle-box plotting, and grim thriller intensity.
12 Monkeys
Features a detective pursuing a seemingly impossible pattern through dark urban crime conventions and science fiction.
The Endless
Blends serial-killer investigation, temporal displacement, and bleak psychological thriller tension.
Movie Details
- Director
- Jim Mickle
- Release Date
- 2019-09-27
- Runtime
- 115 min
- Rating
- 6.2 / 10 (1657)
Cast
- Boyd Holbrook
- Cleopatra Coleman
- Michael C. Hall
- Bokeem Woodbine
- Sarah Dugdale
- Rudi Dharmalingam
- Rachel Keller
- Quincy Kirkwood
- Philippa Domville
- Tony Nappo
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is In the Shadow of the Moon about?
- A driven Philadelphia cop hunts a serial killer who returns every nine years, forcing his procedural investigation into a paranoid temporal mystery.
- What is In the Shadow of the Moon like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of In the Shadow of the Moon as breakneck, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is In the Shadow of the Moon violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in In the Shadow of the Moon as brutal.
- What did critics think of In the Shadow of the Moon?
- Critics broadly found the film energetic and inventive, praising its ambitious science-fiction ideas and performances while viewing its formulaic police framework and unwieldy storytelling as significant weaknesses.
- Which films are like In the Shadow of the Moon?
- Films with a similar feel include Looper, Predestination, 12 Monkeys, and The Endless.
- How long is In the Shadow of the Moon?
- In the Shadow of the Moon runs 115 minutes.
- Where can I watch In the Shadow of the Moon?
- In United States, In the Shadow of the Moon streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
