Full Moon Features is a goliath of B-movies. With hundreds of films to their name, Charles Band created a truly historic production and distribution company. Band would become known for producing large quantities of low-budget genre fare with something for everyone. Some of Full Moon’s most acclaimed series consist of the Puppet Master franchise, the campy vamp franchise Subspecies, and even Stuart Gordon’s Castle Freak! Plus, who hasn’t seen the poster for Gingerdead Man with Gary Busey’s name plastered dead center on the top?
As someone who has enjoyed Full Moon films in the past, I’d be lying if I said they haven’t fallen off my radar in the past few years. The newest sub-label from Full Moon Features is Pulp Noir, and their first film is here! Quadrant is a bleak look at the future of Pulp Noir.
Quadrant follows Erin (Shannon Helene Barnes), who stumbles upon an experiment for the Quadrant helmet. Designed by “scientists” Harry (Rickard Claeson) and Meg (Emma Reinagel), the helmet will transport the [willing] user into a world of their choosing. For Erin, that is England during the Jack the Ripper murders. Erin also happens to be unhealthily obsessed with said sex worker serial killer. After meeting fellow Quadrant subject Robert (Christian Carrigan), Erin starts to blur the lines between reality and the Quadrant.
Let’s get one thing perfectly clear: I love low/microbudget films. It’s the films with shoestring budgets that pull out all the stops. When working within limited budgets, you must tap into every single source to get the best final product. It’s understandable when films of this nature cut corners when needed. What isn’t understandable or acceptable is someone like Charles Band greenlighting an idea like this. The amount of AI slop flung at the wall here is laughable. But let’s get to the positives of this film before diving into that…topic.
Written by Full Moon Pictures alumn C. Courtney Joyner, is Quadrant’s biggest asset. Respectively, Full Moon isn’t known for their most high-concept stories and ideas. Quadrant is a uniquely interesting take on true crime; what would happen if those obsessed with a series of murders could go into a simulation to recreate them? Joyner’s script takes the concept to fascinating corners, examining this maybe-not-too-farfetched idea with excellence.
Quadrant may not be entirely sure who its lead is supposed to be; to me, Erin is the main character. The story revolves around her and her reaction to the world within Quadrant, even if she shares equal screen time with Meg, Robert, and Harry. Though the cast is haphazardly white, Shannon Helene Barnes carries this film with the grace of Atlas. Barnes tackles Erin’s character with extreme charisma and horror, and it’s genuinely entertaining and alluring to watch Erin’s arc. And every shot of Erin going absolutely crazy looks fantastic. Honestly, she’s just trying to find somebody to match her freak.
And, yes, I know you’re asking, “Does Quadrant keep with the Full Moon tradition of unwarranted sexuality?” Yes! It even stars adult film star Lexi Lore.
My goal isn’t to unnecessarily crap on Quadrant. While it’s important to consider the Full Moon Pictures oeuvre, that doesn’t mean there still can’t be care and love put into a microbudget B-movie. Quadrant, and by proxy Band, is upfront and clear with the film’s use of AI. During the opening credits, the film happily boasts credits to AI Art Supervisor Chuck Cirino and AI Artist Michael J. Sechrest. At this point I took a step back and realized the credits were rolling over AI-generated backdrops of black and white London streets. Whenever someone enters Quadrant, they’re greenscreened over garishly atrocious AI images. Each background plate is rife with inconsistencies; windows don’t match up, and the facades of storefronts are crooked and an eyesore. That’s not even mentioning the truly atrocious AI-generated creatures.
This is where my anger came in. Charles Band was an inspiration to thousands of filmmakers. From the 80s and beyond, Band pushed the envelope of what is acceptable and what should be accepted as a film. Against all odds, Charles Band was a success story. He created some truly memorable genre IPs and was the true definition of independent filmmaking. Puppet Master was a practical film with practical puppets that were practically killing people! It was the sign of a hungry filmmaker. To see someone like Charles Band abandon what made him a success, and what made fans fall in love with him, is incredibly sad to see. As stated, I have fallen off the Full Moon train in the past few years, so maybe this doesn’t come as a surprise if he’s already been on the AI train.
Quadrant is a typical Full Moon Pictures film sullied by a lack of care for creating something meaningful. Just think of how many artists are out there who grew up on Full Moon and wanted to make art because of them. Most importantly, how many would have loved the opportunity to create something for them. From Late Night With The Devil, to The People’s Joker, and now to Full Moon Pictures, AI is a disease that is ravaging too many truly creative filmmakers.
What is the antidote? I genuinely don’t know.
If you’re a regular fan of Full Moon and Charles Band and don’t care about the use of AI, then Quadrant will work for you. But if you can’t stand to stomach the egregious overuse of fake art and find it sad that someone like Charles Band would agree to stoop to that level, then you should skip this one.
Quadrant will be available to stream across several services starting on August 23rd.
Love physical media?
Well then Full Moon Pictures has you covered, you’ll also be able to pick up Quadrant on Blu-ray, DVD, AND even VHS!
