The projection room | “Moor”, a dark disorder | Cinema-television

‘The Moor’ ★½ Cast: Sophia La Porta, David Edward-Robertson, Mark Peachey, Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips, Billie Suggett, Dexter Sol Ansell and Bernard Hill. Directed by Chris Cronin; produced by Pawel Pracz, Cronin and Thomas; screenplay by Paul Thomas. Released by Bulldog Films. 118 minutes. Rated R (violence and strong language). Available on video on demand.

A film that’s both twisty and confusing, Chris Cronin’s “The Moor” is a thriller that’s sometimes effective and sometimes gripping, but it wastes its potential. A tepid pace and a directionless script highlight two key problems: There’s more than one moment where it’s obvious Cronin doesn’t know how to approach the subject, while Paul Thomas’ script is a limp construction that needs serious trimming.

The film opens with an impressive, seemingly one-take sequence that chronicles a petty theft at a local grocery store by Claire and Danny (Billie Suggett and Dexter Sol Ansell). While he creates a diversion, she fills her bag with candy and rushes out the door as soon as possible. However, Danny fails to reach her and mysteriously disappears in broad daylight. Unfortunately, he is the first in a series of disappearances that culminate in a questionable arrest years later.

Twenty-five years later, the perpetrator is about to be released, prompting Danny’s father Bill (David Edward-Robertson) to enlist the help of Claire (Sophia La Porta) in using her little-known podcast to raise awareness about the incident. He also wants to venture out into the moors, where many believe the bodies of the missing children were dumped. He hopes to find evidence that will lead the perpetrator back to prison, even hiring Alex and Eleanor (Mark Peachey and Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips), a father-daughter team of psychics, to help him in his search.

I’m going to do my best to sidestep the ridiculous idea that a father would wait 25 years to search for his son and focus on some of the film’s other flaws. Far too many scenes are devoted to characters lamenting their past, protesting why they shouldn’t be going on this wild ride, or making terrible confessions. The film is too talky when it should be focused on building suspense. The heartfelt moments between characters fall flat because they are delivered slowly, and they prevent this “thriller” from building suspense.

Thomas’s script is even more disturbing. It lacks coherence in the way it approaches the subject matter. At one point it seems to be a gritty crime thriller, at other points it suggests supernatural forces are at play, while at other points it feels like a straight-up horror film. The shifting visual perspective adds to the confusion. Hand-held shots mix with a point-of-view approach, and standard horror footage is also used, while a documentary approach with talking heads is used from time to time.

Coherence is sorely lacking here, and if Cronin had wanted to make a “Blair Witch”-type film, “The Moor” could have been special. The setting lends itself well to such a film, a genuinely creepy environment that is underexploited. It is suggested that the various pieces of Stonehenge-like monuments the group discovers are linked to an ancient evil force, but this is unfortunately not developed. Equally frustrating is a sequence in which Eleanor appears to come into contact with a malevolent spirit on the moors, but little explanation is given for this gripping scene.

The cast is very present, which is a plus, and Cronin excels at times in creating genuinely eerie moments, using dense fog, overcast skies and murky terrain to great effect. He certainly shows potential that will hopefully be realized in a future project that employs a simpler, more coherent script. As it stands, “The Moor” is an intriguing calling card for the director, but the script leaves the viewer adrift, as do the beleaguered characters at its center.