Kill the Moonlight, completed in 1994

1994 in film

1994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time...

, is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 independent film

Independent film

An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...

 by Steve Hanft

Steve Hanft

Steven P. Hanft , more commonly known as Steve Hanft, is an American independent film director.-Early life:Hanft was born in Ventura, California. He started making films at the age of 11 growing up in California. His first works consisted of surf films and nature films followed later by...

. It was not officially released until much later.

Filmmaker and video director Steve Hanft's first independent feature film

Feature film

In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...

, started when he was enrolled in CalArts in the early '90s.

The film inspired Beck

Beck

Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...

's song "Loser", which features samples

Sampling (music)

In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...

 of the film in the song and music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

, along with a blatant reference to the film with the lyric: "...kill the headlights..."

Kill the Moonlight had its premiere in 1998 at Laemmle's Sunset 5 theatre in West Hollywood where Beck played an impromptu set in the movie theatre. It was not released domestically officially until 2006.

Synopsis

A twisted mid-'90s comedy disguised as a 1970s drive-in film, Kill the Moonlight is the story of Chance, a fish hatchery worker, toxic waste cleaner and aspiring race car driver, whose goal in life is to fix up his Camaro

Chevrolet Camaro

The Chevrolet Camaro is an automobile manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand, classified as a pony car and some versions also as a muscle car. It went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed as a competing model to the Ford Mustang...

 and follow his dreams of championship glory. Director Steven Hanft captures the West Coast slacker

Slacker

The term "slacker" is used to refer to a person who habitually avoids work. Slackers may be regarded as belonging to an antimaterialistic counterculture, though in some cases their behavior may be due to other causes ....

 vibe with laconic pacing, bizarre humor and a stock-car-racing hero.

Credits

Written and Directed by

• Steve Hanft
  Steve Hanft
  Steven P. Hanft , more commonly known as Steve Hanft, is an American independent film director.-Early life:Hanft was born in Ventura, California. He started making films at the age of 11 growing up in California. His first works consisted of surf films and nature films followed later by...
  
  

Cast (in alphabetical order)

• Richmond Arquette
  Richmond Arquette
  - Background :Arquette was born in New York City, the son of Brenda "Mardi" Olivia , an actress, poet, theater operator, activist, acting teacher and therapist, and Lewis Arquette, an actor. Arquette's paternal grandfather was comedian Cliff Arquette...
  
   - Sandra's boyfriend
• Jaime Colindrez - Jaime
• John Hanft - Good citizen
• Steve Hanft - Dennis
• Ross Harris - Ross
• Maria Hassabi - Sandra
• Thomas Hendrix - Chance
• Beata Henrichs - Cindy
• Ralston Regan - Chance's Father
• Eddie Ruscha - Surf bassist

Produced by

• Steve Hanft

Cinematography by

• Steve Hanft

Film Editing by

• Steve Hanft

Soundtrack

First issued by Sympathy for the Record Industry

Sympathy for the Record Industry

Sympathy for the Record Industry is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by record industry anti-mogul Long Gone John...

 in 1997, the out of print soundtrack to Kill The Moonlight was reissued with the Plexifilm DVD release, this time including tracks from Beck

Beck

Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...

 and Steve Hanft's band Loser.

• Beck
  Beck
  Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
  
   - "Leave Me On The Moon"
• The Pussywillows - "Vindaloo"
• The Dynamics
  The Dynamics
  The Dynamics were an American R&B group from Detroit, Michigan.The Dynamics formed in the late 1960s, and were managed by Ted White, who married Aretha Franklin. The group released two full-length albums and charted three hits on the U.S...
  
   - "Tube Glory"
• The Raunch Hands - "Green Room"
• Pam Aronoff - "TV Jazz"
• Go To Blazes
  Go to Blazes
  Go to Blazes is a 1942 British information film, produced by the Ministry of Information, directed by Walter Forde and starring Will Hay and Thora Hird.-Synopsis:...
  
   - "Hating You"
• Loser - "Born Of Whiskey"
• Beck - "Last Night I Traded My Soul's Innermost for Some Pickled Fish"
• Delta Garage - "Blue Eyes"
• Thomas Hendrix - "Kill The Moonlight Sample"
• The World Famous Blue Jays - "Cookin' With Jay"
• Go To Blazes - "Bad Cup of Coffee"
• Beck - "Underwater Music"
• Loser - "Dad Came Home"
• Martha Atwell - "Wildwood Flower"
• Thomas Hendrix - "Can't Find My Car"
• Pam Aronoff - "Clear"
• Loser - "Fish Bait"
• The Dynamics - "Spaghetti Ride"