Bad Moon

 

After 1981's one-two punch of AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON and THE HOWLING, it seemed like, thanks to advances in special effects that, the sky was the limit for werewolf movies. With the exception of a few kibbles here and there, (DOG SOLDIERS, GINGER SNAPS) we're all still sort of waiting. The truth is it takes a bit more than special effects to make a werewolf tale work. Both of 1981's big doggies sunk their teeth properly into the "curse" element of the lycanthrope mythos and presented us with likable characters who struggled morally with their afflictions. BAD MOON can't hold a candle to those two aforementioned films in the characterization department but it does give it the old college try. Director ERIC RED, who wrote the vampire addiction tale NEAR DARK, has some first hand experience balancing action and pathos but, for the most part, every bone he throws here lands just shy of the mark. Based on the novel THOR by WAYNE SMITH, which is told entirely from the family dog's point of view, BAD MOON as a movie naturally had to switch focus. Rather than spending our time in a German shepherd's head (which actually is not such a bad idea) we are left with what amounts to a story about a sister (wooden as a cigar store Indian MARIEL HEMINGWAY) who opens her door to a sibling (STREETS OF FIRE survivor MICHAEL PARE) who is secretly battling urges he cannot control. Where do you draw the line when dealing with a destructive family member? What if said family member's behavior is endangering your child? BAD MOON's 80 minute running time doesn't allow for adequately getting into these matters, and werewolf fans may be checking their watches anyway waiting for the fangs to sprout. PARE is sympathetic as hell which may work against the drama here, but I think most of the blame can be placed in the lap of a now ridiculous (then just crappy) mid-nineties flavored CGI transformation scene that is almost impossible to recover from. Once fully turned, the beasty that wrecks havoc looks pretty damn good and his threatening attack on HEMINGWAY's tot MASON GAMBLE provides some much needed, late in the game thrills (Thankfully a traveling flimflam artist bounces in to be properly shredded too).  I think if you go into BAD MOON knowing that its intentions are modest, you can have an entertaining enough time. The scope is compact but it's not without some genuinely intriguing (and in the case of the wooded surroundings, well-shot) scenes, just don't expect too much fur to fly or to be left howling at the moon. 

• The sex disrupting original tent attack in Napal
• Watching WEREWOLF OF LONDON on T.V
• Heartbreakingly BENJI-like "dog being taken to the pound" scene
• After the protective family pooch Thor is thrown in the kennel, Pare opens his fly and takes a territorial piss on his doghouse. If the movie had more scenes this darkly clever it could have won best in show!