Bad Moon: A Real Dog

Rating: 1.5 out of 4

Werewolves may be temporarily off the big screen; but these beasts are prowling once again in four recent video releases: The Werewolf of Fever Swamp, Huntress, Bad Moon, and Werewolf. Unfortunately, only Fever Swamp shows some originality - the others show banality. Coincidentally, Fever Swamp is the only affordable one ($9.95 - $14.95 price range) of the four!

Bad Moon couldn’t have been better named if it tried. I had high hopes for this bow-wow, what with: (1) all the hype and interesting photos in Fangoria; (2) this being the first werewolf film from Warner Brothers; and, most of all, (3) the sight of Michael Paré nude as the wolfman in question!  Oh well, the best laid plans, etc. The make-up is fantastic, but that’s about it. The story tells us of a naturalist who is gorily turned into a beastie while unearthing some South American Indian digs. He visits his sister and nephew, hoping to come to grips with his predicament; however, the longer the curse is on him, the less and less rational he becomes - until only evil remains. Thwarting the werewolf at every turn is the family dog, Thor. The doggie senses that Uncle is something more than human; and the two engage in contests of will. This premise (which proved interesting in Thor, the novel from which this screenplay is penned) becomes boring interludes dividing time between Paré’s bouts of lycanthropy. Do yourself a favor if you rent this howler and fast forward to the end for the only transformation scene and for Paré’s naked body. At least then you’ll be barking and baying at the parts that were meant to be so treated.

I hate ranking on werewolf films because, along with vampire movies, they are my favorite type of horror story. If this is to be the quality of endeavor, however, I’ll take vanilla! Enjoy the end of Bad Moon; as for the rest, inflict it on an enemy! Argh!