Movie Info
Movie Name: Bad Moon
Studio: Morgan Creek Productions
Genre(s): Horror
Release Date(s): November 1, 1996
MPAA Rating: R
I’m the big, bad wolf!
During an expedition to Nepal, Ted (Michael Paré) is bitten by a werewolf, taking the curse home with him. Now, Ted is fighting his animal urges and finds that nothing seems to help. In a last ditch effort, Ted head to the home of his sister Janet (Mariel Hemingway) and her son Brett (Mason Gamble). Ted also has to deal with Thor…Janet’s German shepherd who can sense Ted’s affliction. Determined to protect his family, Thor must keep the horror from invading his home.
Directed by Eric Red, Bad Moon is based on the 1994 novel Thor by Wayne Smith. The movie was released to poor reviews and bombed at the box office. The movie was originally rated at NC-17 but edited down for an R-Rating.
Wow, vicious attack by Thor…it looks like the wolf is just holding the dog…hmmmm
The original concept for Bad Moon was rather intriguing. The novel Thor told the story entirely from the dog’s perspective. Here, Thor is still the real focus of the movie, but it is virtually impossible to follow through with the concept in film form.
The story for Bad Moon really is quite dull. Other than having the fun of a werewolf, not much happens in the movie. The idea of a werewolf dealing with another wild animal is a great concept, and it might be the reason that Bad Moon is a bit of a disappointment because it doesn’t live up to the idea…plus, Thor must be the most powerful dog ever since that werewolf sure gives him a beating.
I always have a smile!
Michael Paré, Mariel Hemingway, and Mason Gamble don’t scream stellar cast. Paré never has been that good (I always associate him with the punk kid on The Greatest American Hero…who was essentially a John Travolta rip-off) and continues to be a really flat character who is dealing with high stakes. Hemingway might have had an Oscar nomination in her past, but she has never reached that level again. Mason Gamble is possibly in one of my favorite movies in Rushmore, but he is more like his Dennis the Menace role here…way too “on” in all his scenes. Thor would be the real star of the film as a well-trained devoted dog (played by “Primo”).
Bad Moon? More like Bad Morph (Bad Pun)…
I like the basic werewolf design on the film, but the movie is marred by a horribly dated transformation scene. The 1996 movie decided to take advantage of morphing technology and had a really horrible transformation/morph scene involving Paré. It is worse than the model wolf which does have some nice mechanics to it.
Bad Moon is a very average werewolf movie, but if you are a fan of werewolf movies, you might want to check it out for a bit of a different perspective. Watching Bad Moon, I found myself wanting to check out the original novel more than the movie which tries a bit too hard (and has too perky of a costar in Gamble).
