Bad Moon (1996)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Eric Red

Writers (WGA):

Wayne Smith (novel)
Eric Red (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 November 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Half man. Half wolf. Total terror.

Plot:

One man's struggle to contain the curse he hides within... and his last-ditch attempt to free himself with the love of family...

Plot Keywords:

Thor | Dog | Werewolf | Sheriff | Human Animal Relationship

Cast

Mariel Hemingway	...	Janet
Michael Paré	...	Uncle Ted (as Michael Pare)
Mason Gamble	...	Brett
Ken Pogue	...	Sheriff Jenson
Hrothgar Mathews	...	Flopsy
Johanna Lebovitz	...	Marjorie (as Johanna Marlowe Lebovitz)
Gavin Buhr	...	Forest Ranger
Julia Montgomery Brown	...	Reporter
Primo	...	Thor

Also Known As:

Thor (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for horror violence and gore, brief language and a scene of sexuality.

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Germany:16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-16 | South Korea:18 | UK:18 (video premiere) | USA:R (certificate #34872) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Ansmore Village, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Morgan Creek Productions

Trivia:

A few seconds of sex and gore was cut from the opening scene in oder to avoid an NC-17.

Goofs:

Factual errors: On the dates that were apparently a full moon, the moon was new (or nearly so).

Quotes:

Uncle Ted: [to Brett, who is sulking because his dog Thor was sent to the pound] Come here.
[when Brett reluctantly comes to sit on his lap, Ted says with evil irony:]
Uncle Ted: There'll be other animals in your life.

Movie Connections:

Features Werewolf of London (1935)

Underrated Gem

Bad Moon (1996)

*** (out of 4)

I've been wanting to check this film out since it was first released but for some odd reason I'm just now getting around to watching it and I really wish I had watched it sooner. A single mother (Mariel Hemingway) and her young son (Mason Gamble) are happy when her brother (Michael Pare) comes to stay with them. However, the pet German Shepard isn't so thrilled because he knows the brother is a werewolf. I was really surprised to see myself so caught up in the film but it actually works on many levels. For starters, the film is a throwback to the old days and thankfully the running time is under 80-minutes so there's nothing here that drags down the action and story. The performances are all very good with Pare giving the best performance of the humans. The real star of the film is the dog who turns in one of the greatest performances from an animal that I've seen. The CGI werewolf transformation is pretty bad but I really enjoyed everything else. You've got some violent death scenes with a nice amount of gore as well. Director Eric Red previously wrote the screenplays for The Hitcher, Near Dark and Body Parts.