Bad Moon (1996)

Very well executed

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Bad Moon is a sorely underrated werewolf film that is like hidden treasure for werewolf and horror movie enthusiasts.I watched Bad Moon a few years back and did not expect it to become one of my favorite werewolf films - but it did. Maybe it helped because I like both Michael Paré (Eddie and the Cruisers) and Mariel Hemingway (Star 80) but maybe anyone could have acted out the parts and I would have still enjoyed Bad Moon anyway.If you are looking for modern-day, high dollar movie with tons of CGI effects - then this movie may not be for you. Bad Moon uses "old school" special effects that I still love to this very day.This is one of those movies I would enjoy watching again on a dark, rainy night with popcorn in hand.9.5/10

A movie called Bad Moon has to be a werewolf flick, and in fact director Eric Red has crafted a very good one from writer Wayne Smith's book about a Gerhman shepherd and the werewolf who infiltrates his family...er, Pack. Red trims the Pack down to a single Mom (Marielle Hemingway) and her young son (Mason Gamble), but otherwise retains most of the original story. Thor, apparently played by a dog named Primo, is still the hero of the story, though Red (perhaps wisely) doesn't really attempt to duplicate Smith's original feat of telling most of the tale from the dog's point of view. Even so, Thor is central to the plot and Red does a good job of orchestrating the movie's unfolding events so that even if the humans have to carry most of the dramatic weight, Thor's presence and involvement are always underscored. The overall quality of a modern werewolf film depends in large part upon how well the creature comes to life, and in this regard Bad Moon does not disappoint. The werewolf is both frightening and realistic looking, and while it's a bit more wolf-like than the more humanoid creature described in the source novel, it's a terrific piece of FX work. Actor Michael Pare does a good job with the ambiguous role of Uncle Ted, who like most werewolves doesn't really want to be a monster and tries to protect his sister and nephew from himself as long as possible. Naturally, Ted's efforts are for naught, and in the end it all comes down to a fight to the finish between the seemingly invincible werewolf and the loyal Thor. At times Red's script does falter a bit and the film probably never reaches the level of Dog Soldiers or The Wolf Man, but all the same it's a very entertaining creature feature with some great cinematography, a neat monster, and a touching protagonist who is more human than most people I know. There's even a brief clip from the original werewolf film, Werewolf of London. What more do you need?

This is one of the best werewolf movies around. The always legendary Michael Pare (Eddie and the cruisers, Streets of fire) stars as Ted, a normal man by day...but by night he is a flesh craving werewolf. Ted moves in with his sister (Mariel Hemingway) and her kid, hoping to end the curse with the power of love (a pretty stupid idea). Ted's sister and nephew may be oblivious to his condition, but the family dog, Thor, is not. A deadly game of dog vs. werewolf begins and in the end...only one will live. The werewolf effects are excellent and watching Pare playing a man tormented with a deadly curse is fun to watch. There is some surprising gore and the dog vs. werewolf idea is interesting and fun. The film is just a good old monster movie with some fun twists on the legends. A solid horror film.

Bad Moon (1996) *** (out of 4)Highly entertaining film from writer-director Eric Red has Janet (Mariel Hemingway) allowing her brother Ted (Michael Pare) to move in with her and her young son Brett (Mason Gamble). Everyone is happy about the idea except for her German Shepard dog who seems to have something against Ted. What Janet doesn't realize is that her brother was attacked by a werewolf and is now one himself.I didn't see BAD MOON when it was originally released even though I love werewolf movies. I finally caught up with it on DVD and really enjoyed the movie so I decided to revisit it yet again on Blu-ray and I think it has gotten even better. Is the movie flawless? Of course not but at the same time there's no question that it's an entertaining horror film.What I enjoyed most about the film is that there's not a tremendous amount of dialogue as the main "action" takes place between the uncle and the dog. I really loved this aspect of the story and it was fascinating watching the dog and his reaction to the Uncle. I loved the way the dog could see the dnager that his owners were in and this aspect of the film brought an original touch to a genre that has had countless movies in it.The werewolf effects were quite good and I'd consider them old-fashion, which certainly isn't a bad thing. Some of the violence is quite graphic for its time and there's no question that the three leads are a lot of fun and work well together. The real star has to be Primo the dog who plays THor. He is such a great dog actor and you can't help but say he's one of the best in the history of cinema. Yeah, that's high praise but he's really that great and his reactions to things going on around here was just flawless.BAD MOON isn't going to win any major awards but there's no doubt that it's a very good and highly entertaining film.