Bad Moon features some of the best makeup and gore effects ever in a werewolf movie. The werewolf itself is a good design with the exception of the eyes which look a little too plastic. The story is quite interesting too because the werewolf, or the man who happens to be the werewolf and a family's dog are in every scene making this an interesting beast versus beast movie. I've always said that vampires could be an allegory for drug addiction and werewolves are more of an allegory for an incurable disease or multiple personality disorder. In this case however the story focuses on a man thinking going back to his family will cure him of the werewolf affliction making this a good allegory for addiction and the toll it can take on a family.
A look at the wolf in this movie
Synopsis: Ted (Michael Paré) is working in Nepal when he and his girlfriend are attacked by a mysterious creature. Ted, though brutally maimed, survives, but his girlfriend is not so lucky. To help his recovery, Ted moves close to his sister, Janet (Mariel Hemingway), and her son, Brett (Mason Gamble), but soon realizes he was attacked by a werewolf. Ted is helpless to stop his transformation and only Brett's German shepherd, Thor, is able to see that Ted is a danger to everyone around him.
The movie starts with two photojournalists in Nepal, Ted (Michael Pare) and Marjorie (Johanna Lebovitz) getting attacked by a werewolf while having sex. The mutilation effects are particularly great here. The claw effects on Ted's upper torso look gnarly. You do see a bit of the werewolf here as well. The movie doesn't take long to show you the design. In the first of some inversions of werewolf tropes Ted blows off the head of the werewolf with a shotgun. This movie shows you don't need silver bullets to kill them. The movie then transitions to attorney Janet (Mariel Hemingway) and her son Brett (Mason Gamble) and their dog Thor. Thor is hostile, but rightfully so toward a con artist who appears at their driveway trying to get the dog to bite him so he can sue them. This shows Janet to be.competent and unafraid woman.
Meanwhile Ted is staying in a trailer somewhere in the pacific northwest. He invites Janet, Brett and Thor to visit him. Thor is immediately suspicious of Ted for obvious reasons. Ted declines an offer to stay with Janet. An electrical worker is later killed by the werewolf near the woods where Ted is staying. While the practical effects are lesser on this kill you feel the impact of the wolf's bite as blood shoots from under the worker's hardhat. In a good transition sequence Ted is shown calling Janet asking to come stay with them. The scene then shows cops and reporters right outside of his trailer.
While Ted is initially a pleasant presence for the family, his building clash with Thor leads to complications. At first Thor is just content staring at Ted before he goes into the woods to "go on a run," One night Thor manages to attack and drive off the werewolf. The con artist returns one night and and brutally killed by the werewolf with a bunch of awesome shooting blood squibs go through the wound in his throat. Brett and Ted have a fun conversation while watching a werewolf movie where Ted laughs at the fact that the legend is that someone only turns into a werewolf during the full moon. We as an audience know it happens to him every night, another inversion of werewolf movie tropes.
Eventually Ted baits Thor into biting him. Animal control authorities come and take Thor away in a heartbreaking scene where the dog fights to get free and Brett tries to fight to get to him. Ted who at first warned his family of a possible killer animal presence has become more selfish and doesn't seem to want to resign himself to his condition and instead is putting his family at risk. Again, this is where this movie is relatable to an addict as Thor could represent the one person in the family who doesn't want them around. Janet later breaks into Ted's trailer and finds his journal entries. While I like the idea of family love being something that could cure Ted's condition I don't think the movie elaborates on it enough. Maybe that's the point though is that Ted believes that could help him but it never actually has a chance. He's like a dying person clinging on to hope he can somehow live.
In the film's finale Janet confronts Ted in the woods. He transforms into the werewolf. The first part of the transformation which is just all makeup looks quite good as Michael Pare's eyes change. The second part looks like both a blend of CGI and practical and I really like the "Wolfman" design of him in the middle of his transformation looking half man and half wolf. The last part of the transformation looks horribly fake and dated and looks all CGI. While the makeup effects in this are flawless, the creature effects are and the digital effects aren't good.
Brett breaks Thor out of the animal pound and brings him home where Thor and the werewolf fight. With help from Janet and her magnum revolver the werewolf is eventually killed. Thor survives and him and Ted have a final goodbye in the woods as Ted is dying from the injuries he sustained as a werewolf, something different and cool. While this movie has problems with how basic the story is I like how the character development only comes from the scenes where Ted and Thor are on screen. The inversions to traditional werewolf tropes are interesting and the makeup effects are nothing short of amazing. Mariel Hemingway and Mason Gamble are decent enough in their performances. Thor is the heart of this movie though. Great dog actor whoever it is.
Rating: 8/10
Trivia: The film departs from the source novel with specifics quite a bit. The family was bigger and the details of how the dog sees the family as it's pack that must be defended and it's confusion about the werewolf's threat doesn't come through as much in detail as it does in Wayne Smith's novel.
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