BAD MOON
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 1.5 Alternative Scale: 1/2 out of ****
United States, 1996 U.S. Release Date: 11/1/96 (wide) Running Length: 1:20 MPAA Classification: R (Violence, gore, nudity, sex, mild profanity) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Cast: Mariel Hemingway, Michael Pare, Mason Gamble, Ken Kirzinger Director: Eric Red Producer: James G. Robinson Screenplay: Eric Red Cinematography: Jan Kiesser Music: Daniel Licht U.S. Distributor: Warner Brothers
With certain movies, it's possible to tell immediately that you're watching something memorably bad. With others, you have to wait a little longer. In BAD MOON, it takes approximately three minutes. The first shot -- a stunning widescreen view of a mountainscape, complete with mist-shrouded jungle -- is actually quite impressive. It's what happens shortly thereafter that makes it apparent how low the standards of quality are on this production. After a brief sex scene (is it possible to have a horror film without at least a little bare female flesh?), we're treated to our first view of a werewolf. At that supposedly-chilling moment, I started laughing so hard that I nearly fell out of my chair. In this era of morphing, CGI, and other futuristic special effects, BAD MOON put someone into an exceptionally cheesy-looking wolf man suit. I spent a good portion of the rest of the film looking for the zipper.
It's this kind of movie that somehow restores one's faith in Hollywood -- they can still make movies that are so completely awful that, on a masochistic level, they're a riot to watch. People occasionally ask me why I venture into films that I fully expect to be bad; this is the reason. And, as an added bonus, BAD MOON doesn't drag its hideousness out to the point where it becomes unbearable. At just eighty minutes (seventy-five if you ignore the end credits), it's over before the urge to walk out becomes irresistible.
BAD MOON starts out in the jungles of Nepal, where photojournalist Ted Harrison (Michael Pare) is on an expedition. One night, while he and his girlfriend are having some fun in a tent, the camp is attacked by a half-man/half-wolf (it's actually stunt coordinator Ken Kirzinger). Ted's girlfriend is shredded and, before he can use his shotgun, Ted is bitten. Of course, as everyone knows, "even a man who is pure in heart, and says his prayers by night" is susceptible to lycanthropy when chewed on by a werewolf.
Some months later, Ted's sister, Janet (Mariel Hemingway), and her 10-year old son, Brett (Mason Gamble), visit him at his Pacific Northwest home. Janet notices a change in her brother, and, worried about his well-being, she invites him to live with her. Not long after, Ted takes her up on the offer (for some inexplicable reason, he thinks "the love of [his] family" will cure him). No sooner has he arrived, however, than strange, bloody things start happening. Only the family dog, Thor, is suspicious that Ted might not be the same man he used to be.
There are a few points I'd like to raise about this movie. First of all, even though Ted claims that it doesn't take a full moon to force the transformation of a real werewolf, in this film, the moon is always full. On at least three consecutive nights, we're shown shots of it, hanging in the sky, emerging from behind clouds, full and round. I would think such a bizarre astronomical event would cause far more interest than the comparatively mundane occurrence of a man changing into a werewolf.
Secondly, in order to stop his dangerous transformation, Ted handcuffs himself so that his arms are wrapped around the trunk of a tree. Not a bad idea, right? But how does he get free in the morning? If he still has the keys, then why doesn't he use them as a werewolf? And if he doesn't have the keys, how does he manage to escape once he's turned back into human form? Somehow, I don't think we're supposed to think about this.
Finally, it's pretty amazing that on the one morning Ted is spending some quality time with Brett and Janet, a werewolf movie just happens to be on TV. We learn all sorts of interesting information during the ensuing discussion between Brett and Ted. For instance, to kill a werewolf, you don't have to shoot him with a silver bullet. Blowing his head off with a shotgun will do the job just as effectively.
The actors probably shouldn't have played their roles quite so solemnly. A little more tongue-in-cheek would have improved the tone immeasurably. Then again, almost anything would have accomplished that aim. I'm not sure why BAD MOON didn't go straight to video. Don't worry, though, if you're planning to subject yourself to it in that medium -- it will arrive there faster than a speeding bullet, silver or otherwise.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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