Werewolf Winter: Bad Moon (1996)

Have you ever sat down to watch a live-action kids' film (like, say, Disney's Air Bud) only to wish that it was more R-rated? Or have you ever watched a gory horror film and just hoped beyond hope that someone would spend a lot of time focusing on the relationship between a child and his family's dog? No? Neither of those? Well someone clearly thought there was a market out there for such an INSANE meshing of tone and theme; that is the only explanation possible for Bad Moon.

Bad Moon is a film that actually works almost perfectly as the plot of a children's film:

• There is a family (a single mom and her son) with a lovable and loyal German Shepard 
• The mysterious uncle, who has been out of the country adventuring in the Amazon, comes to stay. He is (apparently uncharacteristically) jittery and nervous
• There have been strange animal maulings in the area.
• The lovable German Shepard growls at and doesn't seem to like the uncle all of a sudden
• The lovable German Shepard gets into a fight with a large and mysterious creature in the woods
• When the lovable and loyal dog attacks the uncle, the family thinks it might have rabies and sends the lovable and loyal dog to the pound
• The uncle turns out to (obviously) be a werewolf responsible for the maulings
• The boy goes to rescue his dog, who in turn FIGHTS THE WEREWOLF and saves the day

Let me repeat that. This is a movie where the final fight is FAMILY PET VS. WEREWOLF.

HUG! Yes, this fight looks so "vicious." 

Now, if Bad Moon actually were a children's film, I would say that it is almost creative. The tone in the majority of the film is almost entirely kid friendly, but would border on too scary for a few kids. But even with the "scary" tone, a kids' film is clearly what this film should be, given that its plot sounds like a child's actual fantasy: the favorite family dog being able to take on and defeat a supernatural creature.

However, Bad Moon decides to feature an exceptional amount of nudity and blood into the first 10 minutes... and then be family friendly... a then have a decent amount of blood and swear words in the final 15 minutes. In fact, the movie opens with a (completely gratuitous and unrelated to any plot point) sex scene which is so graphic that it apparently/originally earned the movie an NC-17 from the MPAA before the director cut it down a bit.

Yes, my childish over-acting definitely belongs in an NC-17 film.

What movie watchers are left with is a film which makes no tonal sense. The story feels like a Goosebumps book, but with a brief scene of bare breasts, some blood, and a couple of f-words. Even the music for this film seems like the music for a Disney movie or (even worse) a bad television Christmas special. This feels especially true with the notably sad and dramatic music that plays when the family's dog is taken to the shelter.

"NO! NOT OLD YELLER!"

With the addition of swearing and nudity, what we're left with is a mess of a movie that doesn't know what it wants to be. It's a Lassie episode meets a horror film. It's a heartwarming tale of trusting the family pet, at the same time it is a "thriller" that wants to horrify through "scary" and bloody werewolf costumes.

Scary = terrible. for the record

In some ways, with the child protagonist and "mysterious" uncle, Bad Moon reminded me of Steven King's Silver Bullet. The difference is that King's movie has both a better storyline and tone because it never loses King's creepiness and thus the story feel "adult" all the way through. In contrast, this movie's tone jumps back and forth, never committing to one "reality" of the film's point or perspective.... and thus failing at both.

Overall, I have nothing to recommend about Bad Moon. Even from a "HA, Lassie fights a werewolf!" amusement point it fails and isn't anywhere near as fun as bad werewolf films like The Howling III. With the overall yawn-inducing plot, mediocre child actors, and an unrealistic werewolf costume, this film just isn't worth your time... unless a German Shepard "attacking" a man in a costume was on your list of 'things to see in this lifetime, even in a bad movie.' Otherwise, just feel free to skip this one.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5