You won't be disappointed!

So much average

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Whenever "Bad Moon" comes to mind, I always surprised to read it was made in 1996. The early nineties, maybe, the late eighties, more likely, I think. Yet, there is it. Release date: 1996. The film feels much older then that, a deliberate throwback to early eighties creature features, when Rick Baker, Rob Bottin, and Stan Winston redefined monster effects. The film was ignored upon release and remains somewhat obscure to this day. Open-minded horror fans who take a chance on it might find a likable, eccentric werewolf thriller.Based on the novel "Thor" by Wayne Smith, "Bad Moon" is a story about a boy and his dog… And a werewolf. Attorney Janet lives with preteen son Brett in a big house on the edge of the Pacific Northwest forest. Seems the only company the family of two has is Thor, their loyal German Shepherd. That is until Janet's brother Ted comes to stay. Unbeknownst to the family, Ted was bitten by a werewolf while in Nepal. Changing every night, he struggles with his animal tendencies, handcuffing himself to a tree when he transforms. Neither Janet nor Brett connect Ted's reappearance to the vicious mauling deaths in the area. Thor, on the other hand, senses something off about the uncle. The dog keeps a close eye on the man and his nightly rituals. It's not much longer until Ted realizes that Thor is on to his secret.Perhaps the reason the film has never been well-received, besides it generic title, is that "Bad Moon" seems to be a movie with two minds. The films open with a steamy sex scene that ends with a werewolf tearing a woman apart and then having its head blown off. The film then transitions to a little boy playing catch with his dog. The whole film slingshots between those two tones. The gore is fairly explicit, the werewolf crushing a construction worker's head in its jaws, strewing his body parts through a tree. Later, the wolf tears a con man apart with his claws, the blood spraying through the air. When the movie isn't focused on graphic werewolf violence, it's a film about family, including the beloved pet Thor. This schizophrenic tone is most obvious in the final act. While Ted confronts Janet about his lycanthropy, chasing her through the house, Brett sneaks off on his bike, rescuing Thor from the local pound. The hard horror content doesn't always co-exist easily with the Spielbergian family drama.Yet it almost doesn't matter because veteran genre screenwriter turned genre director Eric Red nails the heart of the story. The soul of the film rests behind Thor's vivid eyes and the love his family has for him. If they gave out Oscars to dogs, Primo, the shepherd who plays the part, would have won. I'm only being partially facetious when I say he's the best actor in the film. Any animal lover is bound to have their heart-strings tugged by the scene where Thor is separated from his boy. The last act, where Thor and the werewolf fight, would have been ridiculous if the audience didn't care about Thor as much as the characters do. The movie successfully endears the dog to the viewer, investing "Bad Moon" with far more emotion then it otherwise would have had.The human cast is a bit more mixed. Mariel Hemingway does very well as the single mom, never reduced to a screaming female. She's strong in the face of a petty con men and remains strong when being chased by a werewolf. Mason Gamble as the young boy is less impressive. It's a good thing that the kid is pushed towards the sideline for most of the film because he's not quite convincing. Michael Pare's performance is a bit harder to read. He conveys a threatening attitude subtly, especially when only a blink frightens Thor into attacking. However, moments of bigger emotions seem unconvincing coming out of Pare's mouth. A brief voice-over narration especially doesn't work, Pare given melodramatic dialogue about "the restorative power of love," for goodness' sake.The center piece of any werewolf movie is its werewolf. "Bad Moon" doesn't feature the most original design, your standard up-right dire wolf. However, the effects are convincing. Some might consider them cheesy but I like the close-ups of the drooling, snarling face. The film's relatively small cast keeps the body count low but gore hounds might still find effects of note here. The dismembered body mentioned earlier is especially gruesome. The only effect in the movie that doesn't work is a nightmare sequence featuring a were-dog. It's a silly moment and luckily one the film doesn't focus on. "Werewolf of London" is briefly seen and the film outright pays homage too, with its werewolf vulnerable to regular bullets and Nepal-set opening.Red's direction is handsome and makes good use of its lush shooting location. The score balances frights and lovely orchestral nicely. I'm not surprised that "Bad Moon" bombed in theaters as a post-"Scream" audience probably didn't have much interest in an eighties-style creature feature. The movie's unlikely to blow anyone's socks off but it's a solid werewolf flick nevertheless.

Start of as a really good, nice dog story, I enjoyed the dogs scenes very much, this movie did have some bloody moments in this. The werewolf in this movie, did look a bit scary and did not look too fake, like the Paris movie.The transformation scenes was not great, but I think it was descent. I felt sorry little and I was a little bit teary, when they took the dog away! (I love dogs too much)The acting form the whole cast was really good, The dog who stole the show, as he was fantastic in this movie.I enjoyed it, mostly, thanks to the dog!, 5 out of 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?

Director and screenplay writer Eric Red who also wrote and directed another classic flick, Cohen and Tate 1988 and also wrote other classic flicks, Near Dark 1987 and The Hitcher 1986 has also created another gem in Bad Moon.Starring Michael Pare who has also been in other classic flicks, Rampage 2009, Direct Contact 2009, Seed 2007 and Home Room 2002.Also starring Mariel Memingway.Also starring Mason Gamble.I enjoyed the attack scenes.If you enjoyed this as much as I did then check out other classic werewolf flicks, Big Bad Wolf 2006, Dog Soldiers 2002, Ginger Snaps 2000, Ginger Snaps: Unleashed 2004, Silver Bullet 1985, An American Werewolf in London 1981, Full Eclipse 1993, Wer 2013, Late Phases 2014 and The Wolfman 2010.