The difficulty of actually making an effective werewolf film was never more apparent than in 1970s made-for-television items. The familiar trappings of the genre were camp by nature, and would elicit more laughs than chills in anybody except the most impressionable youngsters. Despite that, there were a few examples of TV wolfmen. "Scream of the Wolf" comes to mind, although that film completely avoided any images of any furry-faced men. The brilliant TV series "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" featured a werewolf episode that was easily one of the least of the series.
"Moon of the Wolf" could be one of the best of the TV werewolf genre, although technically that's not saying much. The direction is typically flat, with what seems like a lot of wasted opportunities for utilizing the unique Lousiana locations. The film suffers from poor home video representation, relegated to discount labels that present the film with muted audio and video transfers.
The positive thing is, despite all of this, there's a great deal of 70s atmosphere. The rural locations are often spooky, with some ramshackle bayou shacks that look like no place you'd want to be stranded with a werewolf running around. There's also a stately home that manages to be pretty creepy, too.
The plot is standard TV drama, with the death-by-mangling of a local causing the sheriff to start a low-key investigation. As he finds out more and more about the girl's death, he suspects a human element to the incident, and pretty soon it's a murder investigation. Of course we know by default that she was killed by a werewolf, and a second attack leaves no doubt about it, with a set of steel bars ripped out of a brick wall with sheer supernatural strength. We also have a pretty strong suspicion about who the werewolf is, and the movie does nothing to throw us off the trail or prove us wrong, although the mystery element of the script was halfhearted to begin with.
Something must be said for the great genre cast, too. You'll recognize familiar B-movie personality David Jannsen, although he didn't appear in many horror films during his career. Bradford Dillman is also on hand ("Piranha", "Chosen Survivors", "Demon, Demon", "The Swarm"). Barbara Rush ("It Came From Outer Space", "Death Car on the Freeway") and Royal Dano ("Dead People aka Messiah of Evil", "Killer Klowns from Outer Space") also make appearances.
"Moon of the Wolf" is interesting viewing for fans of 70s horror who've seen it all. It's fairly easy to come by on home video, thanks to all the bargain DVD sets that are in circulation featuring it. Worth a viewing.
"Moon of the Wolf" could be one of the best of the TV werewolf genre, although technically that's not saying much. The direction is typically flat, with what seems like a lot of wasted opportunities for utilizing the unique Lousiana locations. The film suffers from poor home video representation, relegated to discount labels that present the film with muted audio and video transfers.
The positive thing is, despite all of this, there's a great deal of 70s atmosphere. The rural locations are often spooky, with some ramshackle bayou shacks that look like no place you'd want to be stranded with a werewolf running around. There's also a stately home that manages to be pretty creepy, too.
The plot is standard TV drama, with the death-by-mangling of a local causing the sheriff to start a low-key investigation. As he finds out more and more about the girl's death, he suspects a human element to the incident, and pretty soon it's a murder investigation. Of course we know by default that she was killed by a werewolf, and a second attack leaves no doubt about it, with a set of steel bars ripped out of a brick wall with sheer supernatural strength. We also have a pretty strong suspicion about who the werewolf is, and the movie does nothing to throw us off the trail or prove us wrong, although the mystery element of the script was halfhearted to begin with.
Something must be said for the great genre cast, too. You'll recognize familiar B-movie personality David Jannsen, although he didn't appear in many horror films during his career. Bradford Dillman is also on hand ("Piranha", "Chosen Survivors", "Demon, Demon", "The Swarm"). Barbara Rush ("It Came From Outer Space", "Death Car on the Freeway") and Royal Dano ("Dead People aka Messiah of Evil", "Killer Klowns from Outer Space") also make appearances.
"Moon of the Wolf" is interesting viewing for fans of 70s horror who've seen it all. It's fairly easy to come by on home video, thanks to all the bargain DVD sets that are in circulation featuring it. Worth a viewing.