Description

Full moon, crescent moon, quarter moon...each is a Bad Moon for Ted Harrison. By day, he's a photojournalist enjoying a stay with family in the Pacific Northwest. By night, he transfigures into a horrific half-human--a werewolf. Writer/Director Eric Red (The Hitcher, Body Parts) delivers a new infusion of thrills with this roaring, red-blooded shocker. Michael Pare portrays Ted, hiding his accursed condition from his sister (Mariel Hemingway) and nephew (Dennis the Menace's Mason Gamble) Year: 1997 Director: Eric Red Starring:Mariel Hemingway, Michael Pare, Mason Gamble ... Read more

Reviews (35)

This moon aint so bad . .
Okay, this movie has had it's fair share knocks and bad reviews. I admit it's not the best werewolf movie in the world, but it's certainly not the worst (Just take a look at some of those HOWLING sequels). Director Eric Red has had a great genre career, what with screenwriting such 80s gems as THE HITCHER and NEAR DARK and directing the underrated BODY PARTS, he knows how to craft a decent horror movie. This movie however, suffers from what seems to be a low budget and quite surprisingly from Eric Red, an underwritten script. Lead actors Mariel Hemingway and Michael Pare equip themselves fine with the stilted dialogue and try to bring the movie out of the B movie realm. Jan Kiessers' cinematography is atmospheric and Steve Johnson's animatronic werewolf suit is great (it's just a pity the rushed CGI doesn't come up to scratch - the painful scene where Pare transforms into the creature using CGI is terrible and quite frankly, needed to be cut from the film, especially when the non-digital work in the movie is largely excellent).

Warner Bros. dumped this movie straight to tape in the UK, and we never got the chance to see the movie at the theatres. Now, with DVD I can view the movie as it was meant to be seen. It benefits greatly from the digital format, what with a bright sharp picture (highlighting that cool, autumnal look of the cinematography) and the chance to see Steve Johnson's great creature effects. Reviewers moaned about this movie when it came out, and to a point I can see why, but when other dull "horror" movies like AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN PARIS and the latest SCREAM rip-off are released at the cinema, this low-budget flick doesn't seem so bad after all. Granted, it's not a great film by any means, but it's not a bad one either . . . I look forward to whatever Eric Red puts out in the future, at least his horror heart is in the right place.

I love this movie!
Okay, there are a couple of things that stink about this movie, so let's get that out of the way first. (1) Mariel Hemingway's acting sucks, (2) the cute blond kid's acting sucks, (3) Michael Pare's acting sucks slightly less, (4) the big transformation scene REALLY sucks--CGI at its sloppiest, and (5) some inane leaps in logic, like: Is Uncle Ted really so stupid that he thinks "family love" will cure him?
But I still gave it five stars. Why? Two main reasons: One, I love the idea of presenting the plot largely through the eyes of the dog, Thor. Thor acts circles around his human costars, and if, by the end of the movie, you aren't cheering him on as he races home to confront the werewolf, you must have a heart of stone. Two, the werewolf costume is fantastic. It is easily the best-looking, least-fakey werewolf I have ever seen. Despite the idiotic transformation scene, this werewolf looks ten times more impressive--and scary!--than any other. (Okay, the one in the big attack scene in the doctor's office in "The Howling" is a close second.)
Yes, you will groan at some of the dialogue. Yes, you will want the werewolf to rip off the cute blond kid's head. Yes, you will laugh heartily as you watch Ms. Hemingway struggle with the proverbial paper bag. Yes, there is an obligatory "final scare" which is totally stupid. But if you're in the mood for a fun little horror flick with some gore, an awesome monster, and a heroic dog, look no more! Need any more encouragement? This movie was written and directed by Eric Red, the genius who also gave us possibly the best vampire movie of all time, "Near Dark."

Bad Moon (1996)
Director: Eric Red
Cast: Mariel Hemingway, Michael Pare.
Running Time: 83 minutes.
Rated R for violence, gore, language, and sexual situations.

What begins as a fairly cheesy take on "The Howling" premise develops into a scary, enjoyable horror film that is quick, taut, and surprisingly atmospheric. Mariel Hemingway stars as a single-mom who realizes that something is happening to her distant brother (Michael Pare). Although he as always been a little different, Hemingway decides that the best thing she can do is support him--so she allows him to stay in his trailer park on her property--bad idea. Her brother is a flesh-eating werewolf.

Michael Pare is adequate as the mysterious man-turned-werewolf, showing that haunting despair of knowing that he is inflicting horror on those he loves. The special effects are adequate and the acting is solid; director Eric Red does a nice job of slimming the film down and taking out the useless material to reveal a good horror film with the bare essentials. "Bad Moon" received no critical acclaim or publicity, but it is a much better motion picture than expected. Not quite "The Howling", but not far off.

Hangin's Too Good For 'Em
How does this movie suck? Let me count the ways... No wait, I can't count that high. DEEP BLUE can't count that high!
There is only one possible meritorious use for this POS other than squashing an errant cockroach, levelling a wobbly table or welcoming the cleansing heat of cigarette butts being ground into its surface: Suffer through this abomination, then go to your library and find the novel it was based on. The book is called "Thor", it was written by a guy named Wayne Smith, and it is without doubt one of the ten or twelve best modern horror novels I've ever read. In fact, it is SO much better than this wretched waste of celluloid that it is obvious the producers of this dreck bought the movie rights and told one of their hack nephews "Yeah, it's about a werewolf and the family dog, gimme a script by, ah, what the hell, say next Tuesday," whereupon the aforementioned hack nephew made his uncle proud by giving him a script the following Sunday which was worth every minute of the wait. The book, "Thor", is so thouroughly good, and this movie, "Bad Moon" so astonishingly bad, that having read the former and endured the latter one is reduced to inarticultae sputterings of phrases of almost incoherent rage: Phrases like "Manicheean guilt"... "heresy"... "lynching"... "break the writer's fingers"... "put out the director's eyes"... "drain the producer's pool and send their girlfriends back to cheerleading camp"... "Force everyone involved with this film to take the Clintons into their homes for a year"...
Virtually everything wrong with letting Hollywood have free reign over film adaptations of splendid little books can be summed up here in this pointless, aimless, plotless, soulless, heartless, worthless piece of utter and irredeemable trash. Chunks, this movie blows.
Find the book. read the book. And for god's sake, if you are a director with any sense of integrity, make a GOOD movie of the book "Thor", by Wayne Smith. It deserves it.

Tree Hugging Werewolf
This movie right here is one of the overlooked gems of the often forgettable 1990's so called "horror" genre. A very quick film (under 80 minutes!) that doesn't bloat itself with too much back story and keeps the action pretty much centered on Ted (the werewolf) and Thor (the protective German Shepherd)focusing on their standoff (which is well shot, save for the obviously "stuffed" Thor for some over the shoulder thrashing). Really well acted (Michael Pare as Ted really stands out)and the idea of having a werewolf film that is about 70% based on a dog's point of view is quite original. Some terrific creature design and gore help with the intensity. The actual transformation scene seems a little dated but this movie wasn't exactly big budget fare and besides any horror fan should know that most of the really good flicks come from genuine heart in the production, not deep pockets. All in all this is one of my favorite werewolf movies, it's short, sweet, and to the point. It probably doesn't hurt that I've owned two German Shepherds in my lifetime either. If you like horror or werewolf movies check this one out.

"All of a sudden you've got a 200 lb. wolf at the door." ... Read more

Description

BODY PARTS is a bone-chilling tale about a medical experiment gone wrong.After a crime psychologist (Fahey) loses his arm and nearly his life in a grisly car accident, he undergoes a daring medical operation to have a donor arm grafted onto his body.But after the operation, the arm starts to take on a violent life of its own, striking out against Bill's wife and children.Consumed by fears about his dangerous behavior, Bill is driven to learn about the donor's identity - a horrifying discovery that delivers him into a world of unimaginable terror. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Eric Red, a good filmmaker.
A well-made horror thriller that is surprisingly good but at the same time seams to have something wrong with it. Jeff Fahey plays a criminal psychologist who loses his arm in a car accident but gets it replaced with another by emergency surgical replacement. The good thing is it works. The bad thing is he has little control over it. Yes indeed you may have seen many other horror films like this but director/co-writer Eric Red knows how to make a old story line seem new, but the film's screenplay seems to have some plot implausibilities, the film wath's to have two story lines going and the ending is too happy. A lot of theaters pulled the film after the Jeffrey Dahmer story hit the news. Red's next was BED MOON (1996).

1991. Paramount. 88 MINS.

Rated R (Violence and Language).

A knockout ride of a thriller.
Jeff Fahey's life goes to hell when he receives an arm transplant after an auto accident. Turns out the arm came from a serial killer! Written and directed by genre favorite Eric Red, Body Parts is mostly superior entertainment from beginning to end. Fast-paced, with several exciting action sequences (The pseudo-car chase and hospital finale come to mind) and a decent mystery make certain the movie never lets up. Drags a few times in the beginning and the story gets maybe a little too silly, but this is overall a gripping horror/thriller. Fahey is superb, as is Brad Dourif as an eccentric painter.
*** 1/2 out of *****

Fady Ghaly's reviews
This is a very interesting film that is as clever as it is scary. A real horror film that will, by the time its narrative will have completely unfolded, have you so very much involved that you'd presume you were on the opposite side of that screen of yours. And I'll go as far as saying that it'll virtually expunge the thought of you exhaling throughout the last half-hour of it, when great havoc arose among our three afflicted leading men whose lives were completely turned upside-down...or shall I say-targets.

Written and directed by Eric Red, and based upon the novel Choice Cuts by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, Body Parts is an exhilarating and tightly-paced film that gets under your skin and lingers long after you've seen it. This well-written work-of-art does more than provide great direction, stunning visuals, grotesque and harrowing scenes that are beyond suitable for the lily-livered, and startling action sequences; in addition, it provides superb performances from the entire cast. What can I say? Once the cast is in character and the cameras are rolling, brace yourself for some realistic work. Here you have the underrated Brad Dourif, who perfectly-to no surprise-depicts the eccentric, chilling and edgy roll of Remo Lacey, a mad artist whose isolation from the rest of the world allows him to pursue with his work, which is influenced by the same disturbing nightmares Jeff Fahey's character undergoes, who'll really just keep you breathless as the affects of his transplant gradually began to show and he, to his horror, altered into this completely new, fanatical man without a wife to wake up with or children to kiss goodnight. Many horror films lack in great performances, as you would surely know by now, but this film possibly has the finest I've ever seen!

A classic horror/action thriller
Superb, realistic performances, great direction and writing, striking visuals, powerful and startling action and horror sequences, and overall great filmmaking, create a thriller of rare believeability and involvement. I am a great fan of director Eric Red's films, and this is the best of them.

Sick and Twisted Fun!
If you're in the mood for an incredibly silly, goofy, and gory horror flick, this is it! Jeff Fahey stars as a guy who loses his arm in a car accident and gets another one surgically attached. But gosh darn it! The arm belonged to a serial killer *gasp*! The one and only Brad Dourif co-stars (and steals every scene he is in) as the eccentric artist who got the other arm. You can't take this movie seriously or else its no fun. Just sit back, relax, and laugh your head off. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Deep, deep, deep.
Okay - so a cast of three was pretty impressive. Charles Dance was incredibly impressive.

But the silly struggle of emotions between Lou Diamond and Mia was out of place and just bad. Their reactions to situations was terrible. Lou Diamond's mock-rage in the rain, in the truck were like a wacky Godzilla acting lesson. It didn't get better. And the sudden sex between the two characters was just whacked considering the positions they were in already.

It was worth 1 watch and 1 watch only on a lazy Sunday afternoon with no better prospects.

A top notch thriller/suspense movie
"Undertow" is definitely one of the best thriller and suspense movies I've ever seen. Lou Diamond Phillips stars as Jack, a drifter who crashed in an isolated part of South Carolina. A terrible storm is brewing and he's stuck staying in a cabin with a psychotic man named Lyle (Charles Dance) and Lyle's terror-stricken wife, Willie (Mia Sara). Jack has no other place to go in the approaching hurricane so he has to watch his every step or Lyle might do him in. But Jack also notices that Willie seems to be troubled like she's been abused for many years and he wants to help her.

"Undertow" has good special effects and even a better plot. But what really makes it a great suspense movie is the top notch acting in the movie by all three people, especially Charlie Dance. If you like great suspense movies, I recommend getting "Undertow," you won't be disappointed.

An adrenalic and thrilling psycholgical suspensense film.
I wouldn't have thought a movie about three people trapped in a house in the woods would be as compelling as this way cool Showtime film. Director Eric Red, working again with his writing partner Kathryn Bigelow, creates a moody, atmospheric, and exeptionally well-acted story about a stranded drifter battling with a psychotic and creepy mountain man over his beautiful young wife in the U.S. backwoods. Strong photography and wild action set pieces, plus super performances by Charles Dance and Lou Diamond Phillips (and even Mia Sara!), made this, for me, a worthwhile watch. Watch out for the boiler in the basement. My only complaint was it looked like the film was shot in Europe, with the director having to create Tennesse over there. I could tell because the mountain man's truck was a Russian military Ural (although it admittedly looked much more sinister than an American Peterbilt or Mack). It reminded me of Red's movies "THE HITCHER", "NEAR DARK", and "BAD MOON". Rent it! ... Read more

Description

Adaptation of the O'Henry story "Ransom at Red Chief."Cohen and Tate are Mafia hitmen who don't hit it off. Cohen is an old pro and Tate is a young hothead.Together they kidnap a nine-year-old who witnessed a mob shooting.Now they've got 24 hours to deliver him to Houston for interrogation and elimination while the child plays them against each other in an attempt to save his life. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A classic hell for leather road thriller.
A taut, terrically filmed duel of wits between a little boy and two hired killers who kidnapped him. The film contains strong performances and gripping camerawork and editing. An underseen 80's classic that was completely ripped off by Elmore Leonard in his novel "KILLSHOT." A must see for Roy Schiedler's icy turn as a hired killer with a samurai streak of honor and Baldwin's frightening psychopathic partner. A reliably crack job of directing from Eric Red, of "THE HITCHER," "NEAR DARK" and "BODY PARTS."

cohen and tate
great movie , thiller, suspense filled you will love this film.

hired killers up against the deadliest force - each other
The best thing about writer director Eric Red's action film is Roy Scheider as one of the two kidnappers, hired to bring 9 year old gangland murder witness Harley Cross to Texas from the Oklahoma house in the open planes where he is laughably under FBI protection. Scheider's underplayed contempt for fellow kidnapper Adam Baldwin provides some amusement in this otherwise routine narrative. Baldwin's cartoon psychopath favours a huge gun which seems to be an expression of the greatness of his need for revenge. There is the suggestion that this gum-chewing adolescent-minded neurotic who has arias of blather is the product of abuse, in the way he reacts to Scheider's condemnation at one point like a wounded puppy, though this hardly makes him likeable, and Baldwin doesn't help by snarling. That the boy's allegiance should go towards Scheider may provoke an act of kindness, but we're fully aware that Cross is choosing the lesser of two fates. I like how Red presents Cross as not just an innocent, sparing us the details of the child's abduction, and having him using psychological games to pit the kidnappers against each other. Red's writing also features some gaping holes of credibility, where the boy's car door is left unlocked, when the first sign of trouble at the Oklahoma farm is the telephone being out but then Scheider uses it later to ring the gangland headquarters, having Scheider and Baldwin address each other as Mr Cohen and Mr Tate so that the boy can know their names (the comic effect wears thin very quickly), and Scheider not seeming to mind when Cross initially escapes from the kidnapper's car by striking Scheider in the back of the head. However on the plus side is one bloodbath mercifully avoided, and the climactic double pursuit, where a drilling site location with heavy machinery gets a payoff. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A classic hell for leather road thriller.
A taut, terrically filmed duel of wits between a little boy and two hired killers who kidnapped him. The film contains strong performances and gripping camerawork and editing. An underseen 80's classic that was completely ripped off by Elmore Leonard in his novel "KILLSHOT." A must see for Roy Schiedler's icy turn as a hired killer with a samurai streak of honor and Baldwin's frightening psychopathic partner. A reliably crack job of directing from Eric Red, of "THE HITCHER," "NEAR DARK" and "BODY PARTS."

cohen and tate
great movie , thiller, suspense filled you will love this film.

hired killers up against the deadliest force - each other
The best thing about writer director Eric Red's action film is Roy Scheider as one of the two kidnappers, hired to bring 9 year old gangland murder witness Harley Cross to Texas from the Oklahoma house in the open planes where he is laughably under FBI protection. Scheider's underplayed contempt for fellow kidnapper Adam Baldwin provides some amusement in this otherwise routine narrative. Baldwin's cartoon psychopath favours a huge gun which seems to be an expression of the greatness of his need for revenge. There is the suggestion that this gum-chewing adolescent-minded neurotic who has arias of blather is the product of abuse, in the way he reacts to Scheider's condemnation at one point like a wounded puppy, though this hardly makes him likeable, and Baldwin doesn't help by snarling. That the boy's allegiance should go towards Scheider may provoke an act of kindness, but we're fully aware that Cross is choosing the lesser of two fates. I like how Red presents Cross as not just an innocent, sparing us the details of the child's abduction, and having him using psychological games to pit the kidnappers against each other. Red's writing also features some gaping holes of credibility, where the boy's car door is left unlocked, when the first sign of trouble at the Oklahoma farm is the telephone being out but then Scheider uses it later to ring the gangland headquarters, having Scheider and Baldwin address each other as Mr Cohen and Mr Tate so that the boy can know their names (the comic effect wears thin very quickly), and Scheider not seeming to mind when Cross initially escapes from the kidnapper's car by striking Scheider in the back of the head. However on the plus side is one bloodbath mercifully avoided, and the climactic double pursuit, where a drilling site location with heavy machinery gets a payoff. ... Read more