Full Moon Fever

This is the first time I've seen a movie by David Lee Madison. I thought it was cool to see something in a room with the guy who filmed it, and it was a fun movie.

The movie seemed to suffer from filming during covid, I wasn't told this, but you can kinda read between the lines for it. You don't see shots with a lot of people in it, and it creates a lonely feeling that does seem intentional when you consider the themes throughout the movie. It's definitely capturing the mindset of the creator from his experience during covid.

Where the film seemed most impacted though was that David Lee Madison was both the star and videographer, so shots with him in it were all on a tripod, without a lot of movement. Presumably, with this being filmed during quarantine, I believe a lot of these shots were done this way out of necessity though, and it is understandable. Though, there's a part of my brain conditioned to want far more cuts and camera angle changes, and camera movement. I do wish some establishing shots were cut a bit shorter though.

The film is acted mostly by David Lee Madison and his personal friends, and is kinda reminiscent of clerks. If you liked clerks, you'll probably enjoy this, if not, you probably won't. The pacing is similar and it too is about regular people living regular lives (except for the werewolf thing lol).

The scenes in the comic book shop are by far the best scenes, particularly the finale, because you have this movement and cutting you don't get when David is doing double duty. If you have a long shot from a tripod, your ability to edit is stunted, but the finale suffers none of these issues.

I see some one star reviews here, and I think they're not thinking of the film within the context of how it had to be filmed. For a film with very limited crew, David Lee Madison did pretty well. He filled most of the roles himself and told a unique werewolf story, which he executed in a time when most people weren't able to deliver anything at all.

Sure, I'd like to see a version of this made with more crew, cameras, and polish, but I'm happy with what I watched. Weirdly, seeing David make this under these constraints has motivated me to try and make something myself even. With helicopter footage and coreographers staging fights between actors that look like they were chiseled from stone, against CGI monsters that require teams of artists, it has always felt like making movies independently was just impossible.

All in all, it was a fun time watching this movie, and without the Hollywood polish, you can see the heart in this that's not in most movies. It's a guy with his family and friends, filming in an area far from the Hollywood sets, with the gear he had on hand from a career of making movies. It's a unique experience that's pretty good if seen through the propper lens. After watching it, you definitely feel like you know David Lee Madison a bit better, because it's clearly not filtered through the voice of some massive multimedia conglomerate.

I'm glad I saw it.

As many of us were, in a way, literally about to lose our minds during the "Covid-19" pandemic it's great to see an example of the kind of creative work this crisis stimulated amongst artists from different Genres and know that it's recorded for posterity.

Here is a new twist on the old "Werewolf" theme. Hunter Dunne is beyond an "Average Joe" with a daughter attending college. He is experiencing something usually reserved for exotic European locales.

The actors do a great job, and the scenery is beautifully shot as well. I was touched by scenes with his wife.

Scott Schiaffo from the cult classic "Clerks" is excellent as a sympathetic Psychologist. Schiaffo also performs much of the score as he is also a musician.

Full Moon Fever is a fun character study about a man dealing with loss and the increasingly primal urges associated with lycanthropy. The protaganist Hunter Dunne is portrayed perfectly by director David Madison as an everyman who encounters an extraordinary circumstance and shares his dramatic emotional experience with the audience. Showing his vulnerability and grief while slowly descending into the hallucination fueled madness of his affliction. This modern folk tale pays homage to werewolf classics like The Wolf Man and American Werewolf In London while staying true to its indie horror roots. The cast does a fine job of bringing this story to life with appearances by Marianne Hagan of Halloween 6 fame and CLERKS Chewlies Gum guy Scott Schiaffo as Dr. Larry.

Another noteworthy performance to look out for is Amanda Madison as Jackie Dunne. Sit back grab some popcorn and enjoy a late night Halloween inspired creature feature that explores themes of sanity, loss, the unintended consequences of brushes with the paranormal and satisfyingly different transformation scene.

This is a slow building film that becomes more and more fun as it goes. It's light film and was made during covid so it's a fun little film. The scenery is really beautiful and the colors of fall are gorgeous. You really feel the season and crisp air. Covid was a very lonely time for most and you can feel that with the character of Hunter. It feels isolated ,as it was during that time when it felt like everything was moving in a kind of slow motion. It has some very fun moments which will make you laugh. I mean absurd moments which are great. All in all this is a fun watch and will make you look forward to Halloween.

Went to see this in the Theater not really knowing what to expect. The movie clearly is low budget, but had some interesting people attached to it, so I gave it a chance. I am glad I did. The story follows a recently widowed man who lost his wife to Covid. As he is trying to adjust to this, his daughter leaves home to go to college. One fall night, as he is exercise walking, he is attacked by a huge wild animal who takes a chunk out of his arm. Over the next couple of weeks, the man starts to get sick, hallucinate, and have nightmares. None of this is reinventing the wheel, but where this movie really succeeds is in the claustrophobic feel it has. You feel like you are inside this guy's head. And the transformation seen though not high tech, is really disturbing for some reason. Scott Schiaffo (Clerks 1-3) does a particularly good job as the widowed man's psychiatrist Dr. Larry. For a small low budget movie, it is quit a formidable entry into Werewolf lore. Give it a look.