Moon of the Wolf

Creepy little tele-movie concerning a highborn Louisiana family with a dark secret. After a local girl is found mutilated in a nearby bayou, local sheriff (Janssen) must use all his detective skills to solve the crime. His investigation leads him to an old flame (Rush) and her aristocratic brother (Dillman) who are both keen for the culprit to be caught, but for different reasons. Everyone's a suspect including the local medical examiner (Beradino), who can't seem to determine the cause of death, while the paranormal activity leads to more mysterious victims. Tense, with a sometimes unsettling mood, the southern tones and textures make this an offbeat little suspender that belies its meagre TV budget.

The leading trio succeed with their characterisations and experienced feature director Petrie constructs an intelligent plot woven with effective twists and surprises. Appropriately, the romantic undertones between Janssen and Rush fail to flourish, and so the core narrative never loses momentum. Able support from Lewis, Dano and Chandler in particular, as the oafish yokels, suspects and victims, add capable depth to the cast & characters. Decent cinematography, apt dialogue and some effective chills ensure the end product is beyond the typical mid week tele-movie experience, and although the make-up effects are 'limited', this doesn't undermine the picture.

Lycanthropy devotee or not, the occult themes shouldn't deter you from investing 74 minutes in this modest mystery, entertaining despite its small screen threshold.

This film begins with an old man known simply as "Tom Sr." (Royal Dano) and his adult son "Tom Jr." (John Davis Chandler) being woken up one night in their shack on the Louisiana bayou by the barking of their dogs. Not knowing what is causing the commotion, they both grab their guns and head out with the dogs in search of the culprit. To their shock, what they find is the body of a young woman who has apparently been half eaten by wild dogs. Naturally, they immediately call the local sheriff "Aaron Whitaker" (David Janssen) who comes out to investigate. What he discovers, however, is that the young lady was murdered and that the killer was apparently left-handed. At least, that is what he initially believes--and then things take an alarming turn for the worse. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this made-for-television movie started out really well due in large part to the mysterious undertones and the relatively solid cast. Admittedly, the film seems to deflate a bit once the killer is revealed but all things considered it managed to hold my interest for the most part and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

David Janssen and Barbara Rush lead a cast of characters as a southern Louisiana town is suddenly struck by a series of lycanthropic murders. With no rhyme or reason behind the killing, and with a raving old bed-ridden cajun seeming to be the only person who fully understands what's going on, Janssen, the town's sheriff, seems to have his work cut out for him.

Aided by an old friend with old money (Rush), and a posse of would-be wolf hunters, Janssen does not seem to know where to turn. But soon enough, he no longer needs to navigate at all - as the problem comes to him.

Though the plot is not terribly original, the setting and characters certainly are. Also, Moon of the wolf is particularly well acted for its genre and better directed and filmed than most of its competitors. Dan Petrie certainly has made his share of good TV movies, and this, despite its pedigree, is no exception

I was pretty surprised by this backwoods bayou shocker. Murders start occurring in a little Louisiana town, and the sheriff's investigation points to signs of a werewolf on the loose. If you can suspend the fact that it's pretty obvious who the wolf is, this is a fun mystery. And in addition to the werewolf plot, we've got ideas of class-consciousness, romance, unwanted pregnancies, and small-town sleaze to ponder. The performances were decent and it moves along quickly. Werewolf completists, fans of David Jansen or Bradford Dillman (he was in EVERYTHING in the 70s), and Cajun-Gothic fans can all find something here. Although I can't believe NOBODY in a bayou town knew the world loup-garou, there are worse ways to spend an afternoon than watching "Moon of the Wolf."

This made for TV movie, starring the late David Janssen and Barbara Rush is not bad. This movie was made in the early 1970's when the TV Movie of the Week was all the rage. Although this movie isn't as good as some of the other horror movies that were made for TV (such as Bad Ronald, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and When Michael Calls,) it is interesting enough to hold the viewer's interest.

David Janssen was a good actor, and he's equally good here. My only complaint about this movie is that it drags in some spots. The werewolf make-up is ludicrous, but hey, what can you expect from an early 1970's t.v. movie? This movie reminded me a lot of The Night Stalker, starring the late, great Darren McGavin. If you are a fan of the Night Stalker, or Made for T.V. movies then you should enjoy this movie.