Night Shadow

Night Shadows distinct lack of budget is on display and alas really does show, the creators do their best to mask this but the problem is evident.

Telling the generic story of a group of people in small town America during a series of werewolf attacks there isn't anything even remotely on display.

What the movie has going for it however is a decent cast who are well written and thus you actually care to a degree about their fates.

With an anti-climatic finale the movie is the very definition of average. It's not bad by any means but it's instantly forgettable.

The Good:

Likeable characters

Has a certain charm

The Bad:

Lack of budget shows

Hardly original

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

In the movies if you have a mullet you're instantly a bad guy or an idiot

I have no idea why any man would choose to wear vests/t-shirts like bras

In the 1980's ever asian person is a ninja

Up-and-coming TV journalist Alex Jung (Brenda Vance) returns to her home town of Danford (the film was shot in Hanford) as local police attempt to cope with a series of brutal murders. The small town plunges into a state of panic and the murders continue... until Alex comes face to face with the evil itself.

Some of the hair and clothes are so late 1980s, early 1990s that it is hilarious. The Asian guy has a cut off shirt that looks more like a women's sports bra. And, of course, he knows martial arts...

The blood and gore effects are surprisingly not terrible, and they invested in some live maggots, which I appreciate. I am not going to say this is on the level of, say, Rob Bottin... but it is respectable.

Kato Kaelin, made notorious from the OJ Simpson trial, appears here in all his mullet glory! And Aldo Ray as inventor Gene Krebelski is like a next generation "Gremlins" dad.

The music has Richard Band written all over it, but this is not a Full Moon picture and it is Ken Carlton behind the score. George Temple produced and edited, as well as acted as story consultant.

This movie was made back when movie special effects were done practically instead of using computers so the effects were well done for the time especially the creature plus the cinematography was excellant.But these two things were about the only things that stood out in this movie as the script was poorly written and the acting was average at best. It did however have some Kung Fu fights and no nudity which was unusual in a horror movie in this era.

This movie was totally awesome!

Stuart Quan steals the show as Tai Jung, but there's not really an epic fail from any of the actors (especially considering the budget). It's very much an atmospheric (then or now), and the little town of Danford is an additional character that shines.

I don't know why everyone is hating on Tai's half shift, he wears it to show off his totally rad body! Duh! I love that his other one says, "Lazy Guy's Club" since that's exactly what he and his three friends are (except when it comes to Tai's martial arts hiiii-yaaaa!).

Back in the '80's, we could laugh at, and make fun of -stereotypes, which is why you get a five minute scene of Tai going all Kung-Fu on a bunch of rotten bikers. We didn't take offense, (or even feel the need to mention) that an Asian guy knows martial arts, or that Dean (Kato Kaelin), a white guy knows a lot about baseball, or that a small town cop is an idiot. We were all in on the joke, and had a great time (something the whole world is missing now with the PC police).

The only problem I have with this movie is the idiot police persecuting hometown kids. Small towns are insular, and the cops would be way more interested in the bikers (or a passing stranger), than in Tai, or his goofy friends. Small towns will do anything to keep their sense of safety, it ALWAYS has to be the outsider. This one script point is the only real problem here.

This movie is part old Western, part monster flick, and now, it's also a nostalgia-fest. Enjoy!

RELEASED IN 1989 and written/directed by Randolph Cohlan, "Night Shadow" (originally titled "Lycanthrope") concerns a humble Los Angeles newscaster (Brenda Vance) who returns to her home town on vacation as several people crop up dead, as if by a vicious animal. Alta LaFlame plays the sheriff, Rick Scott a mysterious hitchhiker, Stuart Quan the protagonist's kung fuey brother and Kato Kaelin his friend.

This is akin to a modern Syfy creature feature, but with a production quality a notch below that prosaic level. The serviceable score, for instance, sounds like it was performed entirely on a Casio keyboard (and no doubt it was). There's also too much marking time. Still, the cast is likable, the small town setting is quaint and the monster is pretty effective for a man in a suit, but you have to wait till the final act to see him.

Vance is a more-than-agreeable protagonist, but the film drops the ball in the female department, as far as taking advantage of the resources (and I'm not tawkin' 'bout nudity or sleaze). But there's a lot of martial arts action due to the presence of Quan; and the late 80's ambiance is to die for (take, for instance, Quan's absurd bra-like billie shirt and Kato's hideous mullet).

THE FILM RUNS 91 minutes and was shot in Hanford & Fresno in the heart of California.

GRADE: C