Night Shadow

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.

I had the opportunity to work in this film that was originally titled "Lycanthrope" which means werewolf in Greek. I was the Stunt Coordinator, stunt double, stunt driver and played a biker. We had a couple of good fight scenes, chases, high fall, a crash and car explosion. The acting was surprisingly good without any big names or budget. It was fun to work on. Kato Kaelin was natural in his acting and should have been made known from this instead of the OJ trial. Cohlan and Temple also made a film with Bruce Cooke before this in 1987 called "Line Of Fire", which I also worked on. I don't know if the film is available. Thanks guys for a great start in the beginning of my career. Keep it up!

Night Shadow (1990) Director: Randolph Cohlan Stars: Brenda Vance, Stuart Quan, Kato Kaelin

Synopsis: Alex (Brenda Vance) is an up and coming TV journalist that travels to her home town for a vacation. A mysterious man follows her from L. A to Danford. Back in Danford we meet her kickboxing brother (Stuart Quan) and her "boyfriend", the Sheriff who now has his hands full with a bunch of animal-like murders occurring in town.

The Crappy: The animal costume looks like it was bought at a Halloween costume store and tweaked ever so slightly. And you don't even see it until the very end. It's supposed to be a werewolf but you could really use any creature in its place because the werewolf angle is completely irrelevant to anything in the movie.

The ditzy reporter I think had one blouse change the entire movie - this takes place over a series of days.

The kung fu brother wears this mini tank top that just look completely absurd.

80s hair: Aquanet was a big part of the budget here.

The Happy: Kato Kaelin! Lol. He's one of the kung fu brother's friends and he rocks a wicked mullet throughout. He also has the only good death scene in the movie.

The Kung Fu brother (who reminds me of Phillip Rhee in Best of the Best) has got some decent moves - even though some kicks obviously didn't connect. Lol.

Overall: 3.5 out of 10

This is a pretty weak werewolf flick with a couple of laughs and not much else. Only for werewolf purists and I mean that lightly.

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.