A young woman is found murdered in Louisiana, with bite wounds. The Sheriff (David Janssen) searches for the killer from his short list of suspects: the womanâs brother, a strange rustic, the doctor who made her pregnant, the rich land owner (Bradford Dillman), and his sister (Barbara Rush).
Made originally for broadcast TV, I had low expectations for the cinematography and the washed out picture and blasĂ© framing did not disappoint. Donât look for quality sound, or music either. You should expect lots of talking and not much in the way of a monster.
Itâs not really a horror film by structure, but a mystery. Weâre presented with a number of suspects and one of them has to be the killer. The fact that one is a werewolf doesnât affect much. The horror aspect changes nothing; there’s no twist to the storyâs very linier nature. The only surprise you’ll find is how obvious it all is. I knew that the werewolf couldn’t be one person because it was telegraphed from early on that the character was the monster. I figured it had to be someone else as no one makes the killer so blatant. Silly me.
In addition to the mystery, Moon of the Wolf weaves in, with mismatched, frayed threads, a romance between the Sheriff and the rich woman. There’s no chemistry, but then Janssen barely displays life in the film. He just looks unhappy with where his career has fallen.
The social setup is dated and left me feeling far away from the situation. Not only the âshockingâ pregnancy, but the rich plantation ownerâs haughty behavior, donât translate well to modern times. I suppose that this could be a realistic account of life in 1972 Louisiana, but it feels more like 1930. The werewolf makeup is poor, being little more than a funny nose, some fangs, and a bit of fur. I’ve seen worse, but generally in films smart enough to keep the monster in the dark.
Moon of the Wolf isn’t a terrible film, but I can’t come up with a single reason to watch it.