Synopsis
Deadly secrets emerge from the shadows when the full moon rises!
After several locals are viciously murdered, a Louisiana sheriff starts to suspect he may be dealing with a werewolf.
Directed by Daniel Petrie
After several locals are viciously murdered, a Louisiana sheriff starts to suspect he may be dealing with a werewolf.
La luna del lobo, Волчья Луна, 月夜之狼, Die Stunde des Wolfs, La noche del lobo, A Noite do Lobo, La notte del lupo mannaro, Znamení vlka
A small town Louisiana sheriff (David Janssen from The Fugitive) suspects he may have a werewolf problem. Several townsfolk have been killed and the crime scenes are a suspicious mix of beast and man.
This is a TV film that aired in 1972. Because it’s pretty good and scared a lot of kids, it now has achieved a little bit of a cult status.
While it definitely often feels like a TV movie, I enjoyed this. Character actor Geoffrey Lewis shows up and I’m always there for him, even though every time the camera catches his eye, I see his daughter Juliette. They literally have the same eyes.
The werewolf is pretty cheesy, kind of looking like the old Universal…
The third flick from this Mill-Creek Sci-Fi 50-movie collection is a TV film from the 70's and the first color film yet from the collection. It's hands down better than the first two. The first two acts focus on the murder-mystery of the werewolf's victims. It becomes apparent that the killer is a werewolf late in act three, and the ending is a bit of a letdown, but the film itself wasn't bad to be a 70's werewolf flick.
1972 Ranked
1970’s Ranked
Horror Ranked
Horror in the 1970’s Ranked
Crime and Law Enforcement / Investigation films Ranked
Monster / Creature films Ranked
Werewolves Ranked
Jails & Prisons Ranked
TV Movies Ranked
"Moon of the Wolf" is a 1970's made-for-television film that exactly feels like a made-for-television film in all its merits. There are no real issues with it, and it tells a somewhat spooky story about werewolves, but it definitely is held by constraints to be advantageous. It's a simple story involving a smaller town setting and an assortment of locals that turn up dead due to what seemingly appears to be wolf attacks. Naturally people have disbelief in the supernatural until the deaths become more violent. Being a town in Louisiana, there is some flavorful elements of voodoo and Cajun sensibility, but essentially, it's a very basic Werewolf movie that does nothing exciting.
One interesting note is that it's directed…
I do love a 70s curio. And this is one for sure. A made-for-TV version of a regional b-movie. Neat. But if you go into it, based on the title, thinking you’re in for a wild werewolf gore-fest, then you’re going to be disappointed. Because this isn’t that.
This is bloodless. With very little creature action. Really. We don’t even see the monster for at least the first forty minutes or so (out of a total of seventy-five minutes). Instead, what it gives is more of a Louisiana detective story. We follow along with Sheriff Whitaker (David Janssen) as he interviews poor leathery bayou folks and rich plantation folks to try and find out who the town murderer is.
There’s…
I really enjoyed this. While not as good it was in a similar vein to The Night Stalker/Strangler. Old TV show murder mystery vibes with a side dose of supernatural. Werewolf's nails were too pretty tho :P
Mysteries solvable within the first 20 minutes:
- Who did it?
- Did a werewolf do it?
- Is that one guy a werewolf?
Mysteries that can never be solved:
- Is David Janssen doing a Dr. John impression?
- What awful fate has befallen David Janssen's top several shirt buttons?
- Has a wealthy onscreen Louisiana family ever not lived at Oak Alley Plantation?
A wonderfully cozy little slice of Louisiana bayou set, lycanthrope television terror.
Visually and audibly comforting Americana.
I dozed off somewhere in the middle of the film, and I don’t feel like I missed much.
But that is by no means a harsh critique of the film. I felt so safe and warm wrapped in its 70’s TV horror movie sights and sounds.
"Loup-Garou" "Loup-Garou"
Now THIS is what I'm talking about. A 70s made for TV movie that fucking rocks the cock even though it has no blood or nudity. I could not ask for a better cast... David Janssen, Bradford Dillman, Geoffrey Lewis, Royal Dano, and, my favorite, John Davis Chandler.
The story revolves around a sheriff (Janssen) who, after investigating a couple of murders, thinks he might have a werewolf in his midst. It takes place in Louisiana so there is a little voodoo along with some French happening.
Really, the movie is only great because of the stellar cast. It was fun watching Lewis and Janssen act in the same scene. It is very apparent they are from totally different schools of acting. If you like TV movies from this time period, this is one you should see.
I can understand being disappointed by this 1972 TV movie by Daniel Petrie; it's bloodless, has a low body count and we don't even see the werewolf kill anyone until past the 40-minute mark. It's absurd that only one character in the Louisiana-set film can speak French, and that nobody knows what a loup-garou is. The film focuses on David Janssen for the entire running time then switches allegiance to Barabara Rush for the climax, leaving him with nothing to do but wander around in the woods. Much like Petrie's better A Howling in the Woods from the year before, the leading man is rendered inert. There is no mystery at all about the identity of the killer, either.
But…
Starts with discovery of a body of a young woman on the banks of a bayou that looks like it may have been killed either by a demented person or a pack of wild dogs. As each human suspect is ruled out the werewolf hysteria Louisiana style grows into a frenzy with pickup trucks, rifles, and hounds instead of the traditional pitchforks and torches. The sheriff played by David Janssen tries to control the mob. Moon of the Wolf gives you a sense of the beauty of the bayou and social status of a 70s Louisiana werewolf jam.
Made-for-TV and very clearly so, but not due to lack of craft. It looks great, making ample use on the on-location Louisiana shooting, and the nighttime scenes effectively add some chilly mood as well as obscure and frame the few shots of werewolf.
As they should, because when its clear; its just a well-groomed but heftily hairy face, with a very dirty nose like they dipped it in the flowerpot. The attacks and kills of the wolfman all occur offscreen and we don’t get to seen any aftermath beyond some bright red splats of alluded gruesomeness on the ground.
There’s a decent POV hunting scene, that ends in a freezeframe because either buy budget or censors; that’s all they could…
Some mildly decent Southern Gothic chills in this made-for-TV werewolf movie. Spends much of the duration being a whodunnit murder mystery when it's pretty much telegraphed early on who the culprit is. But it's saved by a strong last 20 minutes when the werewolf action kicks in making good use of its atmospheric location. Watchable stuff but far too tame for me.