This is a made-for-TV movie that I saw sometime in the mid-90s. It is a surprisingly decent werewolf movie.Marty (Corey Haim) is a disabled kid trying to live as full a life as he can, despite an overprotective mother (Robin Groves), a resentful older sister (Megan Follows), and oh yeah, a serial killer murdering townspeople left and right. After a narrow escape provided by some illegal fireworks, Marty is convinced that the killer is actually a werewolf and is living in the midst of the town. He talks his sister into conducting a search around the town for anyone sporting firework injuries, but getting adults to believe is a tougher nut to crack. Finally, his alcoholic "fun" Uncle Red (Gary Busey) agrees to lay a trap for the werewolf.
Okay, so several things were done very well here. They don't show the monster too early, the kills are appropriately gruesome, the paranoia and frenzy of the town is relayed effectively, and the main characters are believably ignored until it's too late. Marty is only the second paraplegic protagonist in a horror movie I've ever seen (Curse of Chucky is the other one) and frankly, that's an undervalued demographic.
This is definitely an 80s movie but you really can't tell it's made-for-TV and there are a few unintentionally hilarious moments that only add to the overall watchability. I don't know that I'd go so far as to say it's a hidden gem but it's a nice change from the same three werewolf movies that get talked about every year. You can rent in from Vudu or Google Play for $3.
No comments:
Post a Comment