My latest triple feature included three werewolf flicks, and I had a favorite of the bunch, so let’s get right into them.
HUNTER’S MOON (2020)
This home invasion/werewolf hybrid flick has several familiar faces, so I was expecting something a bit better and a little less predictable.
A family, including Tina from Elm Street, Jay Mohr, and their three daughters, moves to a house in the country. The girls immediately meet some rednecks at a convenience store, and talk turns to a serial killer that lived in the house the family is moving into.
Oddly, the mom and dad immediately leave the girls alone to go on vacation. One of the girls invites the red necks to stop by to party…but the rednecks have something else in mind. Adding more to the mix, Thomas Jane eventually shows up as the local sheriff. If you’re hoping Jane gets a David Naughton caliber hairy butt werewolf transformation scene like I was, forget it. Never happens.
Everyone in this flick acts weird. No one seems phased by the disturbing events that unfold, secrets abound, and loyalties appear to constantly shift. So it’s sort of like a mystery in which we the viewers have to figure out who the werewolf is.
There’s some tension as we wait to see what ‘s going to happen (most horror veterans will figure it out early on), and the misty atmosphere outside adds some creepiness, but unfortunately, the werewolf only makes one brief appearance with just 15 minutes left. It’s a cool werewolf, but sadly it’s not the focus of the film.
BYTE (2024)
I never miss an indie horror flick from director Eddie Lengyel, and this time around he takes on werewolves. Plus, the horror begins on Halloween night. I wish it would have stuck to Halloween night, because Halloween werewolf movies need to be a thing.
The opening werewolf attack scene is a hoot, with a good view of the werewolf and some funny shots of bloody rubber body parts bouncing into focus from off screen as the werewolf attacks.
On Halloween night, a group of kids goes to a cemetery to do a ritual they find on an app that is supposed to turn you into a werewolf.
Pretty soon, people begin dying from vicious werewolf attacks. The general plot is that the kids realize the app ritual really worked and one of their friends is a werewolf. So they have to find out more about the app in hopes of curing the friend of the werewolf curse.
The pacing is slow at times and the movie definitely has that low budget indie feel, but the attack scenes are quite satisfying, and the person in the werewolf costume absolutely steals the show. It is so clear they are having a blast in the role, and it’s always a treat to see a monster costume instead of a CGI monster.
SHAKY SHIVERS (2022)
While it takes a little while to get going, this werewolf comedy finds its groove and is very charming, especially thanks to the comedic performances of the main characters.
It takes place in 1993. Two girls work at an ice cream shop. A creepy woman comes in and appears to curse one of the girls. Believing she is going to become a werewolf, the girl asks her friend to take her into the woods and shoot her if she turns into a werewolf.
It becomes a comedy of errors as the two girls use various incantations in hopes of making things right. The best part is that this funny flick doesn’t stick to the werewolf theme. The girls end up dealing with a zombie (which looks more horrific in a comedy than most look in serious zombie flicks), a witch, a cult, Bigfoot…
However, despite the horror detours, there’s even a werewolf transformation that is also pretty damn cool for a light horror comedy. This is definitely the winner of these three for me
