'Moon of the Wolf' is okay, but not spectacular

Moon of the Wolf (1972)
Starring: David Janssen, Barbara Rush, Bradford Dillman, and Geoffrey Lewis
Director: Daniel Petrie
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A small Louisanna town is terrorized by a string of brutal, savage murders. Sheriff Whitaker (Janssen) gradually comes to the realization that the murderer isn't quite human, and the trail leads to the front door of the town's leading citizens, Louise and Andrew Rodanthe (Rush and Dillman). But can such a thing as a werewolf really exist?

"Moon of the Wolf" is a pretty straight-forward werewolf movie, complete with the skeptic initially saying "there isn't such a thing as werewolves", the fortune teller who sees doom for the next victims, the wealthy family with a history of strange illnesses, and a list of possible candidates for who the werewolf might be, thus lending a "who-dunnit" aspect to the film until the creature is revealed.

Given that this is a made-for-TV movie that dates from the 1970s, it perhaps goes without saying that the werewolf (when is finally revealed) is in a less than impressive costume--but at least the director seemed to have realized this, and he tries to dwell on it as little of as he can, and he doesn't foolishly attempt any on-screen transformations that his budget doesn't allow for. So, the somewhat underwhelming werewolf doesn't harm the movie any.

Where this film does stand out, however, is that it doesn't take the usual movie route and portray the smalltown Southerners as a bunch of moronic bigots, nor are the wealthy people shown as exploitive racists. Instead, it shows a community where everyone works together... and interracial relationships happen and are accepted. In other words, the film gives a truer portrayal of a small town in the late 20th century than most movies bother to give us. And that keeps the movie in the "Fresh" category. The film also offers an interesting little tidbit: In the world of this movie, lycanthropy can be controlled with the right sort of medication, if taken in the right, timely doses. This is a small (but crucial) part of the plot, and it's the one semi-original thing that the movie brought to the table.

"Moon of the Wolf" has a solid cast that give good performances, and a decent script that brings a couple of minor variations to what we're used to from this sort of movie. I believe lovers or werewolf films will probably enjoy it, but it's not a "must-see.

'The Mephisto Waltz' oozes 1970s horror

The Mephisto Waltz (1971)
Starring: Jacqueline Bisset, Alan Alda, Barbara Parkins, Bradford Dillman, and Curt Jurgens
Director: Paul Wendkos
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A dying pianist (Curt Jurgins) makes a bargain with Satan to have his soul put into a younger man's body (Alan Alda). The younger man's wife (Jacqueline Bissett) realizes slowly something is different about her husband... and realizes something is seriously wrong people around them start dying mysterously.

"The Mephisto Waltz" is an unsettling little horror film from the 1970s (and it oozes '70s sensibilities from every frame, along with an unsettling sense of dread) that features a surprising twist as it enters the third act and an even more startling ending. It's not often that I am taken completely by surprise by a film's direction, but I was with this one. (And I've just taken three cracks at hinting at the twist while drafting this review, but each time I felt like I was revealing too much and possibly spoiling the film. I feel the surprsing story development here has to be witnessed "cold" to have its full impact.)

As impressed as I am with the ending of the film, it doesn't start out strong. The filmmakers make a tremendous mistake at the beginning of the film by revealing beyond doubt that Alda's character has been possessed by the old man, and that we are dealing with true Satanic magic. By showing us this up front, it removes a degree of mystery and uncertainty that could have make the movie even more suspenseful.

Still, the film does recover nicely from the early blunder, delivering lots of chilling moments, some suitably eerie dream sequences, and one of the best-handled summonings of Satan I've ever seen. It's a film that's worth seeing, and it's a film that doesn't deserve the obscurity it currently endures.