Dark Moon Rising (2009)

Slated between fantasy/sci-fi/moderately horror this film lays an egg in pretty much all counts. It's a laughable love story between a woman and a man/wolf, a father and son curse and eventual showdown. The screenplay is mediocre at best with a lot of cussing in the dialogue. I was shocked well known actor Chris Mulkey and actress/singer Maria Conchita Alonso signed on for this. Alonso's character as Sherriff is poorly acted and makes no real sense for her being there. Throw in Sid Haig who is known for non-conforming roles and he was fun to see. The music score was slightly misplaced in some scenes but not overly bad. Now the actual werewolves creature is poorly designed, contrasting in how they transform is laughable. No true CGI involvement. I give it a 4 based on scenery alone.

This certainly isn't Twilight, as we at least get to see some nice charlies on Arielle Vandenberg before she was bitten.The action takes a hiatus as we wade through the love story of Amy (Ginny Weirick) and Dan (Chris Divecchio). Dan has a secret that will make this love affair difficult.Seems Dan's daddy (Max Ryan) is looking for him, and he's one bad dude. He leaves a trail of gore wherever he goes.Lots of good favorites to keep you interested: Maria Conchita Alonso as the Sheriff, Sid Haig as Crazy Louis, and Billy Drago as an ex-cop that knows Bender (Ryan) first hand.Has no one here heard of silver bullets?

Dark Moon Rising / Wolf Moon is a love story... no, it's a story of a reluctant werewolf... no, it's a story of two families coming together... Well, it's a lot of things and not all of them pleasant. First and foremost it's the story of a girl with a single father who happens to fall for the bad boy werewolf drifter and could've ended happily at just that if not for the father's dislike/distrust for the new boyfriend and the fact that the boy's psychopath werewolf father is trying to track him down for a family reunion.For what it is, the film is decently acted and the story is moderately compelling. The big bad daddy wolf is a genuine monster and regales us with moderate gore, besides being a somewhat likable villain. The boy and girl are passable actors allowing their scenes to outshine their limited talent. The girl's father and the sheriff feel like something ripped out of a low budget Syfy Original (is there any other kind?) but they're not bad beyond possibly being somewhat derivative. The real flaw, through and through, are the horrendous special effects. The transformations are hokey, corny, and completely devoid of any real passion; the costumes are, well, just so obviously costumes that it ruins any thrill. Compared even to the presumably smaller budgeted Werewolf: The Devil's Hound, the special effects in DMR are flat out lousy and inexcusable especially considering the rest of the movie which is pleasant if not good. It's a shame that they decided to completely shunt the werewolf angle in a werewolf movie but, after all, this film is probably more of a teeny romance than anything else.

In a small town in the countryside, the teenager Amy (Ginny Weirick) is overprotected by her widower father John (Chris Mulkey). When she meets the newcomer mechanic Dan (Chris Divecchio), they immediately fall in love for each other. Dan discloses to her that he was cursed when he was a child and turns into a werewolf in the full moon. Meanwhile the local sheriff Sam (Maria Conchita Alonso) is investigating the slaughter of people in bloodshed and the murder of several animals in the farm of Crazy Louis (Sid Haig) apparently by a wolf. Out of the blue, the outsider sheriff Charles Thibodeaux (Billy Drago) arrives in her office and tells that the responsible for the deaths is the mean Bender (Max Ryan), who killed Dan's mother and his wife among other victims many years ago. Bender calls Thibodeaux in the sheriff's office telling that he had abducted Amy and scheduling an encounter in the city ruins with his old enemy; Dan, John, Sam, Louis and Thibodeaux head to the spot for a final confrontation to end the curse. The low budget "Dark Moon Rising" is a reasonable movie about werewolf and with improvements could be better and better. The special effects are decent and the plot avoids the usual clichés. However, there are some flaws and mistakes, like for example: (1) Maria Conchita Alonso is totally miscast in the role of a sheriff, with clumsy movements with the guns. The story would work much better swapping Chris Mulkey in the role of the sheriff and Maria Conchita Alonso in the role of Amy's overprotective mother. (2) There are stupid lines, like for example when John asks Amy about the bruises in her face; she should have answered that Dan had protected her instead of the silly argument with her father. (3) The last showdown is ridiculous, since Thibodeaux should have advised the group that only silver bullet could stop Bender. (4) Also in the final confrontation, Dan was the first to convert in werewolf, but he does not attack his father that easily kills Thibodeaux and Louis. (5) Last but not the least; the conclusion is ridiculous with Dan drifting in the desert leaving his car with Amy, and the girl putting roses on the road. In accordance with the fortune teller, the curse would end with the death of Bender provided Dan has not tasted human flesh and blood. My vote is five.Title (Brazil): "Lua Negra" ("Black Moon")