Full Eclipse (1993)

I really enjoyed the first part of this movie. It seemed like a really solid action thriller up through when the partner departed. After that, it felt like the production value, acting, directing, editing... all went down a notch. The rest of the movie seemed cheaper. It still had some fun ideas, but it didn't impress me very often. There was a lot of posing and it felt like posing.Patsy is slinky, Mario is suave, and Bruce is sinister, but that's about all I can say for this one. I just got done watching it and I can't even remember what ultimately happened to Patsy's character.On the whole, I still enjoyed watching the movie enough to give it a 5, but the letdown after the opening part prevented me from going higher.

Anthony Hickox at this time of his career could have been seen as a horror journeyman with such films behind him like; ""Sundown: the Vampire in Retreat", "Hellraiser III", the first two "Warlock" features and the two "Waxwork" films. Also he acted in some other features around this time too. So "Full Eclipse" was another addition to the cycle.Los Angeles is filled with crime, as detective Max Dire sees his partner brutally gunned down and to make matters worse his girlfriend left him. Soon he's invited to join an elite police group, who would do anything to cut down on crime. Their leader Adam Garou has a serum which he injects into his team that gives them the ability to take on criminals. However Max is hesitant about it, but soon he is seduced into joining them.After a tough, cracking opening half-hour, from then on it becomes a brooding cop melodrama with a supernatural edge that harboured character conflicts, bemused performances and plenty of posturing. It's a formulaic cop feature with a werewolf twist, but while the pulpy b-grade premise is thoughtfully laid out it's not as rocking as it could have been. More so it gradually gets silly and then lumbers along. While the first half-hour consists of vigorous, but ultra slow-motion action. And boy did director Hickox go mad with his glorious slow-mo. At least the energy levels were high and the violence quite bloody. However when the werewolf angle kicks in (an elite group of cops are dosing up on a serum that gives them superhuman abilities to tackle crooks), it can get sidetracked (you know the stress of the job) and becomes a little preachy (with some sort of parallel to drug addiction -- "At least try it" and "Just watch, then decide."). Where you just wished it would pump out the action. Sure it still stays quite graphic, but then some things happen off screen and its climax pretty much ends on a whimper to only cement its obvious low-budget. Even with these restrictions, Hickox's handling remains crisp with some flashy techniques, slick decors and smooth camera-work. The stunt-work also has a lot of people rev up and jumping around, especially through things and these werewolves leave plenty of destruction ("He's Acting like Dirty Harry on crack"). As for the make-up effects… it's quite standard and minor. The usual sharp teeth, pointy ears, morphed facials and long claws. Nothing special, but acceptable. Although in the latter stages we do get some guy dressed up in a werewolf costume. Someone says "You want to see something really scary." and then there we go. Even though for me it looked like a fury bear at times. Also these werewolves like to growl… like a panther. Yeah it sounds like something out of those old jungle movies. The performances are agreeable, notwithstanding the stereotypical character arches. Mario Van Pebbles gets by, that is because of that powerful name "Max Dire". Bruce Payne camps it up in a very cold, but lethal manner and Patsy Kensit simply sizzles.Junky, but mildly satisfying."Sometimes its good to know your not alone."

Full Eclipse is an excellent spin on the classic werewolf tale and just a fun, cheesy B movie. From the get-go you feel as though you're watching Lethal Weapon 7. There's even the "I'm getting too old for this..." line. Then the "Bionic X-Men" show up in the form of a secret werewolf police squad and it turns into one of my guilty pleasure werewolf flicks. It doesn't touch "The Howling", but it's on the right track. Bruce Payne and Mario Van Peebles are hamming it up a bit but it fits the tone. I always enjoy watching both of those guys. This may be director Anthony Hickox's last good film (besides Warlock: The Armageddon which was made the same year). If so, it's a great way to cap off an impressive but short-lived horror career. Full Eclipse is a little hard to find, but well worth it for a good mix of action, horror, and cheese.

The title explains it all.If you get a bunch of friends together, on a rainy Saturday night and all of the new releases are gone from the shelves, make you own horror festival: BLADE, VAMPIRE$, FROM DUSK UNTIL DAWN and this kick butt flick. Like the aforementioned movies, it is a purely escapist fantasy, done just well enough as to not insult your intelligence TOO MUCH. A good sense of humor, some snacks and some suspension of disbelief will help make this movie more enjoyable.There is some sex,plenty of gore, fangs, claws and guns...The cast seemed to have had a blast in this movie. If you like this kind of stuff, you will enjoy this film.