Full Moon High (1981)

In continuing to review werewolf movies in chronological order, we're still at 1981 with probably the most obscure one yet, one that I didn't even know of its existence till a few weeks ago when I saw it listed on Wikipedia before then finding it on YouTube. It seems to mainly be inspired by the Michal Landon-starred I Was a Teenage Werewolf as Adam Arkin plays a teen named Tony (like Landon) and it takes place during the late '50s (like IWATW) but then moves on through the years (as exemplified by the changing of the presidential portraits though the one after Carter was meant to be a joke) before Tony comes back to his high school of the title to once again play football having not aged during that time. I'll stop there and just say while I was pretty amused much of the time, there were also many places where I wondered if maybe it could have been funnier. I did like the scenes involving Ed McMahon as Tony's father and Adam Arkin's real dad-Alan-as an insulting shrink. Oh, and also the scene involving his new girlfriend and her tying up Tony in bed was also fun in an adult humor kind of way. So on that note, I say give Full Moon High a look.

Underrated horror comedy from Larry Cohen about a teenage boy (Adam Arkin) in the 1950s whose bitten by a werewolf on a trip to Transylvania. Back home he struggles in vain to control his werewolf urges, which include nipping at the bottoms of young women. Eventually he leaves town but returns twenty years later, posing as his own son, in an attempt to finish high school.Man, this movie is trashed just about everywhere you look but I thought it was a riot. It's completely silly and irreverent, which I guess doesn't appeal to everyone. I thought it was fun from start to finish and, while I love Teen Wolf, I have to agree with another reviewer that this is actually a better movie. A better comedy, at least. Adam Arkin does a fine job but the supporting cast frequently steals the spotlight. Ed McMahon, Roz Kelly (Pinky Tuscadero!), and Joanne Nail are all hilarious. Alan Arkin shows up late in the movie and owns every scene he's in. Demond Wilson (Lamont from Sanford & Son) is funny in a tiny part as a bus driver.The '80s was a great decade for werewolf movies. While most people know and appreciate many of these, like the aforementioned Teen Wolf, The Howling, and An American Werewolf in London, this one doesn't seem to get a lot of respect. I mean, look at that IMDb score -- it's pathetic! Hopefully, as time goes by, Full Moon High will be appreciated more but it's been over thirty years so I won't be holding my breath on that. See it for yourself and decide. Maybe you'll get as much of a kick out of it as I do.

In this send-up of horror films, 50's cold war paranoia, Reagan-era America, and high school films, Adam Arkin plays Tony, the star quarterback of Full Moon High in the 1950's. He and his father (Ed McMahon) travel to communist Romania and while he's lost in the streets one night, he is bitten by a werewolf. When he returns stateside, he cannot control his animalistic urges and goes on a killing spree. Frustrated, he flees town. Decades later, the immortal Tony returns to town and re-enrolls in highschool. He still can't control his transformations, and the townspeople, and his friends, realize he's not quite human. It all culminates during the schools big football game.I expected this to be one of those 'so bad it's good' films from the early 80's. But I was surprised that the film was actually, legitimately funny. The cast, including Kenneth Mars as a pervy coach, Roz Kelly as Tony's lusty former flame, Demond Wilson as a bus driver, and Alan Arkin as a oddball doctor, go all out, with hilarious results.While watching this film I was struck by how similar the writing and humor were to 'Family Guy.' 'Full Moon High' has that same anything goes attitude and never takes itself seriously.

I've seen better teenage werewolf movies in my time, this one however, takes the cake. More comedy than horror, "Full Moon High" puts the "c" in cheese-fest. The star quality in this movie is not bad. Just the way it was made just sends in rolling downhill. Adam Arkin plays Tony, an all-American high school football player of the 50's who ends up not aging due to a werewolf bite in Transylvania. The most annoying part of the movie was the violin player. He drove everyone batty! Ed McMahon plays his ultra-conservative father who met his end of his own bullet. Adam's father Alan plays a shrink who seems to be not top of his game. After all these years Tony seems to be very out of place due to the attack, and then he'll get the chance to catch in his state. More laugh than blood shed, this movie is just a start in the 80's, "Teen Wolf" was an improvement from this! 1 out of 5 stars.