Moon of the Wolf (1972)

Time for some David Jansen in the Made for T.V. marathon. In addition to being in the iconic series the Fugitive Jansen also starred in a few great movies of the week, with Moon of the Wolf being one of them. No need to waste any more time let’s get to the Loup Garou!

Here Jansen plays a sheriff on a small island in Louisiana who has to deal with the death of a young woman. She appears to have been killed by some wild dogs, but the local doctor discovers that she was hit in the head. Of course, that means a man must have killed or incapacitated her and left her in the field to be finished off by the dogs… Or of course there could be a werewolf running around. Yeah, it’s a werewolf or Loup Garou as the elderly father of the victim keeps saying. There is also a subplot about Jansen’s sheriff flirting with the beautiful daughter of the Rodanthe family. They are about as close as one would get to local nobility here in the states. Their family has a lot of money and influence on the small island community. Her older brother Andrew does his best to discourage this as you get the distinct feel he isn’t comfortable dealing with the “common” folk.

So, who gets hairy at the full moon and is running around killing folks (there are more victims later on)? Is it the doctor that fathered the dead girl’s baby? Is it her crazy brother who has a terrible temper? Or is it Andrew the “lord of the manner”. Nah couldn’t be him. When has a nobleman ever been the Wolfman… I mean a werewolf in these movies?

Okay so maybe that was a bit of a spoiler. Though it shouldn’t be because the movie all but hits you over the head as to who the killer is pretty early on. The plot is supposed to give hints but again it is obvious if you have ever watched a horror flick. I also thought that the middle of the movie gets bogged down a bit with the romance between the sheriff and the sister. It feels more like padding than it does an important part of the story, which here is the werewolf running around killing folks. That said when we finally get back to some creature mayhem things get fun again. The end of the movie has a lot of stalking and creeping around an old dark house and barn. And you get the typical “creature is dead but not really” ending that is cheesy but enjoyable.

Okay I'll admit it looks goofy!

Speaking of cheesy I know that the makeup effects work is going to bug a lot of people. This is one of those guy in a mask werewolves that isn’t as popular as it used to be. This movie clearly took inspiration from the Universal flicks for the creature design. Though admittedly here it doesn’t look as good as Pierce’s classic work. Still they do a decent job keeping it in the shadows and off the screen for as long as possible. That I give them credit for. I also am willing to cut them some slack considering how quickly these movies were shot. The fact that it looks at all decent is a bonus.

I like this movie but don’t love it. It has some flaws but still has that goofy vibe that I’m looking for sometimes. I’ve seen this one many times and have always come away with a satisfied feeling of time well spent. 

© Copyright 2018 John Shatzer

Gargoyles (1972)

It is time that I again dig up an old favorite for the made for T.V. marathon. This time around we check out the movie that won legendary effects wizard Stan Winston his first award. He won an Emmy for his work in this made for television flick. I believe that this was made for CBS, though I haven’t found confirmation of that. Time to check out what the Devil’s minions are up to.

A professor, Dr. Boley, who studies the occult (mostly to debunk it and sell books) is in Arizona on a trip to study legends from the region. His daughter joins him, and together they drive out to meet an old man who says he has made an incredible discovery, which turns out to be the skeleton of some unnatural winged creature. At first Boley is dismissive, but after the building is attacked, the old man killed, and his car is disabled he suspects that something strange is going on. 

Thru a voiceover at the beginning of the movie the audience knows that the devil made his own race of creatures to fight for dominance of the Earth with man. They are the gargoyles and every six hundred years the eggs hatch. It seems that the time has come and the Gargoyles have begun to hatch in the Arizona desert. They are trying to remain hidden until their numbers are great enough to attack the human race, which is why they came looking for the skeleton. It is up to Dr. Boley and the residents of the local small town to do battle with the Demons. 

This is one of those movies that I remember watching on the late night creature feature shows when I was growing up. It used to scare the crap out of me, and while it isn’t as scary to a forty plus year old me as it was to a seven-year-old me I still enjoy it. The story is a creepy take on the whole fall of Lucifer and his hatred of mankind. That and there are a few scenes that are downright disturbing. The monsters aren’t cookie cutter bad guys and on some level are sympathetic. You see them care for their young and when one of them is dying after being hit by a truck it is sad. Of course, they do want to get the numbers to at least enslave all of humanity if not murder us. But hey no one is perfect!

I've always loved the creature effects. Very creepy!

One of the things that has always stuck with me about this movie is what they discover in the desert when out looking for the Gargoyles. There is something about the scene where they find the truck driving in circles and you realize that they are all alone without help coming that still sends a chill down my spine. If you think about it that means the Gargoyles have figured out what the humans are up to and left the bloody vehicle in their path to either scare them off or just mess with them. This is one of those scenes that has burned itself into my psyche and probably contributed to my love for all things horror.

What most everyone remembers about this movie is the look of the creatures. The lead Gargoyle, who gets most of the screen time, looks incredibly cool. They didn’t have much of a budget being that this is a television movie, and I’m still amazed by how well the Gargoyles turned out. In addition to the lead some of the others look pretty good as well, though there are a few that they keep way in the back that are a bit weak (ala the later Planet of the Apes movies). Still this is impressive feat for such a production to pull off. Then again is it any wonder since this is an early effort by Stan Winston that it turned out so well? This was the first major award he won since Gargoyles won an Emmy for the makeup.

This is one of the best made for T.V. horror movies you will catch. It also features the most elaborate and well executed creature effects that you will see from a network production. Maybe Salem’s Lot could match Gargoyles but even then, I’m not sure. As with many of the other movies that I’ve covered for this marathon the above link will take you to a copy of the movie on YouTube. I recommend checking it out.

© Copyright 2018 John Shatzer

Shameless self-promotion!

This blog is the home for my writing here on the internet. I have spent many years watching and reviewing books, movies, comics, magazines, and anything else that caught my interest. As you my faithful readers, both of you (am I being too optimistic?), know from my Throwback Thursdays I have a lot of stuff lying around from dead projects. These are either from my old website or others that I’ve written for. In the past I’ve also written for a few defunct print magazines/fanzines. I say this because while the Horror Dude Blog might be my home it isn’t the only place where my writing appears. Currently there are two magazines that I contribute to and I figured it was about time for me to mention them here.

First up is Grindhouse Purgatory. This is an interesting project from my pal 42^nd Street Pete. If you haven’t figured out from his name not only is he an expert on all things Grindhouse/42^nd Street/sleazy New York but he also lived it! This is reflected in his magazine as it covers all sorts of movies and filmmakers related to that very unique and special scene that was the Deuce in the seventies and early eighties. Over the years Pete has met many of the people that made the movies and because of these relationships has some amazing stories to tell, many of which end up in Grindhouse Purgatory. If that weren’t cool enough for you Pete also goes out of his way to cover wrestling, another personal favorite of his.

Beyond Pete the rest of the staff covers movies, interviews directors and actors, and generally brings something different every time. Purgatory comes out twice a year and is on issue number eleven. You can pick it up on Amazon by checking out this link.

The other project that I work on is called Midnight Magazine. This is a brand-new project from another good friend of mine, Eric Wright, and harkens back to the old fanzines. For those of you not old enough to remember a time before the internet the fan community used to make and distribute our own magazines. Basically get a few likeminded nerds together, write a bunch of fan fiction or reviews, find a photo copier, and then beg/cajole the local comic book or record store to put it on the free to take community rack. See how easy you have it now? Then again I’m writing this for my blog that took me five minutes to setup…

Eric has put more effort into Midnight Magazine than we used to. It has a much more polished look and a heavy cardstock cover. But the spirit of the old fanzine lives on the pages contained inside. From the cool artwork, to the stories of supernatural encounters, or short stories it all has an old school vibe and charm that makes me very happy to be involved. You also get reviews for horror/sci-fi books, movies, and comics that round things out nicely. I know you are thinking, ‘hey this guy writes for the magazine he is biased’, so don’t take my word for it. Check out this review for a third-party opinion. Midnight Magazine is still on its first issue and is basically distributed by Eric out of his basement. Check out the Facebook page here to contact him and buy a copy.

Let me make something very clear. I don’t make any money from either of these projects. So when I ask you to check them out and maybe buy a copy my motives are pure. I know how much work is put into projects like this and I also know how much fun it can be to kick back and read a real honest to God magazine.

© Copyright 2018 John Shatzer