- Directed by Jacqueline Castel
- Written by Jaw Matthews
- Stars Bobbi Salvor Menuez, Amandla Stenberg, Heidi con Palleske
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 43 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBelb-efRgA
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
This was an interesting take on the werewolf mythos, focusing more on the characters in their human form than in their werewolf form. The cast is good with Bobbi Salvor Menuez in the lead as Heather dealing with complicated romance and family drama while having a problem with the full moon. It’s well filmed, kind of retro, low on action, and we liked it quite a lot.
Spoilery Synopsis
Heather watches an old werewolf movie. She looks out the window at the real full moon and gets a nosebleed. Heather’s mother comes in, but the girl is gone. Credits roll as the mother goes out into the woods to look for her. Something in the woods attacks the mother.
We cut to Heather lifting weights, surrounded by women’s bodybuilder magazines, chains & manacles, and a book, “Man Into Wolf.” She helps her mother get ready for bed, and Mother has scars on her belly.
Heather and Henry go to watch a hockey game. She gets thrown out of the boys locker room; she wants to play on the boys’ team, but the coach won’t allow it – she’s not in high school and she’s not a boy. Later, she goes to the store, where she sees Jonny stealing beer. Then she goes home and watches women’s wrestling on TV, masturbating throughout.
Heather works at the ice arena where Jonny practices skating with her coach/father. When her father gets mad and leaves, Jonny goes inside with Heather, and they talk for the whole evening until Heather gets another nosebleed.
Heather walks home, where Henry warns, “You’re cutting it kind of close, aren’t you?” Henry talks about how things are different for them. Three nights a month. She then chains her arms and legs to the bed and goes to sleep.
We hear on the news that next month is a “Red Moon” and a lunar eclipse. Jonny calls to see if Heather wants to meet her, but she sees the full moon out there. She goes out with Jonny and her friend Otto anyway, promising to be home before midnight.
They take acid and go to the casino. Otto loses at cards and throws a tantrum, getting tackled by security. Heather notices her arm hair is getting longer. The acid kicks in, and when her alarm goes off for 11:30, Otto and Jonny don’t want to leave. She gets a nosebleed and starts running.
In the morning, Heather’s mother finds her sleeping outside the door. She goes to the arena, and later, Henry reminds her what could have happened. Her mother is angry and won’t even speak to her. That night, Heather fantasizes about Jonny and raw eggs.
The next evening, Jonny comes over, and Jonny wonders why all the bedrooms have big locks on the outside. Heather’s mother comes in, drunk, and makes a scene. “You don’t even know what they are.”
The next day, the family plays hockey, and the coach watches from the sidelines and tells Heather that tryouts are next week. It’s clear that Henry isn’t healthy. Later, she and Jonny go skating alone in the arena at night. Heather’s mother shows up and makes a huge scene; she and Henry argue and yell at each other all night while Jonny consoles Heather.
The next day, Jonny and her boyfriend Rick argue as Heather deals with hockey tryouts. She’s upset about Jonny and doesn’t do as well as she could with the hockey stuff. They get together that night and dance at the club. Heather’s younger brothers sneak into the club with a fake ID and see them kissing and dancing together. They soon go home and do more than kiss.
Jonny starts avoiding Heather’s calls, and Heather doesn’t take it well. She talks it over with Henry, who talks about life’s challenges. She finally does get through to Jonny, who invites her to a party; Rick is there, and he really hates Heather. Jonny says some mean things and then says she’s not gay and that Heather should leave. Heather goes home and takes that really hard.
Over the next few weeks, Heather is moody, and Henry has a heart attack. He dies, and that’s hard on the whole family. Heather carries a big wolf out to a bonfire in the back yard and burns it. ‘Say goodbye to your father.” Heather cuts off most of her hair.
When her brothers get into a fight, Heather leaves the house; naturally, it’s a full moon outside, and a red one at that. She goes straight to the club. It’s 11:55, and Otto asks her how she’s doing. Jonny and Rick are there as well.
Heather and Jonny have words, and Rick gets involved. They drag her outside and Rick hits her. Her watch beeps at midnight, and she turns into a wolf and kills him before running into the woods.
In the morning, Heather’s mother helps her wash off the blood. “You have to leave here tonight; it’s not safe for you.” Heather watches the newscaster talking about Rick’s death– he was attacked by a large wolf. She gets in the car and leaves town.
Commentary
The credits, music, and visuals are all very retro, reminiscent of the 80s. It’s pretty clear from the opening scene what we’re dealing with, but we don’t see much of that until the very end. It’s all very bleak, dark, and depressing. It’s a whole world of wood-grain paneling.
It’s much more of a teenage romance drama with a few elements of werewolfism thrown in. It’s well filmed and very creepy; the horror part of the movie is just one scene at the end.
Werewolves don’t change until midnight, which is a new idea, but it makes it clear exactly when the change takes place, which is crucial to the story. It’s good, but not exactly action packed.