Ah, Full Moon- how I have missed you? Wait- that's a typo. Ah, Full Moon- how have I missed you? This is 1998's The Werewolf Reborn!, a Full Moon Film that was part of an aborted Series. As I've covered *long* ago, there was a transition period of the company around this time. They'd made like 6 Puppet Master Films and wanted to do more new, different stuff. As part of that attempt, they came up with a simple premise- let's do Remakes of the Classic Universal Monster Movies. What a bold, daring concept only done by everyone else (but most famously Hammer Pictures)! This is what would seemingly-lead them to do 'Ethnic Horror Films' like The Vault and Killjoy too. Back on these Films, they formed a Series called Filmonsters to contain all of them. The first one was this Film. It's like the old Werewolf Films but, you know, reborn for a new audience. There's not too many notable names here- as it seems to have the Budget matching the Catering one for Endgame- but you do get notable Character/Voice Actor Robin-Atkin Downes as the Creature. To find out why this didn't exactly set the World on fire, read on...
A young girl is stuck in what is clearly Romania (or someplace close) with her Uncle while her Parents are 'at a Conference.'
'Sorry, dear- we have to work. Take a train out to the middle of nowhere to stay at your estranged Uncle's Castle for a week. Bye!'
The Film is just over 40 minutes (around 45), so bear that in mind when I summarize the next parts...
'I'm here to stay.' - Girl
'You can't stay.' - Uncle
'I guess I'll stay at the Train Station.' - Girl
'No, you can stay in the Village with me' - Policeman
'No, you must stay with me!'- Uncle
That night, of course, it is a Full Moon (of course it is!) and he transforms....
His Werewolf attacks some Hunters in the Woods- like in the Original
Wolfman- and returns home wounded.
Is this better or worse than the later
Howling Films? You decide!
He returns home just in time to transform back into his human self and heal from the bullet wounds.
His Niece asks him what happened. He proceeds to then share a flashback where a Werewolf- with the exact same suit FYI- attacked him at home and he killed it.
Of course, he got bit in the process.
The Police show up right as he's done and lock him up.
They don't believe that he's a Werewolf- just a killer.
Naturally, the next night is ALSO a Full Moon and he transforms again.
Tragically, he's struck down by a sad relative- also like in
Wolfman- and...that's it.
Oh and she gets a whole lecture/exposition dump from the Police Captain- who is Uncle Leo from
Seinfeld.
I was hoping for a twist where he was a Werewolf or something...but he clearly doesn't have enough hair for that. The End.
Shorter Film- shorter Review. This one is alright. I just take a big issue with the premise behind the Series as a whole. What was its point? To update the Films for a new (now old) audience. How was it updated? Um, it kind of wasn't. Yes, there's a Teen Girl as the Lead, but...that's it. Everything else is stock Werewolf stuff. They didn't modernize the Story or the Setting or anything. It is practically just a cheaper, smaller Remake with little added. It's not so much Reborn as it is regurgitated. I'm not saying that it's even bad- it's just alright and forgettable. I was hoping for something unique. I didn't get it. Hell, the whole 'Reborn' thing isn't even unique. In 2005, The Asylum did their own Frankenstein Film and called it, you guessed it,
Frankenstein Reborn. That lazy trend even continues to this day as we get pretty blatant knock-offs like this recent Film (and its How Did You Not Get Sued?!? Poster)…
Next time, I go from a mostly-forgotten Werewolf Film to the most famous in modern history. I love transitions! Stay tuned...
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