Full Eclipse

This action-packed thriller is more of a twist on the traditional LAPD action movie rather than a twist on the werewolf movie. It's starts off with two cops, Max Dire and his partner, and his partner is telling him how he's going to quit the force and get married. And he gets shot in the first ten minutes. Also, Max himself has a troubled marriage. But just as I was about to sit back and let ninety minutes of cop movie clichés wash over me, the movie goes in several new and interesting directions ... it's not great, but it definitely kept me entertained.

It comes from director Anthony Hickox, who's first movie was Waxwork in 1988 (which also featured werewolves), and he does a particularly good job here at emulating John Woo -- the action sequences are very exciting, adrenaline-fueled affairs and in the other scenes there are plenty of close ups and interesting sound effects to set the mood of the movie. Mario Van Peebles does his usual action hero thing with great flare, and Bruce Payne makes an excellent villain as Mr A Garou (Garou is French for werewolf, see -- pretty much the only high-brow werewolf reference in the movie). All in all, the directing is expertly done, the script is decent enough and the acting is competent.

But as a movie, it has it's problems. It doesn't really pick up it's pace until the the second half, when Max Dire becomes one of the pack, and that's when things really start to get interesting. The characters aren't really that likable or original, although the cast on the whole do their best. But as a pilot for a TV series, it almost works, and that's what I initially presumed this was. Or perhaps it just sets itself up for future movies. Who knows. If it was intended as a pilot, that kind of explains why the first forty minutes of the movie are so dull.

In conclusion, it's a fairly entertaining movie elevated by some great directing, but the storyline could definitely have used a bit more work. If you're in the mood for a decent action movie, this is one that I might recommend.

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."

This is a great movie!!! Quite possibly one of the coolest werewolf movies I've ever seen. First off the action sequences are incredible, John Woo had a major influence on the style of this film. There's jumping with guns'a'blazing, cool slow motion shots, and to top it off...WEREWOLVES!!! The performances couldn't be better, Mario Van Peebles is extremely underrated and Bruce Payne is the quintessential bad guy. The only thing that holds this movie back from true cinematic greatness is probably the fact that is a made for T.V. movie and had to be edited and the budget was not as high as the concept...great concept though!!! This movie is Shaft meets The Howling, throw in Hong Kong-flavored action and you've got Full Eclipse. Coolest Werewolf movie around.

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.

Mario Van Peebles plays Max Dire, a cop going through some rough times. He's seen some weird and supposedly tragic things happen to his partner Jim (Tony Denison), and of course his marriage is on the rocks as well. Then a fellow cop named Garou (Bruce Payne) who heads a "special squad" goes about trying to induct Max into his team. They're supposedly dedicated to wiping out crime, but in truth they're not much better than the bad guys on the streets.

If you get a kick out of genre crossovers, this action-cop-melodrama-horror flick may provide you with enough amusement. Overall, it's pretty standard - the writing, the acting, the effects, etc. Still, its central hook is enough of a hoot to reel in the viewer, and the filmmakers try to draw parallels between the actions of the special squad and drug addiction (these guys and gals regularly inject themselves with something that gives them superhuman abilities). But at least it gives a little fresh life to the ultra-predictable "dead partner" trope.

Van Peebles has some good chemistry with the smouldering Patsy Kensit, as a member of Paynes' team. He himself does an okay job, but it's Payne, an actor who's typically specialized in villain roles, who dominates much of the film. It IS fun to see him and Kensit play Americans; for the most part, they are able to suppress their natural accents. And there's a steady stream of familiar faces in the supporting cast: Jason Beghe ("Monkey Shines: An Experiment in Fear"), Paula Marshall ("Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth"), Dean Norris ('Breaking Bad'), Willie C. Carpenter ("Hard Target"), Victoria Rowell ('The Young and the Restless'), Scott Paulin ("Teen Wolf"), and Mel Winkler ("Devil in a Blue Dress").

This is preposterous stuff, but it's slickly made (genre veteran Anthony Hickox ("Waxwork" and its sequel, etc.) is the director), and reasonably paced, wrapping up in a fairly trim 98 minutes, and it includes enough sex and violence to hold the attention of its audience.

Six out of 10.