User Reviews

There's a saying about freak shows and movies featuring Tim Curry: You can't turn away. So it is with this movie, which features both Curry and a freak show. It's not a great movie, by any means, but you can't turn away. The plot involves an oddly attractive extra-hairy teenage girl who has lived her life in a freak show. She meets an odd boy who gives her an experimental treatment, but, as a side effect, the treatment turns her violent. In other words, there are no real surprises in the plot (though it didn't end quite the way I expected it to end), and there are a lot of "what the?" scenes. How did that character know that, why does this character do that, why was this scene in the movie at all, etc. It's an affliction common to made-for-cable movies, of course, and this one actually has less than most. But, beneath all of that, there are some great looking scenes. The scenery, costumes and photography give lots of the movie a neat, old-world sort of feel (even though it appears to take place in the present). Freak shows are an anachronism today, and the movie presents them as such. To watch the scenes around the show, you'd think that the movie took place at least a century ago, and that's to the movie's credit. It's the style that makes this movie worth watching. I've seen plenty of horror movies, made-for-cable and otherwise, that didn't even have that going for them.

Lili, the Real Wolf Girl, sends her Greetings. She saw the movie when it first aired. We would like to know when it will air again. Here her comments: "The movie was fun, but a little violent. Tim Curry was great as the Outside Talker. Victoria was wonderful and beautiful. Her hair pattern was was well done. My brother and I, and several cousins were born with Hypertrichosis, including my uncle, and his granddaughters. So we know what is like to be in the sideshow. So we did not like the "cage scenes." Believe or not, No wolf people, including Jo-Jo the Dog Face boy, were ever introduced in a cage. Over all the movie was fun to watch. A sequel would be nice, especially, with a happy ending. Lili" As translated and posted by Dieguin

Like the oddities and curiosities depicted in "Blood Moon", the movie succeeds because it is odd and a curiosity itself. Going against the tide of mindless slice and dice horror movies, some actual thought went into this story of a sideshow wolf girl who takes an experimental drug to try and become normal. The side effects however are rather unpleasant. One problem is that the freak show attractions are featured far too often and grind the film to a halt. Certainly an above average movie, that is somewhat diminished by the start and stop pacing. What you wind up with is part circus act, part musical, part horror film, in essence, almost three separate acts. - MERK

Wow, I will never forget this movie. It is about the freakiest freak show I have ever seen or heard of. So you have the world's fattest woman, not too odd, a half man-half woman who sings, too almost beautiful stripper girls, uhhh, wait until you see them naked.

The main character though is Tara, the sweet little wolf-girl. She is like a daughter to the owner of the strip show, a somewhat kind hearted business man. Well, Tara wants nothing more than to be rid of her body hair and be normal. This is amplified when some cruel teenagers come to her show and hurl dog dung at her. Well, this is where the movie really gets started.

I won't go any further, for I hate spoilers. But, I will say this, whoever wrote this movie is either a pervert, a genius, or a lot of both. This shock of this movie makes up for the mediocre script. I rated it 7 our of 10. I don't know if I will ever watch it again, but I will certainly never forget. I suppose it wouldn't be very good a second time. I can't be shocked twice by it after all. Oh, and DO NOT WATCH THIS WITH CHILDREN OR TEENS EVEN!!!

This movie is sick in all manners and was definently a job that a great actor like Tim Curry would not choose. I watched it from beginning to end and thought that it was just a cheap way to make money off of people with imperfections. The characters are lousy and the idea of this movie is archaeic. It was neither scary entertaining or worth the time to watch. Lesley Ann Warren and Tim Curry have done far better movies than this piece of bull. This movie should be avoided at all costs.

I Got this film in one of those cheap 4 movie double disc paks wich i bought mainly for Return of the living dead 3, Unlike the american cover art which seems deceived a lot of people to think this was a werewolf horror flick this had a naked woman looking at her wolf like reflection on a lake and since one of the other movies was the terribly bad Wolfhound(wich instead of having werewolves or even wolves in as the cover deciveingly portraits, it has some crapy dogs and a california playmate pretending to be native irish) i was expecting your average skin flick with some bad werewolf story line, man was i wrong.

Wolf Girl is neither a horror film nor a skin flick, it is a really good drama about the pain of being diferent. The characters are well written with none of them becoming too clishe, it shows how the cruel kids have dark shameful secrets of their own, and it shows the ring master as a real father figure, one that often makes mistakes and acts towards needs and not his childs feelings but truly loves his family. The various segments of the show are quite entertaining and the music is really good. My only real problem is i can't figure out if its ment to be in the present or if they just had some errors, because of the nature of the story and the prduction design it often feels as if its ment to be set around the late sixties early seventies (they even have the good bad and ugly on the marquee on the streets background) but the cosmetics lab looks to modern and then you have shots of the wolf girl walking trougth the street were you can clearly see 90's cars that could have easily been edited out witougth ruining the flow of the scene, I find that really annoying. Overall i liked this film a lot, it just seems to be really bad marketed.

What does a Romanian-Canadian made-for-tv movie look like? It's similar to anything you might see on the Hallmark or Disney Channel, slow paced and wholesome, but with slightly more transsexuals and full frontal nudity (male and female).

Note: this film features Tim Curry's swagger.

He plays a freakshow owner, and his main act is The Wolf Girl, an ordinary, uncomfortable teenage girl who happens to be very hairy. Some late-90s bullies give her a hard time, but luckily, and unluckily for her (tragic irony), she's Wolf Girl, and becomes even more so as events unfold.

This film has the tone of an afterschool special or Lifetime original movie, but with wolf girl boobs, mulitple male genitalia, and gruesome, bloody murders. It first struck me as subversive, but then I realized I'm just American.

It also treads that uncomfortable line between celebrating and marginalizing those who are different. As freakshows are wont to do. Take the scene where late-90s nerdy boy with cool hair (me) peeks in on an armless man making love to a woman, only to realize he's been spotted by a woman with no arms or legs, who's in a hammock.

Strange, and strangely wholesome. There's a moral to the story about honoring who you are. Heartwarming characters. There's a great Ani DiFranco song for the credits. And Tim Curry is in it.

I give it a solid 6.75 on the unexpected male nudity meter. Worth watching.

I can't believe how underrated this movie is. Not only does it work with classic horror themes, but it mingles them with a lot of smartness. It is almost perfect, if you discount the Romanian origins of the lead character (mainly, Romanians have not been stupid enough to leave firearms in the hands of regular idiot people for a long time).

The story is of a hairy girl who wants to be normal. She trades her weird looks for a violent personality, driven by her liaison with a regular freak (not violent and sensible) and the continuous bullying by another freak and his clique. The cast is mixed: Earthsea's Shawn Ashmore, Tim Curry (from a zillion movies) and Grace Jones work together with the Romanian cast that provided most of the secondary and support actors.

It's not that the movie is a masterpiece, but it is quite good with its depiction of freakness in all of its forms. The idea itself was masterful. I've watched the movie thinking it would be a werewolf film, but in actuality it is not, it is a story about human nature and should, by all counts, become a classic.

Do watch it. It may not be high production values or insane special effects, but the story is something to behold.

It would seem that Tim Curry would welcome the role of a kind-hearted, singing, dancing sideshow entrepreneur, roving through the European woods in a gypsy caravan. He seems to be enjoying himself greatly being able to be the understanding father figure to the physically impaired entertainers who also seem to be enjoying their work. It is also a coming-of-age story. Most teenage girls seem to think of themselves as grotesque until love is in the air. I had a little trouble with the ending. Without giving it away I can say that, with a good character, sometimes it's best to leave well enough alone. I give it 10 points, so there.

This movie was more than I ever could have expected. It was visually magnificent and wonderfully written. It teaches an ironic moral, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, unless beauty becomes the beast by injecting unknown drugs into her system. Chemicals that are supposed to change her appearance. Tara is portrayed in the beginning as a beautifully human being, kind and sweet. As the movie progresses, she becomes a slave to her inner desire to become "normal". Her relationship with her fellow "freaks" and with her boyfriend show how unique we humans are. WolfGirl is at the very top of my thought-provoking movie list. The ending is so haunting, I got chills.

This movie is truly one of the best originally made-for-TV movies I've ever seen. First, I would like to say, this is by no means an horror film. It doesn't even resemble one. The story is simple, and without revealing too much, is more of an exploration of human vanity. This, however, does not detract from the movie - characters are well defined, their motivations and interests are consistent and all of them have a back story, even if it is never stated. They have a great deal of depth.

Sets were perfectly well suited for each other - sideshows have a timeless quality about them, as far as the general public knows, they haven't been updated very much. There would be no sideshow that would make a person say "That's from the 1920s" or "that's from the 1820s". Because of this, the outside world is also given a timeless quality, which made the filming in Eastern Europe ideal. There are buildings with decades of difference between them right next to each other. Costumes are similarly indistinct. All of this serves one purpose: to help you understand that this story; indeed, this message, is not meant for one specific time period.

There are also the 'controversial' (I don't think the movie was popular enough to cause controversy) sideshow attractions. One could misunderstand and think that the message is hypocritical because it comes from somebody who displays people for vain reasons. Instead, the movie serves to help you understand...they aren't being exploited, they are using the very thing that sets them apart in order to get a leg-up.

I think this is a great film; all of the elements fit together very well and it gives two messages (One about vanity; one about why we need to bond because of our differences, not despite them) without being preachy. But if you're looking for a horror movie, I'd suggest something else.

I think a lot of people didn't understand the message that was supposed to come through. The girl was unique but wanted to be look normal so bad that she turned into what people thought she was to begin with. A wild animal. All the "normal" teenagers had something about them that was out of the norm but looked completely normal on the outside. I think it sends a good message. If you twist your self up trying to be like everybody else instead of yourself you end up killing pieces of your humanity. A lot of people watched this film and assumed they the movie makers where making fun of a very real syndrome. I truly believe that if a person pays close attention to the message in the movie that they will enjoy a fine piece of imagination.

I knew I had to tape this one. Without a lot of "yapping" discourse, it's a great movie. Victoria Sanchez (Tara) plays "Wolf Girl" with great teen spirit. The dude, Dov Tiefenbach (Ryan), maybe undercover gothic, looks to get to know her. Props to all of the veterans in supporting roles.

I wasn't even expecting to love Wolf Girl(aka Blood Moon), let alone like it. When I saw the cover, I was expecting a cheap horror film with bad acting and a derivative story. How wrong I was. I do concur that this isn't really a horror film. I admit while some parts did shock me, I found myself more touched by most scenes. The film does look surprisingly good, the sets do have a timeless quality like they should do, and the make up is really very impressive. I was most surprised by the photography, as it is quite good in alternative to shoddy, the latter of which I was expecting. The musical performances are both interesting and delightful, especially the only one I was familiar with prior to seeing this being a big fan of Tim Curry, The Pluck Song, which has great lyrics and a sensuality that I have not seen in any of Curry's movies since Sweet Transvestite in Rocky Horror. The script is surprisingly intelligent and moving, and the story is beautifully structured with two messages that don't feel preachy. The acting is far from bad, Tim Curry is wonderful as Harley, Shawn Ashmore shows some depth in a role that could easily have been anything but and the lovely Lesley Ann Warren also makes a pleasing appearance. The real revelation is Victoria Sanchez as Tara, I could immediately sympathise with her character and her back-story and predicaments, and Sanchez gives a touching and wholly believable performance. Speaking of the characters, all of them are easy to relate to and are given some depth in some way or other. Overall, don't be put off by first impressions, Wolf Girl is a great, underrated jewel. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Blood Moon has to be the biggest surprise of the year so far. As I slipped in the DVD and viewed the trailer, my expectations were set on a moderate level, expecting little more than average direct-to-video fare. What I got was a suspenseful, fun, character-driven, horror/drama that is now one of my favorite movies of all time.

Blood Moon tells the story of Tara Talbot (Victoria Sanchez), who is afflicted with a rare genetic condition that covers her body with hair. She lives her life in Harley Dunne's (Tim Curry) freakshow under the sideshow name "The Terrifying Wolf Girl," but on the inside, Tara wants nothing more than to be a normal teenage girl. Her affliction sets her apart from the outside world, and most think of her as some hideous creature that one could never love. Ryan (Don Tiefenbach) begins to spy on her when the freakshow comes to town and a troublesome group of teens (Shawn Ashmore, Shelby Fenner, Tony Denman, Nate Dushku) come along. Ryan offers Tara what she's always wanted--a chance at a real life. Ryan begins giving Tara serum that will remove her hair over time. Tara may finally get her wish to become a normal girl, but the more serum she gets from Ryan, the more the wolf begins taking over.

In all honesty, the only true reason I wanted to see Blood Moon was for the sensational Shawn Ashmore, and he definitely does not disappoint here. Shawn Ashmore plays Bo, an annoying and cruel jock, and he is very believable in the role. Tim Curry never disappoints, and he is perfectly cast as Harley Dunne, leader of the freakshow. Victoria Sanchez is very good as Tara, and she brings just enough life to the character.

While Blood Moon has very little gore, it does prevail in many other areas. I loved the black humor that was carefully littered throughout the film; it really made the movie. The musical performances were all very interesting, and all of the sideshow attractions are great to look at and fun to learn about.

Blood Moon was much more than I was expecting in every single category. The story moves along nicely, the directing is superb, and the story is very engaging. Don't miss Blood Moon--you won't be disappointed.

I stumbled across this out of sheer mistake. I am so surprised I have never seen it before. Possibly because it paints Shawn Ashmore in a negative way... Some actors try to bury movies they are ashamed of. Anyway. This movie was great! Even Shawn's character. It had an excellent message and an excellent story. Any reference says this is a TV movie but I can not see this being played on regular TV with some of the visuals. It has a really good message for teens(visuals aside). Really some people are too hung up on nudity anyway... Violence should get more of a reaction than nudity any day. The female lead should of had a career upgrade from this. She was very good. Who ever buried the traces of this movie are to blame. Watch This Movie!!!

Saw the late showing of Wolf Girl recently on USA. It was good fun, but I'm naturally biased towards most movies with Tim Curry as he is one of my faves!

On the whole, the movie was paced nicely with some good performances and some bad ones as well. Tim Curry is good as the eccentric, yet caring freak show owner, Harley. And Victoria Sanchez plays her part well also as the lonely wolf girl who just wants to be a normal teenager. She's very believable.

The other performances were solid as well, with a few exceptions, most notable the group of teenagers who harass Tara. They are horribly stereotypical, egocentric and dull. (Though the running gag with the size of their "manhood" is good for a few giggles).

The movie is filmed with a kind of washed out color feeling, similar to, but nowhere near as effective as Tim Burton's, "Sleepy Hollow" and the music is passable. Tim Curry even gets a chance to show off his singing skill in a wonderful little number about "plucking" that kind of reminds me of Frankenfurter from "Rocky Horror"

***

Tara Talbot, aka the Wolf Girl, is inflicted with the rare genetic disease hypertrichosis. She is a member of a sideshow with all the usual "freaks". She wants to be normal, but she soon learns that the so-called normal people are pieces of crap and that the "freaks" are actually quite normal.

What makes her bad is the town they are in with 4 bratty teenage punks that throw things at her - including darts. She does make a friend with another teen named Ryan. Ryan has also been picked on by the same teen punks. Ryan tries to help Tara with treatment for her affliction but there are side effects - side effects that turn her more "werewolf-like".

Nice film, sad story, great performances - worth watching if you like these kinds of films.

8.5/10

This is far better than I could have ever imagined. It surely seems poorly labeled and marketed - or then again, maybe the effort to attract young, curious, horror-loving audiences was entirely intentional? But more on that later: 'Wolf girl' is surprising in the overall quality of its craft, and also in how much it does while seeming to do so little.

The writing is strong enough to provide most characters with unusual depth, allowing the cast some minor exploration of their roles. The plot initially seems fairly direct, with some predictability and familiar tropes; in that relative simplicity this is recognizably a "made for TV" movie. Yet there's considerable intelligence here that exceeds expectations of that genre, and the story takes a few turns that foil our best guesses.

Just look at the cast! Especially for the nature of the production, the names assembled here are extraordinary. Tim Curry! Grace Jones! Lesley Ann Warren! Darlene Cates! Shawn Ashmore! Dov Tiefenbach I recognize mostly from 'Jason X,' and his performance here as major supporting character Ryan Klein is decidedly different - and strong. I'm less familiar still with star Victoria Sanchez, appearing as Tara, "the wolf girl," but the part is written strikingly well, and she demonstrates a capability that's entrancing. Every single person on camera, even those with few or no other credits, offer compelling, eye-catching portrayals.

Then there are those aspects that present additional flavor - music, choreography, set pieces and decoration, wardrobe, makeup, prosthetics. For all the superficial humility, and especially the trappings of what we anticipate from TV movies, everything here looks and sounds pretty incredible. There's no reason anything in 'Wolf girl' should meet such a high level of quality, yet that's exactly what we get. It's a fantastic bonus that we're also treated to scenes of Curry and Jones singing.

These are just the obvious elements, though - the things we immediately see and hear. It's what lies under the surface that makes 'Wolf girl' altogether exceptional.

Themes are never shoved in our face, yet are readily apparent for anyone honestly engaging with the picture. We're entreated to ponder the meaning of family, the nature of friendship, and the value of self-love. We also look in the mirror and see the difficulty of self-love; the things we dislike, fear, or loathe about ourselves; the terrible ease with which we ridicule and persecute anyone different. Freak shows, as a cultural relic, showcase disabilities, conditions congenital and otherwise, or injuries or illness, and the broad societal response is derision, or revulsion. Yet the ugly veneer that's painted onto such fare by our judgment belies a wonderful, beautiful diversity, and a strength of community outside the bounds of "normalcy."

'Wolf girl' touches on all this, and more, yet that last bit deserves further mention. This feature was released in 2001, barely out of the 90s when lesbians and gay men in media were little more than stereotypes, or a joke. "Transgender" had scarcely entered our cultural lexicon, and cisheteronormativity was so pervasive, and dominant - and toxic in that dominance - that any meaningful representation or general visibility of a marvelous identity outside strict convention was practically mythical. And yet in this era, 'Wolf girl' dared to give us scenes, however passingly, with characters that pointedly, poignantly, expressly flout the presumption of a gender binary - not with intent to shock or frighten, but as though to say, "We're here. This is who we are. This IS normal. Deal with it." It dared to suggest, however fleetingly, lesbian or bisexual undertones. These things seem passé in 2021, and a movie that's similarly indirect with these notions would quite reasonably be waved off today as queer-baiting. But 20 years ago, it was slyly provocative, and defiant.

And in one final, reverberating sting, there's a wordless, admittedly heavy-handed commentary on the tragedy of pretending to be someone else - of denying who we are, and trying to blend in with a false presentation. The more we push ourselves to fit an arbitrary social norm, the more harmful and destructive it may become for us, our loved ones, and anyone around us. We can try to fit in - but at what cost? 'Wolf girl' advances ideas of self-acceptance, and rebuffing aggressive societal pressure, that outpace what most major media content was willing to promote at the time. And it does so with a narrative - with an outward appearance of pablum bizarrerie and popular genre film appeal - that cleverly disguised the messages it had to impart.

Yes, it's quite possible that I'm reading an intent into this movie, based on my own experiences, that isn't actually there. But I think the scenes speak for themselves. And if what I suggest, the underhanded way of encouraging pride and diversity, seems far-fetched? Consider that it echoes the manner in which some broader themes are presented: There are times where the most antagonistic characters have a moment of reflection, seemingly on the cusp of some greater realization - but that epiphany never quite comes for them, and the picture doesn't linger. The punch of these instances are ever so plain for the audience, though not for the characters, and the film moves on so quickly that a less attentive viewer may not even have noticed the concept. The purpose is served, and the idea is conveyed, but with deft subtlety.

It's worth noting that 'Wolf girl' essentially has two versions: after premiering on network TV, the feature later had a home release. There is considerable nudity that was certainly cut for television, and that's actually unfortunate - because rather than be geared toward titillation, the nudity herein actually lends credence to those deeper themes and ideas I've described. There was a lot lost from the film's meaning when it was edited for mass consumption - including the masterful, somewhat ambiguous ending.

Watching 'Wolf girl' now, I have a vague recollection of having seen it before, on TV, at least in part. But I definitely had no appreciation or understanding then, and I'm so glad that I stumbled across it again now, by chance, after browsing Tim Curry's many credits. This was such a grand surprise, far greater and more impactful than I'd have ever dreamt. Where there are minor imperfections, it's mostly in a small lack of refinement, such as hard transitions between scenes. Otherwise - in its narrative, characters, production design, and not least of all in its themes and thoughts, this is frankly outstanding.

Don't let the surface appearance put you off. 'Wolf girl' is, much to my amazement, a dashingly well made film that far exceeds its contemporaries. Highest recommendation - very much worth checking out!

Only Tim Curry and Grace Jones could have pulled this one off! Never judge a DVD by its cover! The cover implies that it's a werewolf movie, but really it's a drama surrounding a VERY hairy girl. Poor thing never figured out that all she needed was some good shaving cream and a sharp razor. At the very least, this film demonstrates what it would be like to be part of a traveling freak show. It would have been MUCH more believable if it were completely set in the distant past instead of having a gypsy clan collide with a modern day town. Costumes were most excellent and the freaks were freaky, but story lines strayed far from the plot. A must see for Tim Curry or Grace Jones fans. Wolf girl becomes wolf woman and is not afraid to show us her goods, but this movie had the worst ending of all time even though wolf girl goes through a complete character change! UG!

The first time I saw this film, it was when it premiered on the USA channel. At the time, I honestly didn't know what to expect because the trailers treated it like a horror movie.

In a somewhat similar vein as Tod Browning's "Freaks", the trailers completely mislead the viewer. This is less of a werewolf film and more of a film about being able to accept yourself for who you are, instead of trying to drastically change yourself to fit in with the rest of the world, and the argument that, in doing so, you lose what made you you.

If you are going into this movie expecting a vicious, violent horror film filled with werewolf transformation scenes and classic romance, then this film is clearly not for you.

If you're someone who goes in with a lowered expectation of this film based on the title, or no expectation whatsoever, then you might be pleasantly surprised, as I was.

Also, it should be noted that I personally despise the fact that this film was released under the title "Blood Moon" instead of "Wolf Girl". But, that's just my opinion.

If you like this film, I also recommend a film entitled "No Such Thing", a contemporary retelling of the "Beauty and The Beast" story.