Dark Moon Rising (2009)

Director:

Dana Mennie

Writers:

Dana Mennie (screenplay) &
Ian Cook (screenplay) ...
(more)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Love is a six letter word - "HORROR"

Plot:

Small-town girl meets mysterious drifter boy, they fall in love. Only in this case, the boy brings with him a family curse and unimaginable horror that rains hell upon the small town.

Plot Keywords:

Small Town | Murder | Werewolf | Nevada | Raised Middle Finger

Cast

Max Ryan	...	Bender / Darkman
Maria Conchita Alonso	...	Sheriff Sam Pantoja
Chris Mulkey	...	John
Chris Divecchio	...	Dan / Dan Creature
Ginny Weirick	...	Amy
Sid Haig	...	Crazy Louis
Billy Drago	...	Thibodeaux
Lin Shaye	...	Sunny
Arielle Vandenberg	...	Nicole
Rikki Gagne	...	Stacy
Lee Tichon	...	Biker Bully / Darkman Creature (as Lee Anthony Tichon)
Alex Sell	...	Young Bender
Sarah Dropek	...	Young Girl
Joe Ordaz	...	Jim
Dana Mennie	...	Earl
Tony Demeo	...	Deputy Tony
Norman Mora	...	Chico
Rick Parker	...	Chico's Friend
John Wehrly	...	Chico's Friend
Jasmina Hdagha	...	Bar Vixen
Ariana Malik	...	The Tart
Michael Hirshenson	...	Texas Bar Patron
Samuel Reynolds	...	Biker Bully's Friend (as Sam Reynolds)
Jeffrey G. Barnett	...	Biker Bully's Friend (as Jeff Barnett)
Julie Snider Mennie	...	Shanee Thibodeaux
Rich Uhl	...	Rich
Linda Uhl	...	Linda
Charles Snider	...	Farmer
Chuck Frye	...	Duke
Sandy Baskiewicz	...	Deb
Lark Williams	...	Brothel Madam
Chuck Sebek	...	Doorman
Claire Grieve	...	Candy
Bethany Wallin	...	Lisa
Ian Cook	...	Radio Announcer (voice)
Diesel	...	Norman the Dog (as Diesel 'D2')
Kyrie	...	1968 AMX

Directed by
Dana Mennie

Writing credits
Dana Mennie		(screenplay) &
Ian Cook		(screenplay)
Dana Mennie		(creator)

Produced by
Maria Conchita Alonso	....	co-producer
Rita Baghdadi	....	associate producer
Richard Cueto	....	producer
Billy Drago	....	co-producer
Ken Dropek	....	executive producer
Sid Haig	....	co-producer
Drew Jackson	....	associate producer
Dana Mennie	....	producer
Chris Mulkey	....	co-producer
George Nemetz	....	executive producer
Kendra Rasmussen	....	associate producer
Lance H. Robbins	....	producer
Max Ryan	....	co-producer
Darius Siwek	....	co-producer
Julie Snider Mennie	....	producer

Original Music by
Geoff Gibbons

Cinematography by
Mark Ream		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Michael Spence

Casting by
Dana Mennie
Julie Snider Mennie

Production Design by
Andy Novak

Art Direction by
Geoff Flint

Costume Design by
Ivy Thaide

Makeup Department
Crystal Bernal	....	key hair stylist
Allison Bryan	....	key makeup artist
Melissa Ferreras	....	assistant hair stylist
Jamie Richmond	....	assistant makeup artist
Mary Ann Van Graven	....	assistant makeup artist
Marcella Villa	....	assistant hair stylist

Production Management
Straw Weisman	....	executive in charge of post-production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alisha Dickinson	....	second second assistant director
Ariana Malik	....	second assistant director
Darius Siwek	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Diana J. Hemphill	....	art department assistant (as Diana Hemphill)
Giulia Casavecchia	....	art department assistant (uncredited)

Sound Department
Michael Crabtree	....	foley artist: Digital Dreams Sound Studios (as Mike Crabtree)
George Nemzer	....	sound designer: Digital Dreams Sound Studios
Nate Olson	....	assistant sound editor: Digital Dreams Sound Studios
Seth Peterson	....	boom operator
Vic Radulich	....	dialogue editor: Digital Dreams Sound Studios (as Vic Radlich)
John Rotondi	....	adr editor: Digital Dreams Sound Studios
John Rotondi	....	re-recording engineer: Digital Dreams Sound Studios
Clancy T. Troutman	....	supervising sound editor: Digital Dreams Sound Studios (as Clancy Troutman)
Rebecca Usnik	....	sound mixer
Jim Verderame	....	sound effects editor: Digital Dreams Sound Studios
David John West	....	adr editor: Digital Dreams Sound Studios (as Super Dave West)
David John West	....	adr mixer: Digital Dreams Sound Studios (as Super Dave West)
David John West	....	dialogue editor: Digital Dreams Sound Studios (as Dave West)
David John West	....	foley re-recording mixer: Digital Dreams Sound Studios (as Super Dave West)
David John West	....	re-recording mixer: Digital Dreams Sound Studios (as Super Dave West)
Victoria West	....	sound post-production coordinator
Scott Westley	....	sound effects editor: Digital Dreams Sound Studios

Special Effects by
Argylios Alahouzos	....	special effects coordinator (as Argyrios 'Roulis' Alahouzos)
Argylios Alahouzos	....	special effects makeup artist (as Argyrios 'Roulis' Alahouzos)
George Alahouzos	....	creatures designer
George Alahouzos	....	makeup and creature effects supervisor
Nikolaos Dresios	....	lead sculptor (as Nikos Dresios)
Nikolaos Dresios	....	special effects assistant (as Nikos Dresios)
Christine Koloka	....	lab assistant
Dana Mennie	....	creatures designer
Dimitris Milonas	....	special effects assistant (as Dimitris 'Milo' Milonas)
Chris Spiropoulos	....	lab assistant
Mary Ann Van Graven	....	assistant special effects makeup

Visual Effects by
Zack Fox	....	visual effects production coordinator: 11: 11 Mediaworks
Matt McFarland	....	senior colorist
Bill Millar	....	visual effects supervisor
Robert Nall	....	digital artist: 11: 11 Mediaworks
Roger Nall	....	visual effects supervisor: 11: 11 Mediaworks

Stunts
Michael Adams	....	stunt driver
Jeffrey G. Barnett	....	stunts (as Jeffrey Barnett)
Stacey Carino	....	stunts
Carl Ciarfalio	....	stunts
Rikki Gagne	....	stunts
Charles Grisham	....	stunt double: Dan Creature (as Charles Grishim)
Gary Kasper	....	stunt double: Sid Haig
Oliver Keller	....	stunt double: Darkman Creature
David Kilde	....	stunt double: Darkman Creature
Ray Lykins	....	stunt double: Chris Mulkey
Brian Munce	....	stunt coordinator
Joe Ordaz	....	stunts
Randy Fife	....	utility stunts (uncredited)
Rikki Gagne	....	stunt double: Amy (uncredited)
Garrett Hammond	....	utility stunts (uncredited)
Dorian Kingi	....	utility stunts (uncredited)
Marque Ohmes	....	utility stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Corey Bringas	....	second assistant camera
Austin Chavira	....	epk
Tyrell Elliott	....	grip
Ash Gupta	....	still photographer: Studio 838
Trevor Jones	....	grip
Randy Lee	....	camera operator:
Yordi Martinez	....	second assistant camera
Kristoffer May	....	electrician (as Kris May)
Justin Maynard	....	generator operator
Dimitris Milonas	....	still photographer (as Dimitris 'Milo' Milonas)
Matt O'Connor	....	best boy grip
Brian Pelkey	....	gaffer
Rafael Ramirez	....	first assistant camera
Nicholas Reader	....	best boy electric (as Nic Reader)
Mark Ream	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Kyle Redman	....	loader
Eric W. Smith	....	first assistant camera (as Eric Smith)
Mark Stuen	....	key grip
Andrew Wheeler	....	electrician
Micky Wheeler	....	electrician swing
Jeremy Dewald	....	grip (uncredited)
Ryan Stumpe	....	dolly grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Maggie Ramos	....	wardrobe supervisor
Stefanie Gardenhire	....	wardrobe assistant (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Evans Butterworth	....	post-production executive
Christopher M. Meagher	....	digital intermediate conformist (as Chris Meagher)
Adam Ohl	....	digital intermediate producer
Belinda Onar	....	trailer editor
Debbie Weisman	....	post-production coordinator

Music Department
Geoff Gibbons	....	original songs
Dana Mennie	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Carol Betts	....	driver
George Betts	....	driver
Paul Boots	....	driver
Billy Carter	....	driver
Sean Ermahn	....	driver (as Sean Erman)
Chuck Frye	....	driver
Mike Hansen	....	driver
Bob Harris	....	driver
Joyce Harris	....	driver
Roger Hess	....	driver
Dennis Jensen	....	driver
Dennis Parker	....	driver
Curtis Watson	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Breanne Bingman	....	set production assistant
Debbie Brooks	....	special legal counsel
Giulia Casavecchia	....	set production assistant
Don Charge	....	assistant to director: Dana Mennie
Paul Fortin	....	set production assistant
Jason Michael Hatfield	....	key set production assistant (as Jason Hatfield)
Bob Irwin	....	armorer
Wayne Isaacks	....	special legal counsel
Drew Jackson	....	legal services
Sean Kehoe	....	location manager
Alison Kelly	....	assistant production office coordinator
William Kenton	....	set medic
Gregg Lederman	....	travel and accomodation
Cleveland Little	....	set production assistant
David Mendez	....	on-set talent coordinator
Susan L. Oberg	....	unit publicist
Melissa Ores	....	travel and accomodation (as Melissa Orez)
Amy Rogg	....	set production assistant
Tom Schaus	....	helicopter pilot: Sundance Helicopters (as Thomas Schaus)
Jeremy Seo	....	armorer
Angela Snow	....	key set production assistant
Babette Stith	....	script supervisor
Sara Vladic	....	production coordinator
Martha Wehry	....	set medic
Michael Greenwald	....	consultant (uncredited)
Scott Schaffer	....	product placement (uncredited)

Thanks
Brad Delp	....	in memory of our friend
Michael Greenwald	....	extreme gratitude
Cindy Grimm	....	special thank you
Doug Mulvaney	....	special thank you
Lisa Mulvaney	....	special thank you
Gary Nahanee	....	in memory of our friend
Benjamin Orr	....	in memory of our friend
Big Ray Smith Sr.	....	in memory of our friend

Production Companies

• Flick Investment Group (as Flick Investments Group)
• Lightning Strikes Prods (as Lightning Strikes Productions)

Distributors

• New Films International (2009) (Non-USA) (all media)
• Grindstone Entertainment Group (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• BBI Films (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• BBI Films (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Califórnia Home Vídeo (2010) (Brazil) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Alahouzos Studio (makeup and creature effects) (as Alahouzos Studios FX)
• 11:11 Mediaworks (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Cinetech  film processing
• Digital Dreams Sound Studios  adr facility
• Digital Dreams Sound Studios  foley re-recording facility
• Digital Dreams Sound Studios  re-recording facility
• Digital Dreams Sound Studios  sound post-production
• Encore Hollywood  film processing
• Isaacks & Associates  special legal services
• Motion Picture Imaging  digital intermediate services
• Popular Press Media Group (PPMG)  premiere production and publicity (uncredited)

Also Known As:

"Wolf Moon" - USA (video title)

MPAA:

Rated R for bloody violence, pervasive language and some sexual content

Runtime:

USA:124 min (DVD release)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #46003) | Singapore:M18 | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Beatty, Nevada, USA

Company:

Flick Investment Group

Trivia:

Horror icon Dee Wallace worked on the script to this film with writer/director Dana Mennie for over a year. After casting her in the role of Sam, Mennie replaced Wallace with Maria Conchita Alonso in the eleventh hour.

Quotes:

Nicole:What's your sign?
Darkman:Stop, that's my sign.

Soundtrack:

Dark Moon Rider

Well, at least it's better than Twilight...

Dark Moon Rising / Wolf Moon is a love story... no, it's a story of a reluctant werewolf... no, it's a story of two families coming together... Well, it's a lot of things and not all of them pleasant. First and foremost it's the story of a girl with a single father who happens to fall for the bad boy werewolf drifter and could've ended happily at just that if not for the father's dislike/distrust for the new boyfriend and the fact that the boy's psychopath werewolf father is trying to track him down for a family reunion.

For what it is, the film is decently acted and the story is moderately compelling. The big bad daddy wolf is a genuine monster and regales us with moderate gore, besides being a somewhat likable villain. The boy and girl are passable actors allowing their scenes to outshine their limited talent. The girl's father and the sheriff feel like something ripped out of a low budget Syfy Original (is there any other kind?) but they're not bad beyond possibly being somewhat derivative. The real flaw, through and through, are the horrendous special effects. The transformations are hokey, corny, and completely devoid of any real passion; the costumes are, well, just so obviously costumes that it ruins any thrill. Compared even to the presumably smaller budgeted Werewolf: The Devil's Hound, the special effects in DMR are flat out lousy and inexcusable especially considering the rest of the movie which is pleasant if not good. It's a shame that they decided to completely shunt the werewolf angle in a werewolf movie but, after all, this film is probably more of a teeny romance than anything else.