Nerdly » ‘Moonchild’ Blu-ray Review (Visual Vengeance)

16th Nov2022

‘Moonchild’ Blu-ray Review (Visual Vengeance)

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Auggi Alvarez, Stefan Hilt, Rod Will, Harry Rose, Dave Miller, Cathy Metz, Kathleen McSweeney | Written and Directed by Todd Sheets

I’ll be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of filmmaker Todd Sheets; the last film of his I saw was Bonehill Road and that just cemented my knowledge that Sheets’ particular brand of low-budget filmmaking was not for me – even if his 2019 film Clownado had a lot of fans, even our very own Chris Cummings. So why am I reviewing his 1994 shot-on-video film Moonchild? Well because, like every fanboy-come-hipster film lover I collect boutique label releases and the more obscure the films they release the better and Moonchild is part of Wild Eye Releasing’s new Blu-ray label Visual Vengeance, so as a completist I had to add this to my collection – even if it took a month or so for the disc to show up, making this review late!

Moonchild tells the story of Jacob Stryker (Auggi Alvarez) who took part in an experiment that saw human DNA fused with that of werewolves to create a new kind of super-soldier. Only the experiment goes wrong and Stryker escapes – after his wife was killed and his son (Stefan Hilt) kidnapped after he escaped the first time! With a bomb in his intestines and plenty of people on his tail – including Hades (Rod Will) and his cannibalistic clan and a bunch of bounty hunters paid to track him down by Lothos (Harry Rose) – Stryker hits the streets looking for revenge! In the end, he teams up with a band of rebels led by Talon (Dave Miller) to take down Hades and rescue his son.

Whilst it’s billed as a werewolf movie, Moonchild is essentially a post-apocalyptic film along the lines of Escape From New York… Well more like the low-budget Italian films it inspired like Bronx Warriors, et al. Only with a protagonist that occasionally, and I mean VERY occasionally turns into a werewolf. Mainly because the film’s budget is low. REALLY low. Yet Todd Sheets makes a hell of a lot from that budget, seemingly more than filmmakers today. Moonchild is packed with action for a start – including plenty of fights, car chases and there’s even flashes of decent gore – including a great eye-gouging/removal. PLUS, Moonchild’s final werewolf transformation uses digital effects to transform Stryker into a true beast!

What’s more remarkable about Moonchild is that despite the low budget and the obviously amateur cast, the film is tremendous fun. Like a LOT of fun! This is probably the most fun I’ve had watching a shot-on-video film in ages. Everything comes together so well that it raises Moonchild above others of its ilk and proves why Visual Vengeance are right to put this one out on Blu-ray and get it seen by non-SOV fans, like myself, who’ll give boutique label films a chance no matter the subject matter!