Who’s a Bad Boy? Ted Harrison Werewolf Enters the Hall of Killers
The Hall of Killers has welcomed vampires, serial killers, supernatural maniacs and enough deeply unpleasant human beings to make its annual Christmas party an insurance nightmare. Today, however, we’re opening the doors to a man who went on an expedition to Nepal, came home with a serious medical condition and discovered that the family dog was considerably better at diagnosing it than any healthcare professional. Ted Harrison Werewolf from Bad Moon has officially been inducted into the Third Class Tier.
Played by Michael Paré, Ted occupies an interesting position among cinematic werewolves because there isn’t much mystery surrounding what’s happening to him. Bad Moon doesn’t spend an hour asking whether Ted might possibly be a werewolf while everybody ignores the enormous pile of evidence, several mutilated bodies and the suspicious amount of hair appearing in the bathroom plughole. We know almost immediately. Ted was attacked by a werewolf in Nepal, his girlfriend Marjorie was killed, Ted managed to kill the creature and unfortunately received the supernatural equivalent of a positive test result on his way out. He returns to North America infected with lycanthropy and understandably discovers that life is about to become considerably more complicated.
To Ted’s credit, his initial response isn’t to shrug and start browsing secluded campsites for somewhere with a good supply of teenagers. He isolates himself in a trailer in the wilderness and attempts to restrain himself when the transformation is approaching, even chaining himself to a tree. Unfortunately, the Ted Harrison Werewolf proves rather less committed to the arrangement than Ted Harrison Human, and deaths in the surrounding area suggest his containment programme has roughly the same success rate as tying a Tyrannosaurus rex to a garden chair.
The Worst Possible House Guest
Ted eventually reconnects with his sister Janet, played by Mariel Hemingway, and her young son Brett, played by Mason Gamble. Janet encourages her troubled brother to bring his trailer closer to the family home, believing that being around people who love him might help. Ted agrees, apparently hoping that reconnecting with his family will allow him to maintain his humanity. It’s an understandable emotional decision, but from a practical standpoint it belongs somewhere between “keep the petrol beside the fireplace” and “we should probably read the Latin inscription aloud.”
There is also Thor, Janet and Brett’s German Shepherd, played by a dog named Primo. Thor takes one look at Uncle Ted and effectively concludes: absolutely bloody not. While the humans see a damaged relative who needs their support, Thor immediately recognises a predator. This is the wonderfully simple idea at the heart of Bad Moon. The smartest character in the film works everything out almost immediately but is severely hampered by his inability to say, “Janet, your brother turns into an enormous murderous wolf at night and perhaps moving his caravan onto the property wasn’t your finest decision.”
Ted quickly realises that Thor knows something is wrong too. Their relationship develops into one of horror cinema’s strangest rivalries. Ted needs to conceal his condition from Janet and Brett, while Thor spends increasing amounts of time essentially pointing at him with his entire body and shouting in German Shepherd. Unfortunately for Thor, his hostility makes him look like the problem. Ted exploits that situation, encouraging the belief that the family dog has become dangerous. It is a spectacular piece of canine injustice. Thor is attempting to save everybody’s lives and gets treated like he’s been caught chewing the sofa.
Now That Is a Werewolf
When Ted finally transforms, Bad Moon gives us one of the reasons he deserves his place in the Hall. The Ted Harrison Werewolf is a huge practical creature, designed with a recognisably wolf-like head, powerful jaws, claws and enough remaining human anatomy to remind us what is trapped inside it. The creature work came from Steve Johnson and his XFX team, and the finished monster isn’t treated like something the filmmakers are frightened to show. Bad Moon lets its werewolf get out there and enjoy itself.
That becomes particularly important when Thor finally gets his opportunity to demonstrate that everybody should have listened to him in the first place. After the dog’s suspicions lead him towards the truth, the rivalry escalates until Thor is removed from the household. That leaves Janet and Brett without the one member of the family who actually understands what they’re dealing with. Eventually Ted’s condition becomes impossible to conceal, the werewolf emerges and Thor returns to protect his family.
And then we get what Bad Moon has really been promising all along: German Shepherd versus werewolf.
Thor takes on something considerably larger, stronger and equipped with a supernatural upgrade package, yet refuses to abandon Janet and Brett. It’s what makes the confrontation work so well. This isn’t simply Hero Dog versus Monster. Ted and Thor have been engaged in a battle of wits almost from the moment Ted arrives. Thor knows Ted is dangerous. Ted knows Thor knows. Thor knows Ted knows he knows. By the halfway point, Bad Moon is basically a furry Cold War with considerably more growling.
Bad Moon’s Ted Harrison Werewolf – Welcome to the Third Class
Ted isn’t being placed in the Third Class because Bad Moon created a horror icon on the scale of cinema’s most famous lycanthropes. It didn’t. The character appeared in one film, there was no sprawling franchise and Ted Harrison isn’t going to beat Larry Talbot or David Kessler in a general-public werewolf recognition contest. That’s exactly why the Third Class Tier suits him. It’s where distinctive killers and monsters who deserve remembering can stand without pretending they possess a cultural legacy they simply don’t have.
What Ted does have is personality. He’s initially sympathetic, understands his condition and genuinely appears to care about Janet and Brett. The problem is that sympathy becomes increasingly difficult when he knows he’s killing people, remains close to his family, conceals what is happening and turns against the one creature desperately trying to expose him. Somewhere along the way, “I’m tragically cursed” starts becoming “perhaps stop blaming the dog for noticing you’re a werewolf.”
That moral deterioration makes Ted more interesting than a completely mindless beast. Bad Moon, adapted by writer-director Eric Red from Wayne Smith’s 1992 novel Thor, builds its central conflict around the contrast between a man increasingly surrendering to his animal nature and an animal displaying remarkably human qualities of loyalty, courage and selflessness. Ted becomes the threat to his own family while Thor becomes its protector.
So welcome to the Hall of Killers, Ted Harrison Werewolf. Your position in the Third Class Tier has been approved, we’ve reinforced the enclosure for the next full moon, and somebody has already hidden the keys to the front door.
Unfortunately, we’ve also hired a German Shepherd for security.
This could get awkward.
