In
the lunar cycle, there are 29.53 days between full moons. Those of us whose
jobs do not depend on the tides ordinarily do not keep track of such things,
but fans of Charles Band and the particular style of his horror movie
production company Full Moon Features now have a reason. His new web series
will premiere a new episode every full moon, which will make its airings even
less predictable than NBC’s NewsRadio in
the late 1990s. Yet, if you are a diehard brand fan, you will probably be
checking anyway. Casual genre viewers will also be amused by the Full Moon
aesthetic applied to the Grand Hotel formula
when Bad Mary, the first episode of Ravenwolf Towers premieres today on Full
Moon’s Streaming site.
The
titular hotel was once an opulent palace, but it has degenerated into a skid
row flop, except for the top story. A family of apparently financially secure
inbred mutants keeps the 11th floor all to themselves and they
expect management to respect their privacy. As of episode one, this now includes
Jake, the new assistant manager. He is a bit of a sad sack, but he perks up
when he meets Mary from the top floor clan, who happens to be rather
attractive, like Ravenwolf’s Marilyn
Munster.
Band
helms a surprisingly atmospheric premiere, but thanks to his showman’s
instincts, he also has the commercial sense to open with a sex scene, making Ravenwolf totally cable-ready and
fanboy-friendly. Right from the start, he doles out some intriguing backstory
and the run-down setting is rather evocative. The cast largely plays it
straight, including Evan Henderson as the somewhat spaced-out Jake. Cult movie
fans will also get a kick out of super-busy horror movie regular Maria Olsen chewing
some scenery as Mabel, the duly sinister daughter of the freaky clan’s ailing patriarch.
