Horror Movie Review: My Mom’s a Werewolf (1989)

My Mom’s a Werewolf is a horror comedy film directed by Michael Fischa, releasing in 1989. A vegetarian housewife starts transforming into a carnivorous werewolf after being bitten by a male suitor. Her daughter makes an effort to free her mother from the werewolf curse.

Leslie Shaber is an average suburban housewife who is ignored and taken for granted by her husband Howard. On an outing to the pet store, Leslie meets Harry Thropen, the store’s mysterious and handsome owner. Leslie is taken aback by his interest in her, but invites him to lunch after Harry stops a purse snatcher that had targeted her. During the lunch Harry passionately kisses her, something that is witnessed by Leslie’s daughter Jennifer, convincing her that the two are having an affair. Leslie follows Harry back to his store, where he mesmerizes her. He leads her to his bedroom, where he bites her big toe. This snaps Leslie out of her trance and she runs out.

After returning home Leslie’s personality and diet begin to change, as she begins to eat meat despite being a vegetarian and becomes more aggressive in the bedroom. That night she has terrible nightmares about Harry and in the next morning discovers that she has sprouted fangs. Attempts to file down the teeth at the dentist are unsuccessful and by the time she returns home, Leslie has also begun to grow fur all over her body. She is equally unsuccessful in permanently removing the hair. This latest change is witnessed by Jennifer, who is now aware that her mother is turning into a supernatural creature.

My Mom’s a Werewolf is a kind of film that is “of its time”. It’s always amusing to go back to in time and see what kind of content used to pass for PG. I’m not at all talking about horror elements within the movie. Instead, I am of course talking about the sexual content. It’s fairly tame for the most part but every now and then there’s something that would be hard to explain to the kids.

Unfortunately, it’s easy to see why this movie isn’t fondly remembered. I mean, the concept alone will surely lead to a number of comedic possibilities right? It seems too easy but My Mom’s a Werewolf flops pretty hard in this department. Sure, there are moments of slight amusement but it’s too often cartoonish and not in a good way.

The acting throughout is as goofy as you’d expect but I feel everyone delivers the cheese as well as they can. The horror elements are almost non-existent which isn’t a shock based on the age rating. We don’t get some werewolf effects but they’re Halloween store level at best.

Overall, My Mom’s a Werewolf is a harmless movie but it’s just about as tame as they come. If you’re looking for some goofy, silly fun then it certainly delivers that. However, even though it’s a PG rated film I wouldn’t say it is one that would be particularly appropriate for younger audiences due to the abundance of sexual jokes.