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An American Werewolf in London: ReviewStarring David Naughton, Griffin Dunne and Jenny Agutter
In 1981, Director John Landis created a unique blend of horror/comedy, featuring ground-breaking special effects and the ultimate in werewolf design.
David Kessler (David Naughton) and best friend Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne) are two American college students backpacking across Europe. While in England, walking across the Yorkshire moors, they stop at a local pub ominously named 'The Slaughtered Lamb'. After a frosty reception, David and Jack take their leave, along with warnings of “Beware the Moon” and “Stick to the road”. Not heeding the advice, they only realize their mistake when attacked by a rabid animal that leaves Jack a bloody corpse and David gravely wounded. David recovers in a London hospital, where he is under the care of Dr. Hirsch (John Woodvine) and Nurse Alex Price (Jenny Agutter). David is then visited by dead-friend Jack, bearing the wounds which he claims were inflicted by a lycanthrope. He also warns that, having survived the attack himself, David is now destined to become a werewolf at the next full moon. An American Werewolf in London is ReleasedAmerican Werewolf was one of three horror films based around lycanthropy released in 1981 – four decades after 1941’s The Wolf Man. The other two – The Howling and The Wolfen – had some merit of their own and for a closer look at these see the upcoming article-series on Supernatural Horror in Film. American Werewolf was the only film of the three released by Universal Pictures, making it an unofficial celebration of Waggner’s ’41 classic (which is knowingly mentioned in a scene between David and Alex). While it does not adhere to the mythos of werewolves being vulnerable to silver, it does employ Universal’s own folklore of full moons and pentagrams as the mark of the Wolf Man. Director John LandisJohn Landis was a prominent figure in film by the time he made American Werewolf, having just the year before released The Blues Brothers and going on to make many more popular films throughout the 1980’s, including Trading Places in 1983. He clearly specialized in bringing comedy to the screen and his treatment for the American Werewolf script was ambitious in that it carefully blended a large dose of comedy with horror (which is very commonly done, and overdone, today, but was unheard of then, pre-dating Raimi’s Evil Dead 2 by six years). While the studio had their doubts about pulling off this strange mixture, Landis nevertheless succeeded in the task, to such an extent that the humour in the film not only helps endear the characters to the viewer, but brilliantly contrasts the horror scenes – which are far from comedic (with mistakes often made today when the two are allowed to overlap far too much). An American Werewolf in London CastDavid Naughton and Griffin Dunne are believable friends on-screen and their panicky humour while being stalked by a monster is realistically funny, terrifying and guaranteed to have you walking right alongside them. Both actors continue to bring out the dark-humour and reality of the script, while enduring the laborious application of the film’s incredible make-up effects. Griffin Dunne is not so well rewarded for his patience and endurance as is Naughton, who at least gets to share an intimate scene with the lovely Jenny Agutter. Agutter’s natural beauty is never too far beyond the realms of normality and she’s always been a very fine actress. She, along with Naughton and Dunne, must take a lot of credit for making this film what it is. Rounding off the cast is a suitably strict and conscientious John Woodvine, along with Paul Kember and Don McKillop as Sgt. McManus and Inspector Villiers respectively, who provide more good humour as well as the film’s stand-out victim. Also featured is Frank Oz as Mr. Collins from the American embassy and late British screen-veteran Brian Glover. Even a young Rik Mayall is seen amongst the crowd of The Slaughtered Lamb pub. An American Werewolf in London Special EffectsThis film, of course, is most famous for one thing: that transformation scene. Special effects in make-up and animatronics had naturally come on in leaps and bounds since Waggner’s Wolf Man and this was the film to show just how far (followed a year later by John Carpenter’s The Thing). Horror fans are treated here to the seminal werewolf transformation, courtesy of Rick Baker and his team. While featuring what may be the first on-screen touch of CGI with an elongating hand, it’s in the physical effects that the scene excels. In any list of all-time great movie ‘shots’ there must be a place for the glorious extension of the muzzle that completes the process. In addition, the design of the final creature itself is a masterful work of art, which has not since been bettered in the werewolf sub-genre. Also, the gruesome make-up on Griffin Dunne that successively decays with each appearance is fantastic, most especially in his first ‘fresh-from-the-kill’ appearance in the hospital. Other notable sequences involves David’s recurring nightmares, one of which shows the Kessler household being slaughtered by a cleverly conceived group of neo-nazi wolf men. An American Werewolf in London SummaryA sequel was made in 1997, An American Werewolf in Paris, featuring none of the original cast and crew. This was a dismal attempt to see if CGI could now compete with the original and the short answer is: absolutely not. American Werewolf in London is a simple and straightforward masterpiece of special effects and location filming (using London’s Tottenham Court Road station for one classic scene, Trafalgar Square, and Picadilly Circus for it’s chaotic finalé). With no weaknesses in the cast or crew, a great soundtrack and it’s astonishing effects, American Werewolf stands the test of time and will always be a cult classic for fans.
The copyright of the article An American Werewolf in London: Review in Horror Films is owned by Michael Pantazi. Permission to republish An American Werewolf in London: Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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