Review: An American Werewolf in London
November 21st 2009 04:36
An American Werewolf in London (1981, Landis)
Written on November 20, 2009
An American Werewolf in London hilariously campy and highly entertaining. The acting by David Naughton Griffin Dune and is atrocious yet it fits perfectly within the campy, self-aware world of this film.
The focus of the film are two college students in London, who wander into a pub and discover a group of villagers who are weary about the full moon and warn them to stay clear of it. Soon enough, a werewolf has attacked them, killing Jack and turning David. The majority of the film consists of David’s denial, nightmares and realization of what he has become. It is also highly referential to the lore and fandom surrounding the werewolf subgenre. The soundtrack is also tongue-in-cheek, featuring mostly upbeat songs with “moon” in the title which play during many of the film’s key scenes. We also have your textbook romance thrown in for good measure.
John Landis’ direction is spot-in, especially during the action sequences. A particularly memorable shot is the attack on an escalator in a subway station that culminates with a point-of-view shot from the wolf as he stalks up to his victim.
But the most impressive thing about the film is the make-up and special effects. For a film made in 1981, it contains outstanding make-up and possibly the greatest werewolf transformation on celluloid (it blows Harry Potter’s Remus Lupin transformation out of the water). The make-up is truly fantastic. Rick Baker has always been a genius and he completely paved the way for make-up in horror films. Without Baker, the film world would be a very different place.
Perhaps the most quintessential fact about An American Werewolf in London is that the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences created the Best Make-up award at the Oscars, the year the film came out, due to Baker’s masterful work.
Apparently a remake of the film is in the works. This will undoubtedly be met with an over-abundance of CGI, terrible “I want to shoot myself in the face” acting rather than “So bad it’s funny” acting, and a significantly less talented make-up artist. Something to look forward to…
| 79 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
I love this movie. If you're interested I reviewed it here
Comment by Cinema is truth
Cinema is Truth
Cinema is Truth
Comment by Cinema is truth
Cinema is Truth
Cinema is Truth
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
The Howling is a black comedy like American Werewolf, but has some genuinely scary scenes, also an awesome poster. Rob Bottin, who was Rick Baker's protege, was employed to work on The Howling, and his special effects work is amazing (especially considering he was only 21!) The Howling actually came out before American Werewolf, even though it had started production later (much to John Landis's chagrin). Rob Bottin then went on to do the astonishing sfx work on John Carpenter's The Thing, which is considered by horrorphiles to be amongst the finest ever committed to celluloid (all prosthetics and animatronics, no CGI). I'd love to know what you think of both movies. The Thing has masterful suspense, as well as being particularly visceral. Carpenter's best movie after Halloween.
Comment by Cinema is truth
Cinema is Truth
Cinema is Truth
Comment by Catherine Stebbins
Cinema Enthusiast
Thoughts from a Cinephile
Thoughts from a TV Watcher
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile