An American Werewolf in London (1981)

1981 saw the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Superman II, it also welcomed the release of John Landis' An American Werewolf in London. A film about two young American travellers, David and Jack, who get attacked by a werewolf on the Yorkshire Moors. Jack dies, David lives, only to become stricken with the curse, whereby every full moon he himself becomes and werewolf. Haunted by the ghost of his travelling buddy, he suffers hardships when rediscovering the carnage he has caused the night before, learning that the only way to lift this curse, is to die.

A simple creature feature story, developed with humour and gore, thus falling into the hybrid genre of comedy and horror. It received, and played a part in creating, the Academy Award for Best Makeup, and received two Saturn awards, one of which for Best Horror Film. Not a great success at the time, but as with a lot of classic horror films, it gained itself a cult following, becoming a favourite amongst werewolf enthusiasts and horror film geeks.


The film is remembered for several amazing, unforgettable scenes. The first one being when David and Jack walk into 'The Slaughtered Lamb' only to be greeted by a gaggle of sullen faced Northerners, with an unwelcoming look in their eye. I personally, have had this experience, happily walking into a pub only to promptly walk back out again after the 'locals' make it very clear they don't know who I am, therefore do not want me to be drinking with them. Jack and David decided to enter the pub anyway, and the conversation that ensues only lands them in more trouble. There's the surreptitious pentangle symbol on the wall shrouded in candle light, the regular mention of the moon by the locals, and the landlady repeatedly shouting to the others in the pub that they can't allow the two boys to wonder off alone. 'Stick to the roads' they yell as David and Jack leave the pub feeling relieved and safe. The proceeding brutal werewolf attack only proves that this was a naive move to make.

Another scene is the transformation scene. I had never seen this film in full before today, and the only bit I had seen was when David turns into a werewolf for the first time. It stuck with me though, to a young girl of 10, seeing a mans hands stretch and crack, and his face elongate and develop fangs was something I wasn't going to be able to forget in a hurry. The thing to be remembered here is that this was done without CGI without special effects, it was all makeup and animatronics, a bold move and one that earned the film its only Oscar. It is a gut wrenching scene, and David's pained expression and (excuse the pun) howls of pain make it all the more unsettling. As far as transformation scenes go for me, its just got the edge on Michelle Pfeiffer becoming Catwoman in Batman Returns. Not only did this scene earn the film its Oscar, but also led to Michael Jackson hiring Landis and his makeup team on American Werewolf to do the makeup for his infamous Thriller video, which Landis directed.

The final part, for me, which earned the films such a memorable status was the music. Landis purposefully used songs with 'Moon' in the title, the strangest choice for me was Creedence Clearwater Revival's Bad Moon Rising, not because the song had no relevance, but because it placement in the film was so odd. For such a fast paced song and progressive song, it was used over a very slow montage of David being bored in Alex Price's flat. However, the music is memorable, and perhaps this juxtaposition is what has aided it in being so.

An American Werewolf in London isn't an amazing film, its not even very well acted, but it achieves doing exactly what it set out to do. It scares you, it makes you feel a bit sick and it makes you question the paranormal. Throw a few laughs in and a bit of nudity and you've got a hit. David Naughton portrays the character of David excellently, albeit a little on the cheesy side, especially in the scenes with him and Nurse Price, whom he ends up shacking up with. A little unprofessional don't you think? Maybe not in the 80's. Mostly I enjoyed this creature feature, even more so because it made me laugh, it lost me a bit in the middle but I managed to pick it up again, not the most complex narrative in the world, but a solid piece of entertainment nevertheless.


Last lines

Alex Price - "I love you David"