I love horror movies. To me, there
is nothing better than the original Universal version of Frankenstein.
It combines the best elements of storytelling, make-up, acting, music, shadow
and light to create an unexpected, synergistic element of the unknown. It gives
flesh to the promise of cinema in the first place. Unfortunately, when we moved
into the color age, and the expectation for ever-more explicit thrills
advanced, the art of fear became the act of shock, and much of the appeal of
horror went away – at least for me. The modern era has exchanged fright for
torture. Watching one human inflict carnage upon others is a different thing
than jumping at shadows. It loses the element of fun. While An American
Werewolf In London director John Landis does succumb to modern bloodlust,
he also manages to make a classic horror film that is hilarious and both honors
and advances the genre.
The story begins with two American
college students starting a hitchhiking trip of Europe on the moors of
Scotland. The action begins almost immediately as they get lost, attacked by a
wolf, and one of them is killed. The other, unknown TV actor David Naughton,
wakes up in a hospital in London. He is being attended to by a suspicious
doctor (John Woodvine) and a gorgeous nurse (Jenny Agutter). He is tortured by
horrifying dreams and then he is repeatedly haunted by his decaying dead
companion (Griffin Dunne), who warns David that he was bitten by a werewolf and
that he would now turn into one himself when the moon is full. This is all in
the first 20 minutes of the film. Landis does not screw around. He gets right
to the heart of the matter. Before you can say lycanthropy our hero has
entered into a love affair with the nurse, is staying at her house, and finds
himself alone as the full moon rises. And then comes “the scene.” There
are some moments in film history that are so completely new and groundbreaking
that they not only define that particular film, they actually come to represent
an entire genre. In full, clear, neon light, David strips his clothes off and
the camera does not flinch or look away as his body starts to stretch and
change in front of our eyes. Hair sprouts from his torso, his limbs morph from
arms and legs to haunches and paws, and in a final horror, his face stretches
into a muzzle as he becomes a howling hellhound. It is an absolutely amazing
scene, and even though 35 years of filmmaking has passed since this film was
made, this scene has not been bested. It is a testament to make-up genius Rick
Baker’s lasting impact on the genre. Baker represents the last great make-up
innovator (the DVD comes with several excellent featurettes about Rick Baker
and the special effects processes he pioneered). Shortly after this film,
computer generated effects became the de facto method of showing the impossible
and something very special about the art of film was lost. But that was AFTER
this movie. 
For the remainder of An American
Werewolf In London however, we are treated to one thrill after another as
our hero runs amok in London, killing people, and letting us see exactly what
it would look like to have a real monster, fully lit, in a modern city. It is a
true thrill. A scene in a deserted tube station is as genuinely chilling as any
I can think of. The movie leads to its climax as David finds himself back in
human form, sitting in a pornographic movie theatre, once again talking to a
now skeletal Griffin Dunne, while a ridiculous porno plays. It is truly one of
the more uproariously funny and surreal scenes in the horror genre. The scene
ends with the inevitable, however, as David, once again goes through the
transition, and wreaks havoc in the movie theatre and then moves out into a
mobbed Piccadilly Square for the film’s climax.
All the boxes get checked with this
film. It is fabulously entertaining, provides real shocks, breaks new ground
and simultaneously pays tribute to the horror tradition. Director John Landis
strikes the perfect balance between star-struck fan boy and seasoned insider, making
the monster movie he – and we – always wanted to see.
- Paul Epstein
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