An American Werewolf in London (1981) ***

 

David Naughton and Griffin Dunne play David and Jack, a couple of American buddies hiking across the north of England. They are expecting cold weather and bland food, but the werewolf takes them by surprise. Jack is killed, and David is wounded in the attack. Waking in a London hospital, David is haunted by visions of his dead friend, warning him that the next full moon will turn him into a werewolf. Despite being comforted by a beautiful nurse (Jenny Agutter), David continues having the visions, and he anticipates the coming full moon with horror. Not TOO much horror, though. “An American Werewolf in London” is a horror-comedy that leans more to the comedy side.

Beloved writer/director John Landis has a massive filmography, including classic comedies like “Trading Places” and “Coming to America.” When he came up with the idea for a werewolf horror-comedy back in 1969, however, he wasn't known for anything. He would have to wait more than a decade, after making a name for himself with “National Lampoon's Animal House” and “The Blues Brothers,” before getting to make his werewolf movie.

The film is best known for its makeup effects, for which makeup artist Rick Baker won an Oscar. It's remarkable how good these effects look now, 40 years later, and to think that Baker did all of that without the aide of CGI. It's appropriate that the film is known for its makeup, because once you get below the surface, there really isn't a lot to it. The story itself is very straightforward, and the film doesn't really invest much into character development. One reason I didn't find the movie scary is that we never get to care enough about any of the characters to be very afraid for them. On the comedy side, the humor is more wry and understated. Some of it is very clever, but when I think of John Landis, I think of the outlandish, physical humor of John Belushi or the barbershop scenes in “Coming to America.” His movies tend to have memorable scenes of hilarity, and “An American Werewolf in London” really does not have that. If anything, the comedy here sometimes sits uneasily next to the attempts at horror, as when Zombie Jack repeatedly exhorts David to commit suicide. When I think about what I will remember from this film, it always comes back to the visuals: Jenny Agutter's beauty, Zombie Jack's progressively decomposed corpse, and, of course, those transformation scenes. “An American Werewolf in London” is a feast for the eyes, even if your brain goes hungry.

3 stars out of 5