An American Werewolf in London (1981)

          “I didn’t mean to call you meatloaf, Jack…”  The second wolfie film on the docket this week was John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London (1981).  What a difference from Moon of the Wolf concerning…well…everything!  To kick things off, this film is more of a horror/comedy so it definitely didn’t have the mystery feel that the first lycanthrope film I watched did.  The music is immediately noticeable, as the title is Dean Martin’s “Blue Moon,” and this moon theme continues with all the tunes throughout the film.  This is different from most every horror film during that era – and really helped the film ‘feel’ late 70s, early 80s in nature.  The plot begins by introducing us to a couple of American friends who are backpacking across Europe for the summer.  Rain threatens, and it is pretty chilly, which leads them to a tavern called “The Slaughtered Lamb,” which does not appear too friendly.  The people in the tavern act weird, and kick them out for asking questions about their pentacle which is drawn into a wall and surrounded by candles on either side.  So the boys head back out into the weather, which still threatens rain with some loud thunder claps and a cloudy but brilliant full moon sky.

Not heeding the warning of the barkeep, the boys head off the trails and into the moors, where they begin hearing a terrible howling coming from somewhere out in the dark.  The sky opens up and the rain begins to fall, as they drift further into the foggy, rainy moors. Suddenly a cry cuts through the rain and fog.  The people at the bar continue to act strangely about the night and the moon, and about leaving the boys alone in the dark.  The boys get blindsided by the werewolf, which attacks them after circling them for quite a while.  I have to say, the opening to this movie is great!  It definitely sucked me right in, and continued to be fun throughout.  The gore was wicked, really decent for the year it was made, and the acting was tolerable as well.  It turns out that David (David Naughton) survived, but Jack (Griffin Dunne) was not so lucky.  That doesn’t seem to matter much in this film, though, as Jack continues to appear to David throughout the film as his flesh slowly rots off of his body.  Jack attempts to get David to kill himself, warning him that he is the last werewolf and that he needs to die so Jack can rest in peace. Anyone David reveals he is seeing Jack to (as well as David himself) consider him mad for these visions of his dead friend – and who can blame them!  David has a sweet love affair with the woman who nurses him after he wakes up (three weeks later!) from the attack.

 The transformation from man to werewolf in this film is actually pretty funny, and I don’t think it’s even comparable to Hemlock Grove, which takes itself much more seriously.  David had been having nightmares since he was mauled by the lycanthrope (which all were now referring to as a human ‘lunatic’), and has been pre-warned by his dead friend that he is about to transform into a monster.  It begins with him just freaking, as though his head hurts.  He screams, and sweats, and yells that he is burning up.  His hands elongate, and his body begins to grow more hair.  The prosthetics were actually impressive, and the transformation slow and pretty painful looking.  The irony is that “Blue Moon” is playing throughout the entirety of the change, and just made the situation comedic instead of scary.  Body Count?  12, at least.  Number of Killers?  Three.  Boob Count?  Two.  Cheap Thrills?  1.  Actual Spooks Given?  1.  Rating?  3 out of 5 stars.  I dug it, and I bet you will too.