An American Werewolf in London, directed by John Landis

Directed by John Landis

Starring David Naughton and Jenny Agutter

 An American Werewolf in London is one of those films that proves that not only can comedy co-exist with horror, it’s nearly required. They really are two sides of the same coin, and without one to contrast with the other, the piece is going to fall flat. We see an example of that in Night of the Living Dead, which is as humorless as the British monarchy.

Werewolf gives us a good mix of horror along with the comedy that director John Landis is known for. It isn’t necessarily a fresh take on the story, but Landis and company do such a great job in the story-telling that it is now one of my favorite werewolf movies. What’s great about it is that it doesn’t rely on one element over the other. It is both funny and frightening in equal measure.

A lot of the humor rides on the delivery of the movies three stars: David Naughon, Jenny Agutter and Griffin Dunne. Agutter doesn’t necessarily deliver funny lines, but her role as the straight man, er, woman for Naughton’s David character goes a long way.

I think the real star of the movie is Jim Baker’s special effects. The practical effects used in David’s wolf transformations could still seem fresh by today’s standards with slightly more creative cinematography and post production. His graduated rotting effects for Dunne’s Jack character aren’t just great, but great fun.  I will not, however, that part of the fun is seeing how quickly he rots. Three weeks after the attack and the wounds look fresh. Over the next two-three days he rots further. I don’t think it’s necessarily a goof, so much as a Landis wanting to get gross in an adult theater.

My biggest qualm with the entire movie is the final scene. We went on this great journey with David and Nurse Price (Agutter), but we get no payoff. There’s no happily ever after or anything that could lead us to believe the story may continue in another way. There isn’t even a long stand-off to allow the tension to build.

But it’s the scenes leading up to the finale that make this film above par. Sure, we get some internal shots of an adult theater, in which nobody bats an eye when David starts groaning and grunting as he transforms. We know why, wink!

Maybe because it was brought to us by the same person who brought us Animal House, but I find it hard to believe that a nurse, albeit a British nurse, would bring home a patient. Especially one who acted as odd as David. He gave her no reason to trust him, and she seemed way too willing to accept his crazy rantings. But that’s okay, because it’s a movie. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just entertaining.

And I was greatly entertained by the film, having watched it at 30,000 feet while on a flight from Fargo, ND. I had a choice between that or watching another Marvel movie, and I’m glad I went with An American Werewolf in London. Not just because I got some homework done, but because it is a genuinely good film with good dialogue and great special effects.