An American Werewolf in London
3/4
Starring: David Naughton, Griffin Dunne, Jenny Agutter, John Woodvine
Rated R for Werewolf Violence/Gore and Some Sexuality/Nudity
"An American Werewolf in London" is a horror/comedy; it contains scares and laughs in equal measure. The humor isn't self-referential, but instead it germinates from the plot and its characters. It's difficult enough to scare your audience while keeping them laughing when you're merely poking fun at the obvious ridiculousness of the plot. But director John Landis fully meshes the opposing genres in a film that isn't perfect, but is, well, kind of groovy.
Two Americans, David Kessler (Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Dunne), are backpacking through Europe (probably on the ultra-cheap since the first time we meet them they're getting let out of a farmer's truck where they've been riding with a bunch of sheep). They stop in a bar called "The Slaughtered Lamb," where their reception by the locals is chillier than the weather outside. They leave, but are warned to be careful. Of course neither one of them takes the warnings seriously, and they get chewed on by something big and furry. Jack is killed, but David recovers in a hospital. He quickly makes friends with the sexy nurse, Alex (Agutter), and despite being attacked and losing his lifelong friend in the process, he feels great. That's when he gets a visit from Jack's corpse, telling him that he's become a werewolf.
The performances are very good. David Naughton is excellent as David. He's an amiable and charming everyman, and it doesn't take long for us to start to like the guy. He has good chemistry with the equally amiable and charming Griffin Dunne. The two have a nice and unforced chemistry that sets the film on a solid foundation. Jenny Agutter is sexy and lively while still being refreshingly real as the love interest. John Woodvine is also good as the helpful doctor.
Landis' work is inspired not only in his writing but in his directing. He balances the warped humor with the gory scares well; there are just as many amusing scenes as there are scary ones. Landis also doesn't forget the story or the characters. We like everyone in this film, and the story isn't always predictable.
The star of the show isn't a member of the cast nor John Landis. It's makeup expert Rick Baker. This was his first big break (he won his first of thus far seven Oscars for his work), and it's all incredibly convincing. So effective is his work that the Academy started recognizing make-up and special effects in its awards ceremony. And, it still looks incredibly real today, although I admit I'm not a fan of the ultimate creature design of the werewolf (it looks like a cat on steroids). But the transformation scenes are surprisingly convincing, even after 31 years.
It's a little too long, and neither as scary nor as funny as it could have been, but it goes down pretty easily.
Starring: David Naughton, Griffin Dunne, Jenny Agutter, John Woodvine
Rated R for Werewolf Violence/Gore and Some Sexuality/Nudity
"An American Werewolf in London" is a horror/comedy; it contains scares and laughs in equal measure. The humor isn't self-referential, but instead it germinates from the plot and its characters. It's difficult enough to scare your audience while keeping them laughing when you're merely poking fun at the obvious ridiculousness of the plot. But director John Landis fully meshes the opposing genres in a film that isn't perfect, but is, well, kind of groovy.
Two Americans, David Kessler (Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Dunne), are backpacking through Europe (probably on the ultra-cheap since the first time we meet them they're getting let out of a farmer's truck where they've been riding with a bunch of sheep). They stop in a bar called "The Slaughtered Lamb," where their reception by the locals is chillier than the weather outside. They leave, but are warned to be careful. Of course neither one of them takes the warnings seriously, and they get chewed on by something big and furry. Jack is killed, but David recovers in a hospital. He quickly makes friends with the sexy nurse, Alex (Agutter), and despite being attacked and losing his lifelong friend in the process, he feels great. That's when he gets a visit from Jack's corpse, telling him that he's become a werewolf.
The performances are very good. David Naughton is excellent as David. He's an amiable and charming everyman, and it doesn't take long for us to start to like the guy. He has good chemistry with the equally amiable and charming Griffin Dunne. The two have a nice and unforced chemistry that sets the film on a solid foundation. Jenny Agutter is sexy and lively while still being refreshingly real as the love interest. John Woodvine is also good as the helpful doctor.
Landis' work is inspired not only in his writing but in his directing. He balances the warped humor with the gory scares well; there are just as many amusing scenes as there are scary ones. Landis also doesn't forget the story or the characters. We like everyone in this film, and the story isn't always predictable.
The star of the show isn't a member of the cast nor John Landis. It's makeup expert Rick Baker. This was his first big break (he won his first of thus far seven Oscars for his work), and it's all incredibly convincing. So effective is his work that the Academy started recognizing make-up and special effects in its awards ceremony. And, it still looks incredibly real today, although I admit I'm not a fan of the ultimate creature design of the werewolf (it looks like a cat on steroids). But the transformation scenes are surprisingly convincing, even after 31 years.
It's a little too long, and neither as scary nor as funny as it could have been, but it goes down pretty easily.
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