John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London from 1981 has to be in the conversation for greatest werewolf movie of all time. I’d also say it’s one of the best horror films of the ‘80s, a decade that’s absolutely saturated with genre classics. Notably, the massively impressive practical effects are so good that they won the first-ever Oscar for Best Makeup. Landing genuine bits of comedy amongst shocking horror is never an easy feat, but Landis walks a tonal tightrope and delivers my favorite film of his oeuvre.
David (David Naughton) and his best friend Jack (Griffin Dunne) are college age guys backpacking across the rolling countryside of northern England. Wanting to get in out of the cold, they receive a frosty welcome at a small village pub ominously named “the Slaughtered Lamb.” Before unceremoniously taking their leave of the insular community, they’re warned to keep to the road, stay off the moors, and to beware the moon. As it starts to rain, the pair loses their way and is eventually attacked by some sort of large beast that kills Jack. David is seriously wounded and only survives because of the intervention of some villagers having a bout of conscience. Waking up in London, David is nursed back to health by Dr Hirsch (John Woodvine). The traumatized young man also has instant chemistry with his nurse, Alex (Jenny Agutter). Plagued by increasingly horrific nightmares, David begins receiving visitations from Jack’s gruesome ghost. Jack warns David that he’s been cursed to become a werewolf and that he must kill himself before he transforms. David isn’t sure if he’s losing his mind but when the full moon rises, he becomes a monster and rampages across the city.
Landis’ script is both efficient and clever. The comedic moments are used sparingly but they feel very organic, using David’s fish out of water situation to elicit chuckles while also subtly referencing his Jewishness. This otherness is also a subtext of the film, with bits of dialog and a horrific dream sequence referencing Nazis. The depiction of David and Alex’s romance maybe feels a little rushed, but this is an extremely minor nitpick. Naughton and Agutter work well together, too, as her affection for the charismatic American gives the film some of its tragic weight. Dunne does nice work, especially as he’s increasingly slathered in gory corpse makeup. Watch for Yoda himself, Frank Oz, in a cameo as an exasperated employee of the US embassy, British comedian Rik Mayall as a patron at the Slaughtered Lamb, and Alan Ford, who would go on to play Brick Top years later in Guy Ritchie’s Snatch, as a chatty cab driver.
In only 97 minutes, Landis is able to conjure a fatalistic mood while still propelling the narrative forward. The horror sequences are breathtakingly cool, with Landis expertly using shock, gore, and tension in varying fashions. DP Robert Paynter shoots the hell out of the subway stalking section and the verite inflected climax. The location shooting also brings a grounded realism to the fantastical proceedings. In particular I’m thinking of the stark beauty of rural Wales (doubling for rural England) and the panic filled chaos at famous Piccadilly Circus. Landis injects some wry irony into the proceedings with his lunar-based poppy soundtrack, as well. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention the excellent sound effects work. The werewolf’s howl and growl invoke an otherworldly ferocity that is truly eerie.
All of these elements make for a very well crafted and entertaining flick, but the legendary Rick Baker’s effects work sends it into the stratosphere. From the gooey but expressive work on Jack to the bizarre Nazi creatures of David’s nightmare to the intimidating werewolf work, Baker and his team nail everything. Of course, the iconic transformation scene is a singular piece of work, which Landis wisely lingers on. That it is still impressive today is a testament to Baker’s god-tier skills. It should also be said that Malcolm Campbell’s editing here and in the Piccadilly Circus climax makes clear sense of confusion and chaos, allowing viewers the full pleasures of craft, mood, and narrative.
I absolutely love John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London. It’s thrilling, funny, shocking, tragic, well made, and it holds up nearly forty years later. Pretty much every component works together in harmony to deliver a fantastic film. If you like horror at all and have an appreciation for practical effects work but you’ve never seen this, drop what you’re doing and find somewhere to watch this. Highest possible recommendation.
Michael Cavender