No. 32 - An American Werewolf in London (1981)

From The Director Of Animal House...A Different Kind of Animal.

Rated: R (Restricted) for language, nudity, sex, violence, gore and intensely scary scenes

Director and Screenwriter: John Landis

Starring: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne, John Woodvine, Brian Glover, David Schofield, Frank Oz

Movie Introduction: David (Naughton) and Jack (Dunne), two American college students, are backpacking through the British moors when a large animal attacks them. David is badly bitten but survives. Jack, however, dies from his massive wounds. As David heals in the hospital, with the help of attractive nurse Alex (Agutter), he's plagued by violent nightmares. After a particularly vivid dream, he wakes up to find his mutilated friend, Jack, standing in his room. Jack calmly issues a warning to his best friend: They were attacked by a werewolf, and David, now cursed, will become a murdering wolf during the next full moon.

Defining Moment: fur ball

Despite the warnings from his dead best friend, David still holds onto hope that he's simply suffering from temporary delusions. Upon his release from the hospital, David is able to crash at nurse Alex's apartment on the night of the first full moon. As nightfall approaches, David reads, checks the mirror for fangs, watches TV, and nothing appears to happening... Then it happens! A splitting headache, searing pain, he rips off his clothes and starts to change. When I first saw this scene I was completely in awe. It was done completely without CGI. This feat of cinema magic would win an Oscar. 

Something subtle you might have missed:  moon songs

There are several songs throughout the film that reference to moon. We hear Bobby Vinton's "Blue Moon", Van Morrision's "Moondance", Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising" and another bittersweet ballad version of "Blue Moon" by Sam Cooke. Sweet songs for a bitter sweet film.

Memorable Quotes:

"On the moors, we were attacked by a lycanthrope, a werewolf. I was murdered, an unnatural death, and now I walk the earth in limbo until the werewolf's curse is lifted.” – Jack

"I'm certain if there were a monster roaming around northern England, we'd have seen it on the telly." - Dr. J. S. Hirsch

Dad's Review:

I love werewolves, especially the duality between man and the beast inside himself.

In most werewolf films, the victim has no control over his actions after he becomes the beast. They kill without mercy, without remorse. When the transformation is made back to human form, the person has no memory of the night's carnage. This creates a moral tug-of-war between the innocent person, and the murderous monster they become. The solution is simple, but difficult to undertake - Take your own life to stop the lycan bloodline. But that act, for a rational person, is a hard thing to do.

This premise plays out through American Werewolf. When David finally realizes that he is a monster, and he knows only he can end the wolf's bloodline. But even with the ghost of his best friend (and all the other people he has killed) urging him, he still can't do it. This is a story heading to an unhappy ending.  

A huge asset to the film is Rick Baker's Oscar-winning Make-up effects. Just for the ground-breaking efforts in this movie, the Academy created a new category, Best Makeup, and this was the first film to receive that award. David's first transformation scene, running about three minutes, is really something to behold on the big screen. It's literally painful to watch, as you hear the bones cracking as they expand. (see the transformation HERE on YouTube)

This film has some really scary, and contains some really disturbing scenes. It also manages an appropriate number of laughs and a convincing love story. The bittersweet ending will have you in tears. 

AND... since you asked...here are Dad's top 10 werewolf films:

1. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
2. The Wolf Man (1941)
3. Dog Soldiers (2002)
4. The Howling (1981)
5. Underworld (2003)
6. The Company of Wolves (1985)
7. The Wolfman (2010)
8. The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020)
9. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)
10. The Curse of the Werewolf (1961)

Onto No. 33... Tiny Single Gal Lightbeam