Review #26: An American Werewolf in London (1981)


This review was originally written in October 2016.

Day 26: An American Werewolf in London

This movie was a definite uptick in quality compared to the previous two films I've watched. The characters are good enough, the plot is nothing too special by today's standards (though I'm sure it was great for its time), but as I'm sure anyone who's seen the film can attest, the special effects were absolutely amazing. The first transformation scene is honestly one of the best uses of practical effects I've ever seen, and it's so sad to think that nowadays it would just be CGI unless the director was making a point to only use practicals. In any case, IMDB says that this movie was the first ever Academy Award winner for Best Makeup, and I don't think they could have chosen a better movie for it. Also, while not as big of a feature as the effects, the soundtrack for this film is phenomenal!

I think it's interesting how notably un-atmospheric most of the movie is. For quite a large amount of its runtime, it doesn't even feel like a horror film, and I'm sure that was intentional. It's to show you how unusual the horror plot of the movie is, how out-of-place it is within the setting, and how much of a surprise it is to everyone when it happens. I think it's especially interesting that, for most of the movie, the argument could even be made that it might all just be in the main character's head. Now obviously (35-year-old spoilers) it turns out to not be in his head, but even after the first transformation they could have still made a case for him to just be a crazed lunatic and it could have worked with a different ending.

In any case, great film, and I totally get why it's regarded as a classic and one of the pioneers of makeup design.

Rating: 9/10 Balloon Thieves

Fun Fact: Apparently the British Office of Actor's Equity didn't want to grant a work permit for lead actor Griffin Dunne, because "there were plenty of young American actors living in Britain that could play the role of Jack". In response, the director threatened to change the title of the movie to "An American Werewolf in Paris" and they relented.

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