David and Jack are two Americans who are backpacking in England. They stop in a country pub which is a local pub for local people, and their presence is not appreciated. Deep in the moors, they get attacked by a werewolf. Jack is killed and David is seriously wounded and brought to a hospital in London. He is questioned by some dumb policemen who conclude the boys were attacked by a maniac, even though David insists it was a monster. David begins to have strange episodes in which a maimed Jack appears to him and tells him to kill himself because he (David) is now a werewolf. A doctor begins an investigation into what happened on the moors. Everyone in the local pub denies all knowledge of Jack and David and what went on. However, a distraught local corners the doctor outside and warns him of great danger when David turns into a werewolf. Upon David's release from hospital, he moves in with Alex - a nurse from the hospital with whom he has fallen in love with. Whilst he is having sex with her, Jack appears again and tells him that he is going to turn into a werewolf the next day. Of course David turns into a werewolf the next day and kills six people. He wakes up naked in the zoo. He realises that he is indeed a werewolf and he tries to kill himself but fails. As night falls David turns into a werewolf again and absolute carnage ensues. Eventually, the policemen corner him in the alley, and after Alex tells werewolf David she loves him, he becomes a bit less savage. But as an unpredictable monster, they cannot let him live. An American Werewolf in London manages to be both horrific and funny in equal measures. For me, it is more horrific than comedic - the final scenes of a wild melee breaking out in Piccadilly are the stuff of nightmares - but director John Landis lightens the atmosphere through out with comic moments - like Jack's apparitions to David. Landis juxtaposes comedy with tragedy in a very deft manner. It is hard not to feel sorry for David with his dawning awareness of his fate to be a werewolf. The acting is amazing from a brilliant cast and Landis makes superb use of music with every song having a connection to the moon. The tone of the music is often at odds with what is going on on the screen which creates a fantastic dissonance that further adds to the quirkiness of the film. Personally, I find the film to have more substantial humour than Animal House - which was a parade of juvenile comedic goings on. An American Werewolf in London is more memorable with its sly humour and represents the pinnacle of John Landis' career.
My first film watched was Carrie aged 2 on my dad's knee. Educated at The University of St Andrews and Trinity College Dublin. Fan of Arthouse, Exploitation, Horror, Euro Trash, Giallo, New French Extremism. Weaned at the bosom of a Russ Meyer starlet. The bleaker, artier or sleazier the better!
