Skippy's Movie Reviews, #23: An American Werewolf in London
Werewolves. They're way cool, but most movies about them suck. Why? We're not quite sure, but in the never-ending quest for enlightenment we took a look at the John Landis movie "An American Werewolf in London." In short, we were not disappointed.
David and Jack, two American teenagers, are romping across the English countryside. Ignoring all advice and common sense, they not only stray from the beaten path into the moors, but they get lost! Well, they pay for their stupidity as a savage beast rips Jack apart and mauls David.
Afterwards, David must cope not only with his friend's death and the local authorities' ignorance of what really happened, he must also deal with the fact that he seems to be a werewolf himself now. Fortunately, he has help in these trying times: young, perky nurse Alex (Jenny Agutter, who is oh! so cute) and Jack's undead corpse/ghost. See, when a werewolf kills you, you don't die - you're forced to roam the world as a spirit until the creature is slain. Thus, Jack tries to convince David to kill himself; David isn't buying it.
This movie is both horror and comedy, a satire in many ways of the traditional werewolf legend. It's filled with bits of gore and humor (and sometimes, gory humor) and has some good special effects. Of particular interest are David's post-mauling nightmares, his wild hunt upon the first full moon, and the chase with all the police. We're talking multiple rewind potential here.
It starts slow, but then it becomes highly entertaining. We're pleased to upgrade it to a B.