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Dracula. Frankenstein. The Mummy. The Wolf-Man. Ever since the original run of Universal horror movies way back in the 1930s and 40s (and before that if you count the 1910 film version of Frankenstein), we’ve seen these four concepts, if not the exact stories repeated in hundreds of films since. Occasionally it works out okay, like the Hammer Films run in the 1950s (so much Christopher Lee…), but in most cases, like the 1972 shit-fest Dracula vs Frankenstein, it doesn’t. But they have the name recognition I guess, and if you’re in the business of selling movies rather enjoying them, I suppose it doesn’t really matter how you’re using the property as long as you can squeeze a few more bucks out of the audience. The pessimistic world of movies, kids.
Out of the four of them, I think that the Wolf-Man, and werewolves in general, got the short end of the fame stick. Dracula has been portrayed by Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee and Gary Oldman, he’s the major villain in the Castlevania video game series, and has generally remained consistently popular since his creation. Frankenstein has had a Universal and Hammer film series, and the ‘reviving the dead through science’ plot has been reused in horror movies for years. Hell, even The Mummy had an trilogy of films starring Brendan Fraser and spin offs featuring The Rock, even if that The Mummy held little to no resemblance to the 1932 Karloff The Mummy. Werewolves always seem to get the short end stick though, whether it’s the Universal Wolf-Man movie from 1940 being (arguably) far less interesting than it’s counterparts or playing second-fiddle to another more interesting monster in whatever movie they happen to be in. Even though they’ve stuck around for decades, there’s only a couple of werewolf-centric movies I can think of that are considered really good, and only one that’s made this list. Yes, it’s taken me this long to watch An American Werewolf in London.
Directed by John Landis (Animal House, Blues Brothers, Coming to America and the Thriller music video to name a few), An American Werewolf in London spins the tale of David Kessler, who is going on a backpacking tour through England with his friend. On the first night of their journey the two come across a rural English village, whose stone-faced residents warn the two that there are dangerous things out in the moors. Disregarding that warning, the duo set off, where they are attacked by a strange, abnormally large wolf. Jack is mauled to death, while David is hospitalized for weeks. According to the stone-faced villagers, the two men were attacked by an escaped lunatic, but David has a strong feeling that they might be wrong. Maybe it’s the bizarre nightmares he’s been having, or seeing the ghost of his mauled friend telling him he’s cursed, but he’s got plenty of reasons to be suspicious. The full moon is coming, and no matter what the doctors say, David Kessler’s life is about to change forever.
An American Werewolf in London is a prime example of how to do a update on an old classic and make it work. The basic structure of The Wolf-Man story is intact, a man travels to England, gets bitten by the werewolf and eventually succumbs to the curse, but it’s done in a such a way that it still feels believable (no magic Romani here). The wolf scenes, and in particular the now iconic transformation sequence, takes full advantage of the special effects boom that was going on in the 80’s. Plus it’s pretty darn funny, which you wouldn’t expect from a movie about a giant canine ripping people’s throats out. It hits all the points it needs to, could’ve used a bit more wolf in my opinion, but I guess in that case it’s just following traditional horror structure. So yeah, if you’re looking for a werewolf movie that doesn’t involve sparkling vampires this Halloween, you’ve come to the right place.
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