An American Werewolf in London is your classic buddy flick, with Griffin Dunne playing Buddy number 1 (Jack) and David Naughton playing buddy number 2 (David). (Please see exhibit A.)
Exhibit A
Buddy one starts out as your normal travel companion, then morphs into the undead, (please see exhibit B),
Exhibit B
and the other guy turns into a werewolf (please see exhibit C).
Exhibit C
The now standard european backpacking trip goes awry when these boys don't heed the advice from the locals in the Slaughtered Lamb and meander off the road into the moors. One buddy undead, the other shipped to a london hospital where he interprets his the warnings from both his dreams and his undead friend as symptoms of going crazy. I loved the dark comedy juxtaposition of psychosis vs monsterization of werewolf character. "The voice telling me to commit suicide isn't in my head, doc (or hot nurse) it's actually my dead friend, and I've got the vivid hallucinations to accompany the voice." It was my first time seeing this movie, and I quite enjoyed it. I was super impressed at how well it held up 30 years later: the beginning of the werewolf transformation ranks among some of the best/favorite special effects I've seen.
7 comments:
I love "Exhibit A" - they really do look like best buddies, totally on the same page.
Dammit, another movie I've never seen but really should have by now!
Shame on you JSP, this is required viewing, werewolf 101.
Trevor, I am so impressed with your picks this year. Nice review.
Tami! My friend! Welcome back to Horrorthon! So good to see a review from you!
You never answered my text from the other night.
Oh, and yes, this movie is awesome.
I just learned that Baker won the first ever Special Makeup Effects Academy Award and that the category was invented for this movie!
http://billwardwriter.com/an-american-werewolf-in-london-movie-review/
Catfreeek is right JSP, this is definitely required viewing! Also, I'm glad I successfully got my first blogpost in before October ended! Its been a crazy month (nursing a sick cat for the first portion and out of the country sans internet for nearly the rest of it). I wasn't sure I'd be able to post an entry in time--but I did and I have a few more up my sleeve so Yay!
I hope the sick cat you spoke of recovered speedily. For personal reasons I need closure - is the cat dead, barely alive or alive and kicking it?
Anyway I'm glad to see you contribute this year Tami and hope to see more!
The cat (a young one of 2 years or so) is alive, doing much better and seems more happy, loving and playful than he has in months. I feel extremely lucky.
I have a few more contributions to submit, but not as many as I was planning after my horrorthon start last year....
Holy crap, it's Tami! Hi, Tami! Welcome to the fray!
(I thought you were Trevor until Trevor said "Tami!" You guys and your bookend blog handles!)
What a great pick. That you saw AAWIL when maybe you wouldn't have is a reason I'm glad Horrorthon exists. JSP, you're missing out. This was the best werewolf movie ever until Dog Soldiers came out.
I, too, have many reviews to write. More than I've written already.
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