A Mental Note to Watch This Movie
Long ago somewhere I watched something about the man to werewolf transformation scene in the movie An American Werewolf in London. This stuck in my mind and naturally, I made a mental note to watch this movie one day. I crossed this one off the list recently. Conveniently, I did so on a foggy full moon night that I had to get out in. This was an unintentional, poor, but rewarding choice. Let’s talk about what I am going to call the best werewolf movie I have personally seen, An American Werewolf in London.
A Backpacking Trip Across Europe – What a Fun Idea!
Our story follows two friends who are essentially backpacking across England. Hiking is something I enjoy and would love to complete a long trail that includes mountains and towns. Two friends are doing just this and as they arrive in the first town, they hit a pub where locals are odd and warn them before they pick up their walk through the countryside. Howls are heard, a wolf attacks, a friend flees, and is saved by the gunfire of the locals from the pub. A wolfman in seen prior to the gun blasts, bleeding human in the next reveals the werewolf issue. Of the friends, one is killed and the other attacked but survives. As you know, he has now become a werewolf and the story begins.
What Would it Look Like to Transform into a Werewolf? Look No Further.
Lots of story building takes place before the iconic transformation but, an iconic scene it is. Bones pop, the character screams and wrenches in pain, fingers extend, nails bleed, his eyes feel with bloodlust, hair erupts form his back, his face extends, and teeth grow long and sharp. Rick Baker was responsible for this transformation, and he won an Oscar (Downey, 2018). Another piece of trivia on this transformation is that it was the inspiration for the iconic “Thriller” video from MJ and the reason the warning about “…endorsing the occult” is at the beginning of the video (Downey, 2018).
The Cultural Influence of American Werewolf in London
Werewolf lore is not my strong suit but, I am vaguely familiar with the creature. In An American Werewolf in London, there was something added to the story that I’ve never heard of before. When a werewolf kills someone, that person becomes undead or in limbo and haunts the wolfman when he is in human form. These haunts add and add until the wolfman is finally killed. Once the werewolf is killed, either by himself or someone else, the undead become dead and rest. So, the undead are very encouraging to the wolfman about meeting his demise however it happens. Haunts following the main character around allow for a couple of jump scares that I wasn’t expecting. Jump scares are in other scenes too. One of these flashes a shot of the main character’s face and it is creepy (also seen in MJ’s “Thriller” video).
American Werewolf in London has a Score that Includes Some Classic Tunes
Music appreciation is another hobby of mine, so a movie’s score is something I pay attention to. Rarely do I see a movie that has an equally awesome set of songs paired with it to match the awesomeness of the movie. Opening scenes are rolling, as are the hills in the shot, while “Blue Moon” by The Marcels is playing in its entirety. Song is ending and you see a car coming into view to start the story. What better song to play later in the movie as our main character is getting ready for his first anticipated transformation than “Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival? There is none that I can think of and that’s what was chosen. “Blue Moon” is featured again later in the movie and “Moondance” by Van Morrison too. Honestly, I think they gave a lot of thought to music for this film.
Conclusion
Vintage background and scenery can be appreciated in this movie too. London is the main filming location according to IMDB (2022). Some other things that stand out are a shot of the zoo. This movie was filmed in 1981 and one of the scenes was in the London Zoo. There are some shots in a subway too that allows you to see subway art. Not subway art like graffiti writing but posters for films that are playing. This site had to be among my most favorite in the film. Aside maybe from the phone booths. Just like at Disney, there is the famous red English phone booth. These vintage scenes along with cultural impacts, awesome special effects, and a fantastic story make this one of the best werewolf movies there is. I can see why An American Werewolf in London carries the notoriety that it does.
You can read more reviews about this movie on IMDB here. Another good article can be found here. This one is by Ryan J. Downey and it’s from October 22nd of 2018. It’s the one referenced above. You can find as much to read about this movie as you want. You’re a traveler of the world? Check out the article “An American Werewolf in London” here for filming locations. If you like this blog, you can read more of my work here. If you’d like, follow me on Instagram here and on Facebook here. You can check out some of my artwork here.
If you’re a fan of this movie, what is it that makes it so great to you? Leave a comment with you answer below.