An American Werewolf In London (1981) Dir: John Landis
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This 80s horror comedy classic, directed by John Landis, is one that I've been excited to watch for a few years now. I had heard so many good things about it and I was not disappointed.
The film is quite frankly hilarious. I particularly enjoyed the opening of the film, where the jokes and chemistry between the two actors on the screen were absolutely spot on. That said, the rest of the film is also very funny, and I found myself laughing allowed a few times along the way.
The physical effects and makeup used were brilliant, and the way they filmed some of it was genuinely impressive for the early 80s. I loved it. This film is another example of why physical effects trumps CGI almost every time.
The story had a lot more to it, in some ways, than I was expecting, but was still pretty simple and forward moving. It got plenty done in the 90-odd minutes, and I thought the ending, abrupt as it may have seemed, was excellent. I don't think the film could've ended better.
David Naughton was obscenely funny pretty much from start to finish. He wad larger than life, witty and just the right amount of goofy. He also managed to portray the more serious scenes pretty well, and I found him to be a pretty endearing character.
Jenny Agutter was very believable in her key supporting role, and I thoroughly enjoyed her performance. I think she managed to show a lot of character, and her work with Naughton was very easy to get behind.
Griffin Dunne was immensely likable, and while he didn't have heaps of screentime compared to the two main characters, I thought he stole every scene he was in with ease.
John Woodvine was someone who surprised me in a very positive way. I expected him to be very one-dimensional and dull, but, on the contrary, I found his performance to be very enjoyable.
Finally, I will give some quick mentions to a few names that I found very entertaining, despite their small roles; Don McKillop, Brian Glover, David Schofield and Lila Kaye.
Overall, this film has everything you want and more from a horror comedy. It's violent, yes - but I enjoyed that aspect, honestly, after all, it's a horror. The comedy is spot on and there's plenty of great moments to sink your teeth into.
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