Friday, February 27, 2015

An American Werewolf in London

An American Werewolf in London is a 1981 John Landis horror film of the comedy-leaning variety. This is a fun movie. It's also a sad film, which surprised me since it succeeds at both the comedy and the horror.



Moria says, "An American Werewolf in London was innovative at what it did during its day, although I fall short of calling it the all-time great genre classic that many were certain it was at the time." 1000 Misspent Hours says, "It’s extremely witty, surprisingly well acted ..., and tautly directed" and closes with this: "The long and short of it is: watch this movie. Director John Landis really knew what he was doing here". Empire Online gives it 4 out of 5 stars and concludes, "Carnivorous lunar activities rarely come any more entertaining than this."

Roger Ebert says, "it's as if John Landis thought the technology would be enough. We never get a real feeling for the characters, we never really believe the places ...), and we are particularly disappointed by the ending." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 89%.

2 comments:

  1. I have never seen this film, oddly enough, as it´s the right age for me. I was probably put off by the werewolf thing, I was never one for horror films. However, I see now that it got one Oscar, and that the wonderful Jenny Agutter is in it. I was wondering where I´d seen John Woodvine before, and the answer is "everywhere"; that man has an impressive cv. I may not actively seek it out, but if it comes my way, I shall take the opportunity to see it.

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    1. I'm just now seeing it for the first time, as I've only in relatively recent years become interested in horror. I'm glad I've seen it, but I won't likely watch it again. Given a desire to see a werewolf movie again, I'll go with Lon Chaney Jr.'s original.

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