October Fright Nights: An American Werewolf in London

Ellis watches 'An American Werewolf in London' for the first time and documents the evidence

All I know about this film going in is that there's a werewolf, and I assume it's set in London? Oh and that bloke from After Hours is in it. So I'm very excited to round off this year's October Fright Nights with what will hopefully be a classic monster movie.

To read the first fright night article click here: https://www.focusfilms.online/post/october-fright-nights-the-blair-witch-project

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Fright Night Film: An American Werewolf in London

Release Date: 1981

Directed by: John Landis

Starring: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne, John Woodvine, Don McKillop

Successful Jump Scares: 0

CREEPINESS

It's funnier than it is creepy, hence the lack of jump scares it's focus is elsewhere. The first half definitely has more of the creepy moments such as the walk through the moors, but its the dream sequences where things are really intense.

STORY & PLAUSIBILITY

I can't tell if it's the most accurate depiction of England or the least...but it's brilliant either way. The story goes to places I really didn't expect it to; in particular the zoo sequence which is so entertaining.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

The effects on Jack in the first vision scene are so gory and realistic it shows up the makeup of films of today. The transformation scene is brilliant and I loved the realism of the rural setting. It never sways too far in its aesthetic.

MUSIC

I did not expect this to have a shower scene to Moondance by Van Morrison but here we are. The needle drops are so brilliantly self aware yet juxtapose the action quite brilliantly. They've squeezed 'moon' in to the soundtrack any way possible.

PERFORMANCE

It's all very well performed and real if not melodramatic as you'd expect from a werewolf horror. The Scotland Yard guys are so subtly funny with their couple of scenes and the more the film goes on the more laugh-out-loud funny it becomes.

The second year of October Fright Nights has been great. Each film was wildly different than the other and provided a differently enjoyable experience. This final watch was my favourite, and one I'll definitely be returning to in the future.

An American Werewolf in London is available to rent or buy