You would think, given my love for horror, comedy, and some of the entries in the horror-comedy subgenre, that I would have long-since memorized every last line, camera angle, and bit of trivia to be found on John Landis’ “An American Werewolf in London”. After all, it’s generally considered to be the granddaddy of all horror-comedies, not to mention one of the more esteemed horror films to hit audiences in the past thirty years. So, why the fuck am I just now seeing “An American Werewolf in London” for the first time?
Well, it’s complicated, but a lot of it has to do with “An American Werewolf in Paris”, a film I saw in my early teens and felt some pretty respectable hatred towards. For one thing, whoever the lead was in that flick sucked large, dangling, veiny testicles. For another, the film was disrespectful to the memory of Jim Morrison, and I’ll be having none of that, kind sir. I remember walking out of “Werewolf in Paris” when I was 15. If your horror movie can’t even get a bloodthirsty, cynical 15 year-old on its side, you have achieved a spectacular amount of FAIL. I can’t be bothered to look up who directed that steamy bucket of horseshit, but whoever it is still deserves a merciless beating with a handful of coathangers.
So, there was that.
Besides, I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with the works of John Landis. I know that he’s one of the directors that film geeks aren’t supposed to question, but Landis has made some pretty bad films. We’re now entering a form of thinking that many online denizens– particularly those found on Chud.com– find difficult to master. Before we go on, let’s see if I can get you to wrap your heads around this one more time: it’s possible to respect, like, and be a fan of someone or something without pledging blind allegiance to it. I can be a Landis fan without loving every one of his movies, or getting dragged into lengthy, poorly-spelled debates with the sort of dicksuckers that tend to haunt the comments sections on film geek websites. There’s taste, and then there’s discerning taste. If you still don’t understand, spend some time thinking about it the next time you’re enjoying a handful of crayons for lunch. Retards.
Anyway: Landis. Don’t sit there and tell me that “Blues Brothers 2000” is anything less than a swift kick to the jubblies with a pronged-boot. Or that “The Stupids” redefined comedy as we know it. Or that “Beverly Hills Cop” wasn’t as enjoyable as a mouthful of Joy Behar’s pubic hair. Landis has made some great films, but he’s also made some truly awful films. To be fair, I haven’t seen “The Stupids”, but let’s all just agree that that one probably deserves my ire.
But yesterday, whilst shopping in my local Wal-Mart, I discovered that “An American Werewolf in London” was now available on Blu-ray (in a cornily-titled “Full Moon Edition”) for the low, low price of $15. I’m currently in the process of building my Blu-ray collection, and I’ve made a point to fill it only with films that are truly great. I decided to roll the dice and trust years’ worth of claims by other film geeks that “Werewolf in London” is a masterpiece, and I am glad that I did: turns out, it’s near the top of Landis’ “WIN” column.
If, for whatever reason, you’re in the position that I was until very recently (meaning that you haven’t seen “Werewolf in London”, not “bent over a sawhorse with a large melon protruding from your anus”, which is the position I assume on Thursdays), do yourself a favor and check it out. “Werewolf” has everything you could want from a werewolf-related movie, including:
- Moors covered in fog
- Creepy locals in a shoddy-looking pub
- Hot chicks in nurse outfits
- Hot chicks in nurse outfits who then get banged in showers
- Circa 1981 ads for Wendy’s
- Werewolves
So, really, you can’t go wrong. The picture quality of the Blu-ray is outstanding, as well. While I’d never seen the movie all the way through prior to my Blu-ray purchase, I had seen bits and pieces on a battered VHS copy of the film at one point, and– like many other older films that have been given the Blu-ray treatment– seeing it in its shiny, new format was like seeing a completely different film.
And that concludes my hard-hitting, timely, in-no-way irrelevant review for a film that was released 30 years ago. If you’ve got anything that you’d like to suggest to me for a future recap/review, feel free to drop me a line or stop by my webpage at Examiner.com.