Written by Melissa Allen, who you can follow on Twitter at @melissajournal
This week’s Film of the Week is a movie that everyone should see – it may not be the most action-packed, but this 80s offering is one that changed the way we see the furry fiend we know as the Werewolf...
Film of the Week on Female First
An American Werewolf in London follows two young Americans, David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) on a backpacking trip in Britain. The locals in the pub the boys visit spook them into wandering onto the roads in search of somewhere else to stay, and in doing so they are attacked by a Werewolf; the locals decide to help the boys and kill the beast – however while David lives to talk about it, Jack doesn’t get so lucky.
While David is recovering and staying with Alex, the nurse that aided him in hospital, he sees Jack from ‘beyond the grave’... Comedy begins to creep into the film now, as every time David sees his deceased friend, Jack decomposes little by little; while this may not sound amusing you must trust that it is, as Jack gives David advice and chats to him as they would having Sunday dinner or a drink in the pub. The film really brings out the comedy in what is essentially the best of a bad situation. David misses his friend still, even though he isn’t really gone...
David and Alex get close and begin to fall for each other, just as the warnings Jack gave to David become true – David is now a Werewolf. The turn from man to Werewolf perhaps may not be the cinematic marvel you are expecting, but for a film made in 1981, it really set the bar for future entries into the same genre. The scene is long and drawn out, purposely making you feel uncomfortable as David’s hands become oversized paws, his body grows and changes in unpleasant ways... it’s a scene you're not likely to quickly forget.
This film places comedy and a sense of conscience perfectly in the form of Jack and his undead ‘therapy speeches’, a grounding character for audiences to attach David to in the form of Alex, and round it all off with an almost Romeo and Juliet type ending; David is shot while in the form of the Werewolf while Alex tries to save him from the Police chasing him.
With a really marvellous 80s feel, brilliant characters and a story that seemed to define the Werewolf as a character and genre, this film is highly rated: do not miss!