In the late ‘60s, a young production assistant was in Yugoslavia working on a World War II film. As he was riding in a car through the countryside with some of the other crew, they came upon a group of gypsies who were performing a ritual over a man about to be buried. It was explained that the ritual was a guard against the dead man rising from the grave. This made the young production assistant wonder if he would ever be able to confront the undead if the situation were ever possible - and it gave him the seeds for a film. The idea germinated in his mind for years as he built his career in Hollywood. After many years, he was finally successful enough to secure the funding and creative freedom to bring his idea to fruition. The production assistant’s name was John Landis, and the idea that took hold of him and wouldn’t let go over the course of a decade was 1981’s AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON.
Paying for laughs as well as chills, AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON tells the story of American student David Kessler (David Naughton), who is bitten in a wolf attack as he and a friend are backpacking across the Yorkshire moors. His friend Jack (Griffin Dunne) is killed in the attack, and David is taken to a London hospital. As he recovers, he is visited by Jack’s ghost who informs him that the wolf that attacked them was, in fact, a werewolf and that David is doomed to become one as well. Sure enough, the full moon rises and David transforms into the werewolf - bringing death with him.
Although the film stars David Naughton and Griffin Dunne in very good performances, the real star of AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON is the ground-breaking make-up work of Rick Baker. Baker ingeniously combined prosthetics and robotics to achieve the film’s staggering transformation scenes. The goal was to make the transition from man to wolf appear physically painful as well as frightening, so we see limbs stretching, snout budging, and spine exploding almost through the skin. The result is an extended tour-de-force of make-up effect innovation. And it didn’t stop at the wolf. Griffin Dunne appears as the ghost of Jack periodically through the film to convince David to kill himself, and each time he appears, he is in a further stage of desiccation and decay. The make-up here is realistic, gruesome, and somehow, quite funny.
AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON is a benchmark in Horror films. No werewolf film would ever look the same after this one came along, and the discipline of special effects make-up became a respected and valued part of the artistic process of filmmaking. AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON was the first film to win the Oscar for best makeup - the category being created in 1981. Many believe that this film was the reason the category was finally created after years of trying. That may or may not be true, but what is beyond a shadow of a doubt is the impact AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON had upon its release and the influence it still holds over the Horror world to this day.
AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON fun facts - The final look of the werewolf was based on make-up artist Rick Baker’s dog.
Celebrated film composer Elmer Bernstein’s score is only about 7 minutes long.
Jack - “David, you‘re hurting my feelings.”
David - “Hurting your feelings? Has it occurred to you that it might be unsettling to see you arise from the grave to visit me?”
Little Boy - “A naked American man stole my balloons.”
Jack - “The undead surround me. Have you ever talked to a corpse? It‘s boring! I‘m lonely! Kill yourself, David, before you kill others.”