Review of An American Werewolf in London (1981) by Casey C — 28 Feb 2010
No modern werewolf genre will ever be completed without mentioning writer-director John Landis's groundbreaking near-classic AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. The film, of course, is well known for its trendsetting special effects wizardry by none others than makeup maestro Rick Baker as well as its inventive mix of horror and comedy.
Pity that the film isn't much a full-blooded masterpiece ecause of its largely uneven result in the second-half. The first half is essentially a well-crafted piece of horror and comedy, in which John Landis executed them with mesmerizing result.
It's just both scary and at the same time, also amusing enough to make you giggled. The eerie opening scene and the famous "hospital bed-in-the-forest" nightmare scene are especially worth noting for.
Too bad as the film progresses, it's sad to see Landis is losing steam fast enough to sustain the solid foundation of what has come before. Rick Baker's groundbreaking special effects work for the famous werewolf transformation remains as timeless as ever, and the result is simply astounding.
Though a certain bulk of the film is incoherent and the action-packed ending is somewhat disappointing, AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON remains one of the important horror staples of the modern generation a must-see for every genre fans.
This review of An American Werewolf in London (1981) was written by Casey C on 28 Feb 2010.
An American Werewolf in London has generally received positive reviews.
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