A Walking Meatloaf: An American Werewolf in London
I am always on the lookout for films that will scare me as an adult. Call me cold-hearted, a weirdo...call me what you will but no film has really scared me yet. Although I jump at various scenes like the rest of us, I am more entertained than frightened.
But...a scene in a film once frightened me so much that I hid behind the sofa. Despite sounding cliché, it's 100% true.
An American Werewolf in London is a 1981 horror comedy film directed by John Landis and starring David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, and Griffin Dunne. The film tells the story of two American tourists in England who are attacked by a werewolf.
Throughout my childhood, this film sat in our VHS collection and I watched it regularly. In retrospect, I was much too young to witness such a film. We monster-loving kids were living in the eighties, a time when nothing was off limits. All was well in my world until David transformed into a werewolf. Oh boy!
As a child, I had never seen anything like this. In addition, my wild imagination genuinely believed that werewolves existed so this brought it all to life for me. But out of all this it was the brilliant work of special effects artist Rick Baker that made this one of the greatest scenes in the history of horror. Baker's work was masterful, making the transformation seem almost real. He used a variety of techniques, such as puppetry, prosthetics and animatronics to create the scene.
Rick started collaborating with John Landis on his directorial debut, Schlock. He requested Rick to work on the make up special effects for the upcoming film An American Werewolf in London. However, the whole process took so long that Rick signed up for another project – The Howling. But as the film gained some traction Rick relented and started working on John’s film putting his protégé Rob Bottin in charge of The Howling. The film won Rick an Oscar.
I don’t really need to say why it was frightening, I mean...just watch it but for me it is all about David’s excruciating pain, his glistening flesh, those long canine teeth, piercing primal eyes and the way his face moves outwards into that lycanthrope shape – it is truly frightening. David Naughton is a remarkable actor, portraying a monster like that with hours of make-up - his patience and talent certainly pays off.
The year is now 2023 and I still flinch when watching it.
Beyond this I was always fascinated by Jack's effects. The details of his make up are extraordinary. We see his ravaged face from a frenzied wolf attack on the Yorkshire Moors – he is the undead and haunts David but there are no white sheets here. Jack’s face is ripped to shreds, the anatomical details are raw and bloody all whilst eating toast (and don’t forget that flappy bit of skin that people talk about - I cannot stop staring at it). His decomposition make up is brilliant as he slowly turns green and skeletal. And I will never see Mickey Mouse in the same light again.
Then we have the mutant Nazis...this scene will put you off answering the door when the knocking seems a little frenzied. The werewolf in the tube station (I always check behind me when I am going up the escalator at Tottenham Court Road station) ,the misty scenes across the moors, the cheeky cameo from comedian Rik Mayall, the weird pub we British know all about. There is so much to get excited about in this film so I suggest I stop talking and you get watching.
