An American Werewolf in London

Directed by John Landis, An American Werewolf in London follows friends David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne) as they’re attacked by a werewolf while traveling through the moors of Britain – with Jack mauled to death and David unknowingly transformed into a werewolf himself. It’s a solid premise that’s employed to curiously (and predominantly) muted effect by Landis, as the filmmaker, working from his own screenplay, delivers an opening hour that proceeds at an often excessively deliberate pace and is, for the most part, unreasonably uneventful – with the decidedly underwhelming atmosphere compounded by an almost total absence of suspense and horror. It’s clear, then, that An American Werewolf in London benefits rather substantially from the engaging, charismatic work of its performers, as both Naughton and Dunne deliver solid work that goes a long way towards compensating for the somewhat padded-out vibe. (And it’s clear, too, that the appealing nature of David’s tentative relationship with Jenny Agutter’s Alex Price heightens the watchable atmosphere.) There’s little doubt, then, that picture improves considerably as it moves into its comparatively enthralling third act, as Landis finally embraces the horror-friendly aspects of the narrative and offers up a final stretch rife with exciting, engrossing werewolf-related sequences and episodes. (An tense interlude set in the London Underground remains an obvious highlight, to be sure.) The final result is an entirely erratic yet ultimately satisfying endeavor that’s perhaps not quite the scary classic one might’ve anticipated, although it’s impossible to deny that Landis has packed the proceedings with a handful of admittedly indelible moments and images (including a werewolf transformation that still holds up).

*** out of ****