I can’t stop watching An American Werewolf in London
Den of Geek asked its cabal of writers to write a couple of hundred words on a film they watch time after time. For my entry I thought about suggesting Groundhog Day. Not so much as a play on the theme of the feature but because I’m lazy and could effectively get away with copying/pasting a single paragraph until I reached the requisite word count.
I considered subverting the feature and entering The Sixth Sense; a film you surely can’t sit through more than once. Any ambiguity is relentlessly ignored in favour of beating you about the head with heavy-handed explanations, pretending it’s far more clever than it actually is, and lasting far too long. Throw in a couple of regional accents and it’s the movie equivalent of a Michael McIntyre routine.
I’ve decided on An American Werewolf in London because I saw it recently in Leicester Square over Halloween and had the epiphany that the reason I watch it so often is simply because that level of awesomeness cannot be fully appreciated by our human minds in one sitting.
- Watch it for the special effects from Rick Baker. Purely practical effects that stand up to this day and the film was responsible for the creation of the ‘Outstanding Achievement in Makeup’ Oscar.
- Watch it for a classic appearance of the Landis fictional film easter egg See You Next Wednesday. This time portrayed as a non-stop orgy.
- Watch it for the fantastic soundtrack; all songs with the word ‘moon’ in them, including a really jarring upbeat version of “Blue Moon” by The Marcels over the end credits.
- Watch it for the scene which would be a great teaser for an episode of Quantum Leap where David Naughton’s character wakes up naked in the wolf enclosure at London Zoo and utters the classic idiom “Oh boy”.
- Watch it and ponder why on Earth anyone would ever think An American Werewolf in Paris was ever a good idea, and what the hell Dimension expect to achieve with a remake.
- Watch it for the obligatory ‘Jenny Agutter gets her kit off’ scene. There are other movies where she’s much more naked but I was perhaps nine years old when I first saw this and it says something about how influenced by the film I was that I just adore sex in showers. And also leaping naked, teeth-bared, at nurses down dark alleyways.
- Watch it for the fantastic soundtrack; all songs with the word ‘moon’ in them, including a really jarring upbeat version of “Blue Moon” by The Marcels over the end credits.
- Watch it for the scene which would be a great teaser for an episode of Quantum Leap where David Naughton’s character wakes up naked in London Zoo and utters the classic idiom “Oh boy”.
- Watch it and ponder why on Earth anyone would ever think An American Werewolf in Paris was ever a good idea, and what the hell Dimension expect to achieve with a remake.
- Watch it for the obligatory ‘Jenny Agutter gets her kit off’ scene. There are other movies where she’s much more naked but I was perhaps nine years old when I first saw this and it says something about how influenced by the film I was that I just adore sex in showers. And also leaping naked, teeth-bared, at nurses down dark alleyways.