An American Werewolf in London is a film that isn’t afraid to laugh at itself. It’s a witty and sophisticated flick, despite what you might think upon first glance. It’s an absurd tale about two American backpackers who trek through London. A werewolf attacks them, and that’s when things really start to get hairy. (See what I did there?)

Being both bizarrely funny and frightening at the same time, it’s easily John Landis’s best film. Being both the writer and director, he takes the viewer on this bizarre trip where he throws us in the same situation as the characters. The initial attack is still one of the scariest scenes in any werewolf film to date, and it’s been thirty years. It seems that werewolf flicks have gone in a downward spiral, as each one seems to think that the use of CGI is the way to go with the transformation.

It’s that transformation scene that can either make or break a werewolf film for most people. To see it done correctly, simply watch this film. It’s the most famous scene in the film and one of the most famous scenes in horror, period. (To see it done wrong, watch An American Werewolf In Paris. It’s funny how one film can be so good at something and the sequel be so bad.) This is why practical effects and horror go hand in hand. None of that CGI crapfest that were are given in almost every film today.

The special effects make-up is all due to Rick Baker, who really changed the way horror films look in the 80’s. The scene was so impressive that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided to create a new category, hence the Outstanding Achievement in Makeup category that exists today.

Not to spoil anything, but of the two Americans, one dies and the other becomes the werewolf. Throughout the film, the one who becomes the werewolf continues to see his dead friend and actually has conversations with him. It’s pretty funny to continually see his friend pop up and looking even more decomposed than the previous encounter. Maybe I just have a sick twisted sense of humor, though.

If you were to listen to the soundtrack, and I mean actually listen to it, you’d know that every song references the moon in some way. During the opening credits we are treated to Bobby Winton’s “Blue Moon”; we have Van Morrison’s “Moondance” during a sex scene; and CCR’s “Bad Moon Rising” near the transformation scene. Each song actually works for the film, even though they were only included due to the ‘moon’ connection.

In my list of “the best” werewolf flicks, this sits at the top, with Neil Marshall’s Dog Soldiers and John Fawcett’s Ginger Snaps, rounding out the Top 3. Both films owe a lot to this one -- which in turn owes a lot to the original Wolf Man, starring Lon Chaney Jr.

The film is a wild and wacky ride; it scares you and makes you laugh. If anyone wants to see the werewolf flick that defines the genre, this one is it. There are no substitutes. Over the years the film has become a cult classic and one people look to for horror comedies (which seems to be the genre I’ve been writing about lately). I fear for the supposed remake that I hear about. I fear that they will go the route of the CGI monster and we as an audience are stuck with another snoozefest of a horror film that doesn’t know what it wants to be.

This film knows what it wants to be, and pulls it off with style.

So I leave you with this: watch An American Werewolf in London. Simple as that and as an added bit of trivia for those of you interested out there, it’s this film that got the attention of Michael Jackson, which led to Landis working on the music video for "Thriller".

Bark at the moon.

   -- Matthew Layden