1981's An American Werewolf in London is on The Criterion Channel now. I hadn't seen it in years so I watched it again. I don't know if I remembered what a nihilistic movie it is. That was part of what made it effectively scary when I was a kid, and a lot of other movies from the early '80s. There's no sense of moral order to it, shit just happens.
One of the reviews quoted on Wikipedia argues that the movie is about being Jewish. I'm not sure about that, it feels to me the two Americans just happen to be (possibly) Jewish--aside from a nurse peeking at David's circumcised penis and presuming his religion from that, I don't remember any direct reference to him being Jewish. On the other hand, his name is David and whether or not he is actually Jewish may not matter in terms of the film's subtext. You could see a comment on the Holocaust, I suppose, in that mass murder occurs without any sense of moral order. The ghosts urging David to kill himself might certainly represent religious guilt exacerbated in extreme circumstances. There's even a line, an off-hand joke, when the two American boys decide to stop at the pub in the wilderness--"Whatever happens, it's my fault"/"Whatever happens, it's your fault."
Despite Rick Baker's amazing transformation effects, I find the encounters with zombies and the dream sequences much more effective than any of the actual werewolf stuff. When David's in wolf form he looks more like a bear, he's much too shaggy. But we've never had a good werewolf movie with the special effects it deserves. Why do their hands always get longer? Surely they should get smaller?
Anyway, I really like the dream sequence with stormtroopers with monster faces--oh, yeah, I guess they're Nazis, aren't they? Maybe that critic has a point. Well, that dream always freaked me out as a kid because it seemed to have no logic to it beyond being part of the general dread coming down on David.
Jenny Agutter is so fucking gorgeous in this movie. I need to watch Walkabout again.
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