The 1981 horror-comedy has endured as a result of its gnarly effects and goofy
comedy but it’s the film’s surprising restraint and satirical humour that remains most impressive
![An American Werewolf in London at 40: John Landis’s crafty creative peak](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d2aac23218c993758fafd3a418f86e7f0ebc3b4a/0_285_5333_3201/master/5333.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=da65dc93b0b4fa8d6cfcb79a6825793d)
Forty years on from its release, An
American Werewolf in
London is not a film best remembered for its subtlety. John Landis’s then-unique, much-imitated horror-comedy hybrid built a cult following on its gnarly makeup effects, goofy sense of humour and discordant soundtrack of perky, on-the-nose pop songs – if it had “moon” in the title, it was good to go – but these are broad, brash virtues: a cheeky adolescent sensibility realised with all the toys in the playroom. Roger Ebert, for one, was not a fan: “Landis spent all his energy on spectacular set pieces,” he grumbled, “and then didn’t want to bother with things like transitions, character development, or an ending.”
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