Beware the Moon: American Werewolf in London Review

The werewolf is a creature of, one can say, fuzzy origins. Landis's film doesn't go so far into the folklore, at least not directly. The modern setting in the film makes the origins of this creature obscure and in essence, the modern settings nearly render the origins almost meaningless simply to to the fact that superstitions hold less and less power as time moves on. What Landis does, is expand on the origins and examines how superstitious folklore and modernity interact.

The Slaughtered Lamb is host to superstition: the regulars there are stuck between superstition and modernity and with good reason; the pentagram does have its roots in Paganism, a religion that predates Christianity. Landis's werewolf combines with American and English sensibilities, which sets up a dynamic film. Granted the film isn't confined the one place, the sense of loneliness does cast a shadow.

David Kesler (David Naughton) is an American traveler, who is stricken by the curse of the werewolf. Landis does a wonderful job of handling Kesler's character. Kesler is dynamic in the sense he has the incredible sense of self that sways back and forth, yet doesn't seem to want to break, yet it fractures in key points. Perhaps in his madness he finds his saving grace: love. Nurse Gallagher is commendable for her efforts, and indeed the efforts of Dr. Hirsch deserve credit, but when faced with the supernatural forces, which belief in the supernatural only exists in small pockets of the human population.

Going further into the conflict between supernatural and modernity. This conflict, modernity and the supernatural, is long standing, to be sure. What Landis does to address the conflict, or at the very least, attempt to examine these two forces, is force the two to meet. A supernatural creature rampaging in London, where money is always a main concern, a werewolf only made things worse. The mere presence of it took several lives; an insurance nightmare.

However, Landis goes another step further, perhaps another direction altogether. Kesler is visited by his friend Jack (Griffin Dunne) and his victims. Landis expands on the werewolf, namely its human counterpart/half. The curse of the werewolf wears down on its unwilling host. One could claim Kesler, as a werewolf, walks the line between life and death, also adding to his mental burden.

Rating: 5/5