Film Analysis - 'An American Werewolf in London' (Directed by John Landis)



'An American Werewolf in London' is a classic horror comedy directed by 'John Landis' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Landis) that was completed with a 10 million dollar budget and grossed around 62 million dollars in box office.
 The film itself features a variety of settings such as the vast stretches of rural land within England as well as the packed, recognisable streets of 1980's  London, this contrast between environments emphasises the characteristics of both rural and urban Britain whilst and also helping the viewer to acknowledge each change of location more clearly.
The main character(s) which are introduced at the start of the film greatly stand out from their surroundings, each of them is wearing a (relatively) modern water resistant coat as well as a large travellers backpack, from these alone it is obvious that these two are aliens in damp moors of Yorkshire (of which the first scenes are based); for additional contrast the few people we do see living out in this area are garbed in dull, aged clothes that suggest they have weathered this kind of setting for so long that are bright, water proof coat is no longer necessary.
The cinematography featured in the film is nothing too out of the ordinary, however the usage of shots that emphasise the scale of the environments (be them big or small) to help dramatically change the atmosphere of a scene in a heartbeat. What makes this film stand out against other classic horror titles of its time is its use of visual effects; one scene that has become famous over the years is the werewolf transformation sequence (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axn8wRG8Fg0) which presents a believable metamorphosis with the usage of top of the line film editing and visual effects.
(Without spoilers,) the ending of the film has become a something of an oddity, it does not follow the normal conventions of most films from its time (or even now) and has become another example of film directors/producers attempting something new and impressive.


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