There's a bad moon rising as The Unenthusiastic Critic's 2021 Halloween Movie Marathon kicks off with John Landis's 1981 horror-comedy An American Werewolf in London, starring David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, and Griffin Dunne.
First, this week, we're talking about how The Unenthusiastic Critic—despite insisting that she hates them—secretly adores horror movies, or at least the bad ones. (Mild spoilers for Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan and Cult of Chucky, since those are the sorts of movies Nakea really wants to talk about.)
Then, things get a little hairy as we sit down for a viewing of An American Werewolf in London. In a departure for The Unenthusiastic Critic series, this is a movie Nakea has actually seen (and dismissed) before, but Michael convinces her to give this favorite of his teen-age years one more try. Will a second bite at this lycanthropic cult-classic transform The Unenthusiastic Critic into a fan?
Program
00:00: Prologue: from The Wolf Man (1941)
00:50: Preliminary Conversation: Nakea's Secret Love of Horror
14:11: Interlude: from American Werewolf in London
14:39: Cultural Osmosis: Pre-Viewing Discussion
20:53: Interlude: Original Trailer
22:26: The Verdict: Post-Viewing Discussion
1:09:29: Outro and Next Week's Movie
1:11:15: Outtake
Notes and Links
—Movie Reviewed: An American Werewolf in London (dir. John Landis, Universal, 1981).
—References and Resources: "Laughing Until It Hurts: An American Werewolf in London at 40," Peter Sobczynski, rogerebert.com; "How American Werewolf in London Transformed Horror-Comedy," Joshua Rothkopf, Rolling Stone; "Queer Moon Rising / The Love of a Good Woman Won’t Save You: Queer Narratives in An American Werewolf in London," Marisa Mercurio, Ancillary Review of Books; Reviews by Gary Arnold, Washington Post, and Roger Ebert, rogerebert.com.
—Find additional episodes, leave a comment, or make a donation to support the podcast at unaffiliatedcritic.com.
—Email us, or follow us on Twitter and Facebook. (Suggestions of movies to watch for future episodes are very welcome.)
—Saint-Saens' "Danse Macabre" by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:12:09 — 66.1MB)
2 thoughts on “AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981)”
"Will a second bite at this lycanthropic cult-classic transform The Unenthusiastic Critic into a fan?"
Haven't listened to the podcast yet – but will go out on a rather long limb and say "fun fact: no"
Amazing! It's almost like you've heard the podcast before, Zeke.