Delayed Reaction: An American Werewolf in London

The Pitch: Can a horror comedy actually be scary and funny?

After a man is attacked by a werewolf one night, he becomes one and terrorizes London.

This is a messy little horror comedy. I get why it has become a cult classic. The makeup is tremendous, deserving of all the praise it has received over the years. It's pretty funny and could even stand alone as a horror movie. That's pretty rare. Most horror comedies are much more comedies than horror. I definitely liked parts of the movie more than the whole. There a moments when John Landis is fully engaged that are a thrill to watch. The werewolf rampaging through London is great, for example. I also rather appreciate how quickly the movie ends. The story as a whole is underwhelming though. It only makes enough sense to get it to the next good set piece. It's a really rough movie, which is part of its charm. I like whenever a genre movie is made by an obvious fan of the genre. (It's the difference between Young Frankenstein and Spaceballs. Both are good, but only one is a classic)

One final note: I was tickled by the use of "Blue Moon". That's not an application of the song that I expected.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend