Where’s The Lamb: The Horror Comedy of An American Werewolf in London
Comedy and horror are sister genres, existing on different sides of the same coin. A joke and a scare follow a similar formula of a set-up and a punchline or a scream for horror. But when it comes to horror-comedy, the lines blur and make it difficult to discern whether something is supposed to be funny or scary. Yet, this is not a negative thing since it ultimately depends on the person viewing the film while also keeping the viewer invested in the movie. It forces the person to constantly be on their feet and have a purer emotional reaction to the work. John Landis’s An American Werewolf in London (1981) stands in the pantheon of the subgenre and gives us one of the best werewolf films mainly because it emphasizes the fish out of water elements juxtaposes horror and comedy.
Two Americans, David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne), backpack across rural England until they visit the Slaughter Lamb, a local pub with a pentagram on its back wall. Due to the rude patrons, the two leave and walk across the dark moors where a giant wolf-like beast viciously kills Jack and mauls David leaving him for dead. David wakes up after spending a few weeks unconscious in the hospital and treated by Nurse Alex Price (Jenny Agutter). However, he did not survive the encounter entirely unscathed since the ghostly rotting corpse of Jack haunts him and lets him know that on the next full moon, he will turn into a werewolf, and the only way to prevent it is through his death.
A large portion of the horror and comedy of the film is derived from David and Jack being out of their element in England. From the start, David and Jack are instantly out of place from their surroundings due to their bright jackets and very friendly and personable American attitudes. With that, the notion of them arriving in the film on the back of a sheep truck is not subtle about their eventual fates. They are strangers who do not belong and are easy prey. Also, their interactions with the pub patrons highlight the fish out of water aspect since the duo do not have a grasp of the environment around them. Jack jokes about remembering the Alamo, which the barmaid conflates with the film of the same name starring John Wayne, which furthers that cultural divide. Even though they’re both reasonably lovely, they exhibit very American attitudes by disturbing the other guests and taking up space with their personalities. Jack further intrudes on the local’s space by asking about the pentagram, which promptly tells the locals to leave. The pentagram stands as an interesting choice due to its association with the occult and how it presents the village as the others. The scene twists between horror and comedy as the men attempt to navigate a world they do not understand.
Similarly, David’s Jewish and werewolf identities further his fish out of water status. Following his attack, one of his nurses remarks to Nurse Alex, “he’s Jewish, I checked,” as they stare over his unconscious body. The identification feels dehumanizing because the nurse invades his privacy and makes that deduction on a physical marker. Instead of waiting to ask him when he wakes up, she guesses based on limited knowledge and puts an identity onto him. Along those lines comes the werewolf aspect. In many ways, the physical nature of the transformation makes him stand out from other humans. The combination of the two contributes to David being an outsider and having an identity that many of the English would not understand.Similarly, he must keep his werewolf identity a secret, much like his Jewish identity. Landis emphasizes just how out of place David is in England by overlapping these elements. He becomes the ultimate fish out of water.
The juxtaposition of horror and comedy plays a significant role in why the film is so successful. One key element lies in the ghost of Jack. Jack still bears the clawed-up face and neck after the werewolf attack but acts jokingly in his first appearance. Despite appearing dreadful, he never lost his original personality, which contrasts with his appearance. He can be hard to look at, but Dunne’s comedic performance keeps you drawn in. When his skin turns a decomposed green and rots into a skeleton, his jovial nature brings fun to the much darker character. Somehow a porno theater full of corpses can be both hilarious and horrifying. Also, the idea of Jack telling David that he needs to die further blends that dark comedy and horror. While the idea of dying can be viewed as horrific, the darker comedy arises since an imaginary corpse is imploring him to do it.
The juxtaposition also lies within the music choices. The song titles all involve the word “moon” and provide contrast to the horror. While they may seem out of place or counterintuitive to the horror at first, it reinforces the horror-comedy tone instead. During David’s first transformation, “Blue Moon” by Sam Cooke plays, making the change more tragic and emphasizing horror. The music makes the film more iconic since it makes much more interesting choices than relying on Elmer Bernstein’s score. “Bad Moon Rising” appears to be on the nose, which is the point. The needle drops are not the traditional picks for a horror film, making the movie stand out. The music provides that much-needed juxtaposition and makes the viewer wonder how to feel about a particular moment or scene. The music also works well since it never feels out of place or takes the viewer out of the film. The music choices contribute to world-building and further engrosses us into it.
There’s a reason why An American Werewolf in London has sustained relevance within pop culture and the horror genre. Instead of hindering the film, horror and comedy enhance it. And whatever you do, make sure to keep to the road, stay clear of the moors, and beware of the full moon.
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Continuing “Monster March” I will be talking The Fly on Sunday.
I will also be writing review on The Bunker Games for Slay Away and drop my review for X on this site Saturday.
