American Werewolf in London, An

Director: John Landis
Year Released: 1981
Rating: 2.0

Interesting idea for a movie - essentially, a postmodern amalgam of past horror/werewolf pictures - that never becomes a movie itself. Two Americans visiting England get attacked by a werewolf-demon - one is killed, the other inflicted with a 'curse' to become a werewolf himself ... and also trapped in some kind of spiritual limbo, getting routine visits from his deceased friend (who is decomposing but still able to speak ... and calmly encourages him to commit suicide). Has some really clever touches - the theater is showing a porn movie especially made for this called See You Next Wednesday (a recurring Landis trademark and Kubrick reference) - but goes absolutely nowhere: lots of special effects, little payoff. The ending, on the other hand, has to be a joke of sorts, but I wasn't buying it.