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An American Werewolf In London: The Alpha Male of Werewolf Films

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“The wolf’s bloodline must be severed; the last remaining werewolf must be destroyed. It’s you David” Whenever I think about American Werewolf the exchange between David and Jack is always what comes to mind. Two best friends having a nice conversation, except the fact that Jack is now a member of the undead and David is unwittingly changing into a werewolf.

From The Howling to Dog Soldiers, there are plenty of decent werewolves flicks out there to choose from. The one film that receives praises higher than any other werewolf flick, however, is none other than, An American Werewolf In London. Let’s look at just why this movie is so beloved, and why it stands out as the Alpha Male in the pack of werewolf films.

Creative Take On Werewolf Lore

It’s no secret that there are plenty of werewolf films out there to sink your teeth into, so what makes An American Werewolf In London so special? One move that worked out incredibly well for the project was the interesting and creative take on the werewolf lore. The standard transformation under a full moon is present, but the writers also took a few creative liberties to help their work stand out from the competition.

Image Credit: An American Werewolf In London

The biggest example of this being Jack’s ghost as well as the ghosts of David’s other victims throughout the run-time. With each victim, David takes under the full moon, that person’s soul is trapped on Earth for as long as the werewolf that killed them still lives. Doomed for eternity to slowly rot and decay away.

Part of what makes the spirits work so well is that they ultimately add to the comedic aspects of the film. When An American Werewolf In London isn’t trying to tear your throat out, it can be pretty damn funny at times. The ghosts were an interesting idea to add to the script and in the end, absolutely paid off and only helped to better the film and deliver the necessary exposition without boring the viewers.

Image Credit: An American Werewolf In London

Absolutely Stunning Transformation Scene

For a movie that was released almost forty years ago, the special effects used are stunning and still hold up to this day. The makeup effects, as well as the camera work all, give the viewer an uncomfortable front row seat to view David’s agonizing transformation. There have been several on-screen werewolf transformations but none carry the weight that American Werewolf showcases.

The practical effects used still put many CGI moments to shame, even by today’s standards. And not to mention the emotionally bleak ending to the overall film, showcasing that even with the comedic aspects An American Werewolf In London is still a dark horror movie.

An American Werewolf In London is and will continue to be a horror classic. It blends horror and comedy almost seamlessly and still is able to achieve an utterly bleak ending. There may be too many werewolf films to list off, but for myself, An American Werewolf In London is the alpha male of werewolf films.

 

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‘Evil Dead’ Film Franchise Getting TWO New Installments

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It was a risk for Fede Alvarez to reboot Sam Raimi’s horror classic The Evil Dead in 2013, but that risk paid off and so did its spiritual sequel Evil Dead Rise in 2023. Now Deadline is reporting that the series is getting, not one, but two fresh entries.

We already knew about the Sébastien Vaniček upcoming film that delves into the Deadite universe and should be a proper sequel to the latest film, but we are broadsided that Francis Galluppi and Ghost House Pictures are doing a one-off project set in Raimi’s universe based off of an idea that Galluppi pitched to Raimi himself. That concept is being kept under wraps.

Evil Dead Rise

“Francis Galluppi is a storyteller who knows when to keep us waiting in simmering tension and when to hit us with explosive violence,” Raimi told Deadline. “He is a director that shows uncommon control in his feature debut.”

That feature is titled The Last Stop In Yuma County which will release theatrically in the United States on May 4. It follows a traveling salesman, “stranded at a rural Arizona rest stop,” and “is thrust into a dire hostage situation by the arrival of two bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty-or cold, hard steel-to protect their bloodstained fortune.”

Galluppi is an award-winning sci-fi/horror shorts director whose acclaimed works include High Desert Hell and The Gemini Project. You can view the full edit of High Desert Hell and the teaser for Gemini below:

High Desert Hell
The Gemini Project

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‘Invisible Man 2’ Is “Closer Than Its Ever Been” to Happening

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Elisabeth Moss in a very well-thought-out statement said in an interview for Happy Sad Confused that even though there have been some logistical issues for doing Invisible Man 2 there is hope on the horizon.

Podcast host Josh Horowitz asked about the follow-up and if Moss and director Leigh Whannell were any closer to cracking a solution to getting it made. “We are closer than we have ever been to cracking it,” said Moss with a huge grin. You can see her reaction at the 35:52 mark in the below video.

Happy Sad Confused

Whannell is currently in New Zealand filming another monster movie for Universal, Wolf Man, which might be the spark that ignites Universal’s troubled Dark Universe concept which hasn’t gained any momentum since Tom Cruise’s failed attempt at resurrecting The Mummy.

Also, in the podcast video, Moss says she is not in the Wolf Man film so any speculation that it’s a crossover project is left in the air.

Meanwhile, Universal Studios is in the middle of constructing a year-round haunt house in Las Vegas which will showcase some of their classic cinematic monsters. Depending on attendance, this could be the boost the studio needs to get audiences interested in their creature IPs once more and to get more films made based on them.

The Las Vegas project is set to open in 2025, coinciding with their new proper theme park in Orlando called Epic Universe.

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Jake Gyllenhaal’s Thriller ‘Presumed Innocent’ Series Gets Early Release Date

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Jake gyllenhaal presumed innocent

Jake Gyllenhaal’s limited series Presumed Innocent is dropping on AppleTV+ on June 12 instead of June 14 as originally planned. The star, whose Road House reboot has brought mixed reviews on Amazon Prime, is embracing the small screen for the first time since his appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street in 1994.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s in ‘Presumed Innocent’

Presumed Innocent is being produced by David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, and Warner Bros. It is an adaptation of Scott Turow’s 1990 film in which Harrison Ford plays a lawyer doing double duty as an investigator looking for the murderer of his colleague.

These types of sexy thrillers were popular in the ’90s and usually contained twist endings. Here’s the trailer for the original:

According to Deadline, Presumed Innocent doesn’t stray far from the source material: “…the Presumed Innocent series will explore obsession, sex, politics and the power and limits of love as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”

Up next for Gyllenhaal is the Guy Ritchie action movie titled In the Grey scheduled for release in January 2025.

Presumed Innocent is an eight-episode limited series set to stream on AppleTV+ starting June 12.

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