An American Werewolf in London
My first introduction to the werewolf.
One of the
first horror films that I watched an American werewolf in London has stuck with
me since for several reasons; the breath taking transformation scene from human
to wolf, and the unnatural howl on the mores. Before watching this film I was
relatively unaware of the werewolf legend, yet the intriguing concept of a
clean cut human could go through the metamorphosis from human to beast has
become an integral theme within my practice.
To me it
would seem that the ending scene in Piccadilly circus where the wolf rampages
through the urban environment racking up the kill count as with most horror
film final acts, is a metaphorically look at society’s fear of the natural world reclaiming
humanity therefore forcing the human conditions evolution and development to
regress.
One of the
greatest scenes from the film is the first encounter upon the mores, in which
we barely see the wolf, yet the unnatural howl/roar builds up all the suspense
needed, this sound for me at least is one of the most memorable sounds in movie
history. After watching the documentary remembering an American werewolf in
London, I found that this howl was created by merging the howls of a grey wolf
a Doberman and the roar of an elephant which was then played in reverse, this
process therefore created the roar of a beast which was completely unnaturally
and therefore unsettling for the audience.
