Back in 1981 John Landis put together one of the best werewolf movies ever made. His directorial talents, along with special effects legend Rick Baker’s transformation sequences, made An American Werewolf in London a timeless classic. Even with the hardcore terror that this movie inspires, it still manages to be funny and even aloof in some moments. 35 years later and we are still looking back at this masterpiece of cinema. We at Human Echoes are proud to say it will be the first in a brand new Five Horrific Facts series that will be coming out bi-weekly.

1. Those are real wolves.

When David Naughton is recovering from his first transformation at the zoo, he is naked and surrounded by wolves. There weren’t any special effects or angles being pulled here, only a naked man in the cold rain. The scene didn’t require the fast and graceful escape that it showed, but Naughton wanted away from the wolves as fast as possible.

2. Every song in the film is related to the moon.

Every song in the soundtrack is related to the moon. Whether it be for a sex scene with Van Morrison’s “Moondance” or a more somber rendition of Blue Moon by Sam Cooke, the film is littered with songs about the moon. While they did get to rights to “Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, they were not able to land Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London.” They also tried for Cat Steven’s “Moonshadow” but were turned down due to the movie’s R rating.

3. The Oscar for Makeup was created because of American Werewolf in London, with Rick Baker being its first winner.

The transformation scene alone took more than 30 special effects technicians and a week of filming. Upon first meeting the movie’s lead actor, Rick Baker apologized to David Naughton for what he planned to do to him. Naughton would spend 8 to 10 hours getting made up per day to only shoot for a few minutes. When the cast would break for lunch, he was left in a hole attached to a one of many body casts that would stretch and change for the scene. Each shot was meticulously planned and carried out, leading to the most memorable physical werewolf transformation to date.

4. The adult movie theater scene was originally set to be in a theater for children’s cartoons.

Upon arriving at the theater in Piccadilly Circus, the cast was surprised to find that it was a porno theater. The last time Landis had visited London the theater was playing cartoons for children. After a few rewrites they decided to run with the theater as it was, and to put in a special version of John Landis’s inside joke “See You Next Wednesday.” While the scene makes “See You Next Wednesday” look like a very poorly acted porn flick, he changes up the content to suit the scene. This fake film has been mentioned in Blues Brothers and The Twilight Zone, along with 14 other projects directed by Landis.

5. David Naughton fibbed about his dick during an audition.

Actors aren’t always honest during their auditions. Knowing that the character was Jewish and that there would be several nude sequences, John Landis asked David Naughton if he was circumcised. Wanting the part, David said he was. Well, when the director found out his lead man’s captain still had his hat, it was too late to change. With some movie majic and creative angles, this movie was to cover the dudity. Most of us are thankful for this.

That’s Five Horrific Facts for you about An American Werewolf in London. If you have any facts you’d like to add, or want to tell us about your thoughts on the movie, hit up the comments below!

—-

Tony Southcotte: Tony hails from the Rocky Mountains somewhere around the state of Colorado. Possibly raised by grizzly bears, this gritty denizen of the arena now spends most of his time grappling with Java updates and dysfunctional RAM. With not much fiction under his belt, it might seem tempting to bet against Mister Southcotte, but an impressive knowledge of everything from PVC pipe to psychedelic drugs makes Tony a storehouse of fiction waiting to hit the paper. Plus, you know, there’s the possibility of him ripping you apart like a grizzly bear.