An American Werewolf in London or The Howling

[Gates of Janus]

I can't believe we are arguing over the depth of two werewolf movies...

It comes down to delivery I guess. The contrast of softly playing "blue moon" during that horrific transformation sequence was brilliant. The Howling lacks anything close to that level of cinematography.

Add to that, better acting, better backdrop, better cinematography/lighting/effects, soundtrack A much better pace to the movie. The attack sequences don't show much and are not drawn out into cheeseville.

Add weird moments like the demon nazi dream sequence, seeing himself hunting a deer, as he slowly descends into madness...the signature wolf howl. Keeping the wolf on all 4's so it could relate to real life animals and fears as opposed to a two legged fairy tale style creature. His slowly rotting friend visiting him periodically throughout the movie...

Maybe the howling was trying to be the shawshank redemption of werewolf movies, but it failed miserably on delivery.

That scene you linked that was awesome? really? Why would I even remotely be scared of a werewolf when it can't even quickly kill a helpess woman who's trapped in a small room with it??? Remember, I am watching these movies to be scared...not for some deep meaningful story to be told here.

If that situation was in AWIL she would have been shredded apart, and we would most likely see little of the action. And that's how it should be. Werewolfs are scary, you don't want to be locked in a room with one...but in the howling, meh...doesn't matter so much, you'll be fine with a flash light because their eyes are super sensitive to light.

And this is just my breakdown of what the werewolf does. That scene cutting back to the phone conversation with the policechief? Completely breaks any tension that the werewolf scene was trying to create. It actually starts treading on the realm of comedy...but not the good comedy kind...more the "this movie is a cheesy joke" kind of comedy.


AWIL all day every day, and most posters in this thread agree with me.

don't really give a shit about the music played during a transformation

no one said you would be scared of a werewolf killing a woman. that is just a cool scene.
the howling does have more scares. i don't think AWIL had any scares in it.

what was the message of AWIL? since it is so deep?

 

[Linkuei]

they don't both show the full werewolf?

AWIL does not show the transformation in a very well lit set?

the things i said about the general parts of both movies are not right?

have you seen either of these movies?

I've seen both my friend.

 

[WinterSoldier]

I am going with An American Werewolf because I like the story line a lot more than The Howling.

 

[Hogey]

An American werewolf in London, it's to me much more entertaining and I think the nurse in it is a hot piece of ass.

 

[Drytoast]

don't really give a shit about the music played during a transformation

no one said you would be scared of a werewolf killing a woman. that is just a cool scene.
the howling does have more scares. i don't think AWIL had any scares in it.

what was the message of AWIL? since it is so deep?

To say "I don't give a shit about insert what's great about the movie here" is kind of childish and close minded.

Those little things I pointed out matter. That's what draws the majority of audiences towards AWIL and not The Howling.

A great soundtrack helps to set the mood. It's every bit as important as cinemtography.

AWIL doen't have any scares in it? What the hell are you talking about? Now you sound like you are trolling. Here's a clue to the first scare; at the start of the film when they are running from a wild dog they can hear and not see, David falls and the audience expects it to be him to get attacked. Instead, the mood is lightened by Jack saying something witty, which relaxes the audience...at which time the werewolf attacks the person you least suspected. That's a scare. Doesn't matter if it didn't scare you.

BTW that scene NOT showing what was chasing them was also a brilliant choice. The audience can only hear the werewolf's howls and growls as it gets closer, they are only told about what it looks like through the actors dialogue. It's only revealed on the attack! And only the head in very quick cuts. This forces the audience to use their imagination again, which is going to be better than anything they would have been shown in the movie. It should also be noted that the two main characters are also staying true to character, behaving as any one of us would in the same situation. Scared, and yet trying to make light of the situation by saying jokes.



Had this movie been made with CGI, The audience would have been spoiled with some form of CGI imagery, and it would have killed the mood by giving too much information to the viewer.

Now again, that scene you linked is terrible. If the scene isn't there to make the audience intense, then I assume they were going for comedy? Like Evil Dead 2? If that's the case then they are closer to hitting that mark then to be a horror/thriller film. I'm not sure what the intent was.

And finally, AWIL didn't really have a message. I guess it was more of a tragedy love tale? None of these movies have a message. It's not what they are about and they don't need a message to be great. The genre is more about the ride then the message.

 

[Archie Goodwin]

Books are for imagination, movies are for pictures.

 

[Drytoast]

Books are for imagination, movies are for pictures.

Not seeing the shark in Jaws, was more terrifying then if they showed the shark.

The shark not working, forcing Spielberg to either use the POV of the shark, or those floating yellow barrels which gave you a sense to where the shark was, is more terrifying then if we saw the shark.

In the opening attack on the swimmer, we only see her reaction to the shark. And our imagination fills in the blanks as to what monstrous violence is happening under the water.



He, and many other actors and directors have admitted this. In that same sense, not seeing much of the werewolf in this movie, is part of what makes it so great.



When I watch this shit

[YT]5TVRqIT9ge8[/YT]

I'm almost ready to laugh...but the intent, I think, was to make me feel intense or worried for the woman.

 

[sleepwalk]

An American Werewolf in London.

I like both films but this is like asking to choose between The Goonies and Monster Squad. One is an undeniable classic and the other is a pretty fun movie.

John Landis, known for his comedies, as director (and writer) gave the entire film a unique pace and style which set it apart from other horror films and allowed the comedic elements and romantic subplot to blend in seamlessly.

 

[Archie Goodwin]

Not seeing the shark in Jaws, was more terrifying then if they showed the shark.

Jaws only works because Spielberg is Fucking SPIELBERG.

Okay, to be fair, for the technology of the time, seeing the shark would have sucked - as such, much of JAWS comes off as a thriller rather than a "horror" movie. No question it works, and works quite well. Also no question why they didn't try the same thing with Deep Blue Sea (for example).

My point really is, as a kid seeing both movies, I came away from The Howling feeling terrified - whereas I came away from An American Werewolf in London feeling disappointed, and more than a little ripped-off.

And, btw, JAWS > AAWwiL

 

[Drytoast]

Jaws only works because Spielberg is Fucking SPIELBERG.

Okay, to be fair, for the technology of the time, seeing the shark would have sucked - as such, much of JAWS comes off as a thriller rather than a "horror" movie. No question it works, and works quite well. Also no question why they didn't try the same thing with Deep Blue Sea (for example).

My point really is, as a kid seeing both movies, I came away from The Howling feeling terrified - whereas I came away from An American Werewolf in London feeling disappointed, and more than a little ripped-off.

And, btw, JAWS > AAWwiL

Speilberg's original intent was infact to show the shark. It's only a happy accident that he was forced not too, due to the robot shark not working for most of the picture.

I guess you and I had different experiences as a kid. I watched AWIL at around the age of 9. And it scared me so much I didn't want to go into the basement under the stairs because I was sure the werewolf is down there.

The howling came across as more of a Friday the 13th hack and slash movie. Entertaining, but not really everlasting nor did it hit a nerve.

All I know is what most people have said in this thread and over the internet;

"These two movies are not even on the same level."

I'm only explaining why the majority feel this way.

 

[sleepwalk]

I'm actually going to go so far as to say:

An American Werewolf in London > Wolfen > The Howling

 

[Archie Goodwin]

Speilberg's original intent was infact to show the shark. It's only a happy accident that he was forced not too, due to the robot shark not working for most of the picture.

Yeah, I know - and I agree, that would have sucked. The film is pretty much a masterpiece - in fact, the only really crappy parts are the ones showing the mechanical shark. Great film, just watched it again last month.

 

[Wrath621]

Yeah, I know - and I agree, that would have sucked. The film is pretty much a masterpiece - in fact, the only really crappy parts are the ones showing the mechanical shark. Great film, just watched it again last month.

This should have made the movie IMO

 

[Drytoast]

Yeah, I know - and I agree, that would have sucked. The film is pretty much a masterpiece - in fact, the only really crappy parts are the ones showing the mechanical shark. Great film, just watched it again last month.

I didn't mind the shark sequences except the last scene where it swallows quint.

The shark reveal in that movie was fantastic.

Horror films now a days, could stand to practice NOT showing the audience everything, and force them to use their imaginations. It's why we favor older movies to these newer ones.

 

[Archie Goodwin]

I guess you and I had different experiences as a kid. I watched AWIL at around the age of 9. And it scared me so much I didn't want to go into the basement under the stairs because I was sure the werewolf is down there.

I had a similar (different, but similar) with The Howling. Don't get me wrong, I think AAWwiL is a great movie. It's just to me one is a horror film, the other is a horror comedy - and horror movies, much like the internet, is serious business. :icon_chee

 

[Drytoast]

This should have made the movie IMO

LOL at Quint's last expression on that clip. I can see why it was removed though. I'm guessing the intent of the scene was to showcase that Quint's character is a little "off" on social interaction...but it's not really powerful enough, and drags the movie's pacing down a bit.

That's my guess anyways. Maybe he just had to shave time, and this scene isn't really needed.

 

[the ambush]

IMO An American Werewolf in London was a better movie.

I will give The Howling props for the great setting and atmosphere though.

 

[BenRichards]

American werewolf is the better movie overall but the howling is a better horror movie. Some parts of the howling are still kind of creepy. Awil is pretty much a satire with gore

 

[BisexualMMA]

I think I'm the only one that thinks the shark in Jaws actually holds up pretty well.

 

[raty tat tat]

American Werewolf in London by far.

Great mix and horror and comedy, even
though it's an '80s movie that transformation
is far better then then what CGI can to do
today IMO.

With today's advanced make-up techniques
I'd love scene done this day and age.