AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN PARIS, AN
SYNOPSIS:
Three wise cracking, 20-something American college kids Andy (Tom
Everett-Scott), Brad (Vince Vieluf) and Chris (Phil Buckman)
arrive in Paris intent on serious fun. Like bungee jumping off
the Eifel Tower; but Serafine (Julie Delpy), a Parisian girl, is
also intent on jumping, only she has no bungee. Andy’s
impulsive bravado sends him after her, rescuing her mid-air. On
the ground, she rushes off and he is concussed by a beam on the
rebound. In hospital he awakes with a vision of her from the
previous night. He must find her. With a discarded suicide note
their only clue, the three guys set out to find this mystery
woman, the woman of his dream – and on every full moon, the
stuff of his worst nightmares, as it turns out. The search for
Serafine leads them into the ancient catacombs beneath Paris,
tunnels that criss cross the foundations of the city. Foreigners,
itinerants and those whom nodoby shall miss are suspicioulsy
disappearing at the time of every full moon. Inspector Leduc (Tom
Novembre) is on the case, but it’s not an easy job, even for
one with a Sherlock Holmes complex. The terror is unstoppable.
"A clever mixture of comedy and horror which succeeds in
being both funny and scary, An American Werewolf . . . possesses
an overriding eagerness to please that prevents it from becoming
off putting, and special effects freaks get more than their
money’s worth.’ That’s a quote from Variety’s
review of John Landis’ 1981 film, An American Werewolf in
London, the near-classic precursor to this
late-but-worth-the-wait sequel. Written and directed by a man
(Anthony Waller) whose biggest body of work is in tv commercials,
this new adventure shifts from London to Paris, but the plot
points and eagerness to entertain are the same. The SFX are not:
this is 15 years and a whole digital shift later, and some of the
effects work in this film (from animation to visual to digital
FX) is quite extraordinary. Maybe a trifle unsettling before
mealtime, but extraordinary. The undead, for example, who spring
a blood leek from their cheeks when attempting a whistle (and
worse, but I’ll spare you that); the transmutation
sequences; the opening eye-popper involving a life saving jump
from the top of the Eifel Tower - echoed in the new,
‘up’ ending achieved with a downward movement (I’m
being obtuse to preserve the surprise for you); and the inventive
lighting camera work when we see things from a werewolf’s
point of view. There are several nice touches in both the casting
and the gory-humour, while the suspense never lets up. By the
movie’s end, you can feel you’ve seen something;
your stomach muscles can relax."
Andrew L. Urban
"If you’re into horror, then this flick may capture
your heart in more ways than one. Far fetched with imaginative
flair, here’s a film that doesn’t take itself too
seriously, but gives an appealing light edge to the script. With
a genuinely exciting music score, American Werewolf is a well
paced film that expertly takes its audience on a trip of
anticipation, building tension and fear as it goes, culminating
in explosions of horror, blood-letting and werewolf thrills. Much
of the enjoyment is in the anticipation. And director Anthony
Waller knows how to tease and make his audience savour what is to
come. Julie Delpy as Serafine is bewitching; she is the gal whose
solution for relaxing Andy (once she has told him of his new
status) is unusual to say the least. Tom Everett Scott as Andy,
gives a most convincing performance, and is reminiscent of a
young Tom Hanks. Yes, there’s a little dip in the middle,
the plot gets a fraction muddled and it’s a trifle long, but
the skill of the film is how it manages to hold reality and
disbelief at bay. For the squeamish, there are a few totally
gross scenes: which are all counteracted by the humour. It’s
good entertainment for vampire film lovers, especially when the
moon is full."
Louise Keller
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CRITICAL COUNT
Favourable: 2
Unfavourable: 0
Mixed:0
____________________
See Andrew L. Urban's interview with TOM EVERETT SCOTT
AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN PARIS (M)
(US)
CAST: Julie Delpy, Tom Everett Scott, Vince Vieluf, Phil
Buckman, Julie Bowen, Pierre Cosso, Tom Novembre, Thierry
Lhermitte, Maria Machado
DIRECTOR: Anthony Waller
PRODUCER: Richard Claus
SCRIPT: Anthony Waller
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Egon Werdin
EDITOR: Peter R. Adam
MUSIC: Wilbert Hirsch
VISUAL EFFECTS ART DIRECTOR: Peter Lloyd
ANIMATION DIRECTOR: James Straus
DIGITAL EFFECTS: John Grower, Bruce Walters
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Matthias Kammermeier
RUNNING TIME: 102 minutes
AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTOR: REP
AUSTRALIAN RELEASE: January 29, 1998
AUSTRALIAN VIDEO DISTRIBUTOR: Becker Home Entertainment
AUSTRALIAN VIDEO RELEASE: May 27, 1998
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