An American Werewolf in Paris (Anthony Waller, 1997)

I love digging up movies people doesn't dare to talk about nowadays - or when the movie was  released. I don't do it deliberately, I promise, but I've always focused on NOT hating movies and that means I kinda like a lot of stuff that most other people seem to loath.It's important to look beyond what the mainstream critics say and trust your gut feeling. An American Werewolf in Paris might not be the best werewolf-movie ever made, but believe me: it's not even close to the crappiness that some people will try to make you believe. It doesn't have John Landis doing the directing - but shouldn't we be happy for that, thinking about what he's done over the years since the first one? Instead it's Anthony Waller doing the job. So who's he?

He's the deeply talented director behind 1994's Mute Witness, the snuff-themed thriller starring Alec Guinness uncredited in a scene that was shot withut Waller had no idea how to use it! He just took the chance and when Guinness finally agreed to star in something - so they shot it on the way to the airport when Guinness was leaving the country. He didn't even need to get out of the car. I like movie makers like that! Mute Witness became a some kind of hit and suddenly Waller had a lot more money on his hands. He took over the project to make a sequelt to An American Werewolf in London and the rest... was a a fiasco, the history says anyway. It cost 22 million to make and it took in a total gross of 26 million, so hopefully the earned back the marketing budget to - and who knows how much it made on home video?

This time three American tourists arrives to Paris for fun, drinking, girl chasing - the stuff American tourists do when they come to Europe, but we all know what usually happens. They die. After a crazy adventure in the Eiffel Tower our hero Andy (Tom Everett Scott) saves a girl from taking suicide (no other than Julie Delpy). After trying to find her - she escapes directly - they end up at a club, and then something terrifying happens. It's a club run by werewolves who only wants to kill and eat American tourists - to stop the Americanization of the rest of the world! 

And of course Andy gets bitten, becomes a werewolf himself, two characters turns up as cynical ghosts and demands that he kills the werewolves that killed them etc. 

It's not that bad at all.

Really.

Sure, it doesn't hold the darkness of the first movie. Not at all, but the comedy works pretty well and so do the actors. Waller uses the European locations (I think most of it actually was shot in Amsterdam, because his company was based there) to maximum and gives it a wonderful, light-hearted, gothic feeling among old houses, graveyards and legends. There's a couple of excellent scenes, up there with the best. My favorite is the amputated werewolf in the basement, still damn creepy! The attack scenes are intensive and quite spectacular, but could have been gorier. They're bloody, but hey...I want my gore!

I remember when it came how some people - probably comparing it with Jurassic Park (all movies seems be compared with that one!) - and whining about the CG werewolves. I've seen every kind of animation in my days, and I need to state that the creatures in this one actually holds up pretty well. They're far from perfect, but they work! The scene where one of the monsters jumps up from a water-filled stone coffin (or is it a fontain of some kind?) and shakes the water of the fur actually looks very good. Believe it or not. 

Not as sharp and edgy as Landis original movie... and there's really no reason to compare them to each other. If the first one didn't exist this one would be considered a much better movie. Waller's directing is great, it have a lot of spectacular sequences and a fun message of killing the American culture in the rest of the world! ;) It's just very good, silly entertainment. 

Give it a new chance. 

Comments

[Fredrik]

I saw it once, when it was first released on VHS. Didn't like it then, don't remember much of it now. I'd like to revisit it someday and see if my opinion about it has changed over the years.

I actually think the title was the biggest problem of the movie. Had it been called something else, it could have avoided the comparisons with Landis movie and perhaps done better at the box office. People probably had too high expectations on this movie (I know I did).

[Megatron]

"It doesn't have John Landis doing the directing - but shouldn't we be happy for that, thinking about what he's done over the years since the first one?"

Awww.....come on now Fred, Landis has done ok.....just look at Spies Like Us (1985), Innocent Blood (1992), and.....I thought that Masters of Horror:Deer Woman was entertaining, same thing with Burke and Hare (2010).

"Instead it's Anthony Waller doing the job. So who's he?"

I only seen this film by him.

"He took over the project to make a sequelt to An American Werewolf in London and the rest... was a a fiasco, the history says anyway. It cost 22 million to make and it took in a total gross of 26 million, so hopefully the earned back the marketing budget to - and who knows how much it made on home video?"

Yeah, exactly......the bank/house always wins, or in this case the studio.

"Sure, it doesn't hold the darkness of the first movie. Not at all, but the comedy works pretty well and so do the actors."

I remember it to be very uneven.....but it had more comedy then horror.

"I remember when it came how some people - probably comparing it with Jurassic Park (all movies seems be compared with that one!) - and whining about the CG werewolves."

I think they worked pretty well, of course, the werewolfs in Cursed(2005), Van Helsing(2004) looked better but technology has moved on since this film.

"a fun message of killing the American culture in the rest of the world! ;)"

Yeah, just like Hostel 1&2.

"Give it a new chance."

Maybe, if you do reviews of the following films; Ginger Snaps 1-3, Le poil de la bête(2010), Skinwalkers(2006)etc.

Then maybe I might do it......good review Phred.