The wolf that bit me

Went to a late-night screening of An American Werewolf in London on Friday (Feb 28) and glad I did.

"Seen the movie before?" I asked the young couple sitting close by, before the program began. One said he had, the other said she hadn't."

"You're in for a treat, then," I said to her.

"How about you?" They asked.

"Many times," I boasted. "First time on the big screen, though."

I don't remember ever seeing the film in a cinema, only on TV, so the treat was bound to be mine too. Most of the many times I had seen it before were with my children, none of whom were available to join me for this special, one-off screening. So it was a lone night out, which was fine. I didn't want to miss this rare opportunity to see a cinema great on a cinema screen rather than a TV screen.

Despite the dated special effects, perhaps because of them, American Werewolf has gotta be the best ever werewolf horror-comedy ever. Why? I asked myself, as I sipped a tumbler of gin and tonic in the third row (of four) in the boutique auditorium. Only six other seats were taken.

When it comes to horror, I am quite definitely a wimp. Attending a red-carpet event for the Nosferatu remake (thankfully not for the actual preview screening) last year, I heard the theme music enough times to be far too freaked out to watch the film itself.

Yet horror is a genre I enjoy... within limits. This must be one of the main attractions of the film. It doesn't push my tolerance margins too far. Sure, it has plenty of gore, but not gratuitous or OTT. All in proper context. Sure, it has its shock, jump-in-your-seat moments, but none so jumpy as to put me in need of an AED. And by latter-day standards, the horror is uber-lame.

Overall, the photography is breathtaking. Particularly the wolf POV shots, taken low to the ground, simulating the movement of a wolf through the forest undergrowth. It is not hard to imagine you are that wolf, padding through the woody terrain in search of a victim.

One of the best features of the film has to be the music score. Neatly stitched together with moon-related anthems: Blue Moon, Moondance, Bad Moon Rising, had me tapping my feet. And of course, the love story core of the script had me tugging my heartstrings and blubbing my sopping wet eyes, quietly in my lonesome theatre seat.

To me, the measure of a movie is not so how much it appeals to my intellect as how it makes me feel, on a raw emotional level. Angry, sad, elated? Whatever the emotion, it has to be a real connection. An interesting film? Yeah, sure, if that's what you are in to. But a film that opens the floodgates of tears means more to me than one that makes we want to read a philosophy book. Give me The Lion King any time, although I must admit I am quite partial to a bit of Battleship Potemkin or perhaps a soupçon of Ingmar Bergman to tickle my cinematographic palate.

Sitting in that little screening room, that diminutive movie theatre, with only 40 seats and only seven of them taken, I was in awe. I was enraptured by the entire performance. Enraptured? Surely you exaggerate, Ray? Well, maybe, but it was certainly an emotionally fulfilling experience. When I go see a movie, I am not seeing it as a film buff. I couldn't tell you that it was made in the same stable as Kentucky Fried Movie (at least not until I had seen that connection in the Wikipedia entry). I can only tell you what I saw. Just like when I see a work of art. It's all in the experience of the art, particularly in the emotional experience.

That's what makes this movie such a satisfying watch for me. The music, the photography, from bleak Yorkshire moors (in the cold and windy North of England) to a seedy sex cinema in London's West End. The emotional connection between a lonely American Jewish boy, who has just lost his best friend, and a posh-voiced English nurse, who lives alone in a London one-room apartment.

The nurse, played by Jenny Agutter, is the kind of English beauty who speaks with an accent I imagine many Americans think is typically 'English'. A million miles from my own accent but no doubt enthralling in its own right.

These days, Ms Agutter plays an elderly convent sister in the TV drama "Call the Midwife." To me, every bit as glamorous as her American Werewolf role. Jenny Agutter is without doubt on my list of 'stars I would like to have a dinner date with.'

So, we have a horror movie, a comedy, a love story, a photographic and cinematographic extravaganza, and as poetic a film experience as you are ever likely to see.

If you have yet to see this 1981 film, you are in for a real treat when eventually you do. Take some time to do so. Whether you see it in a movie theatre, at home on a streaming service, or you buy an old CD or VHS and have some legacy hardware to watch it on. This may well be the best film you have ever seen.