Fur flies with fresh clarity in this Blu-ray’d re-release of John Landis’ gigglesome gore-’em-up.
Viewers of an ’80s vintage will know star David Naughton’s Rick Baker-enabled man-to-wolf makeover too well for jaws to thunk floors, but other aspects benefit: blacks deepen for London at night, the moon-based songs pack extra oomph and Griffin Dunne’s tummy-churning make-up gains a renewed ‘ouch’ factor.
Talking of FX, a thick coat of nu-ray extras includes Baker’s warm reflections in I Walked With A Werewolf. Beware The Moon is the main monster, though, a doc corralling honest contribs from all the main players.
Dunne confesses to depression over his wolf-wrecked face; Landis, meanwhile, admits that early readers reckoned his script was either too scary to be funny or too funny to be scary. They were almost right: AAWIL isn’t always scary and the laughter is nervy, but it remains a savvy hybrid.
Naughton and Dunne play backpackers wolf-shredded on the misty moors. A shift to London ushers in a doomed love story; Naughton finds romance with Jenny Agutter but learns that a) he’s a lycanthrope and b) his garrulous, backfrom- the-dead buddy thinks he should die, too.
The film isn’t plot-perfect, sure. The build-up and bad dreams rock and Naughton’s first kills chill, but the end stretch is quite the pile-up.
Still, better this unruly mutt than... well, the sequel!
DVD Extras:
- Commentary
- Documentary
- Featurettes
- Outtakes
- Storyboards/stills
