An American Werewolf in London Zoo

In a rush to escape the hoards of living dead populating Camden on last Sunday’s Halloween night, I decided to take a short cut. Granted it was only across a car park but as anyone who has seen John Landis’ cult classic American Werewolf in London will tell you, it’s always best to stick to the roads, especially on a full moon. Thankfully it wasn’t a full moon.

Peering through the trees, I finally saw my destination – the Slaughtered Lamb. But surely the Slaughtered Lamb only exists in the fictional town of East Proctor in that werewolf film? Not tonight. Tonight, launching Volkswagen’s new series of film location-based screenings, See Film Differently, the iconic pub that introduced a couple of lost American tourists to their hirsute fate has been relocated from those treacherous Northern moors to the slightly more hospitable location of London Zoo.

American Werewolf in London (Zoo) was the first in a series of immersive screenings that will be taking place in iconic film locations around the country encouraging us to, well, see film differently.

As dark began to fall, we were taken on a tour around the zoo to see the various locations directors have used in some of our favourite films including About a Boy, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, Withnail and I and, of course, American Werewolf in London. Gathered by the emu and wallaby enclosure, we were introduced to the zoo keeper who advised us to discredit any rumours of indecent exposures and strange lupine activity that may have been centred around the zoo. Cue ripples of smug laughter throughout the crowd; it’s nice to be in the company of other film geeks.

Twenty years ago, David Naughton made his frantic dash past a startled old woman, and a no doubt now traumatised young child, in this very spot in a desperate attempt to cover his modesty after waking up in the wolf enclosure at London Zoo following his new lunar escapades.

For anyone who didn’t appreciate the reference, all was made clear in the specially curated exhibition following the tour featuring original props, production shots, story boards and an amazing mural by Joe Wilson. The exhibition also showed the incredible contraption created by mechanical experts Rick Baker and Bill Sturgeon that produced the werewolf’s face stretch effect in the now infamous transformation sequence. I always judge a werewolf movie by its transformation scene and while American Werewolf may be over two decades old, it’s amazing to see how the scene that remains as terrifying and unmatched as when it first traumatised audiences in 1981 was made without any CGI.

After an atmospheric walk back through the pitch black zoo, it was finally time for the feature film we had all been waiting for. Introducing the film was Paul Davis, director of Beware the Moon, an upcoming documentary on the making of the film, who treated us to clips from the documentary including a fascinating insight into the final climactic scene where the wolf is unleashed onto an unsuspecting Piccadilly Circus.

Judging by the ensuing applause as the credits rolled to the sound of Creedence Clear Water Revival’s Bad Moon Rising, it was clear that this is cinema like you’ve never experienced before. Whether you were a hardcore fan or newcomer to the film, See Film Differently made sure you left with a new appreciation and excitement for cinema and also equal intrigue as to what they are going to do next!

Make sure you keep an eye on the website for more details on the next screening and how you too could see film differently.

American Werewolf in London took place at London Zoo on October 31, 2010, as part of Volkswagen’s See Film Differently series.