Quote:
Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs  An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)
I hadn't seen this one since my late teens so thought it was worth a spin again, mainly as a friend had mentioned it in passing therefore forcing it to become stuck in a frontal recess of my brain, gnawing at me to revisit it.
As it began, I started to realise why I hadn't watched it again as none of its namesake predecessor's wit and charm were present, instead being replaced by shenanigans and cinderella-esque stalking. The effects are also very cheap looking and bear little resemblance to Landis' legendary transformation scenes of sixteen years prior.
Damn though if it didn't grow on me. Mocking eye-brow raising disdain gradually turned into grins and glee as it started to transform into a surprisingly likeable, fun romp, playing more for comedy than horror but still maintaining an air of the macabre at times throughout. It also flirts with some interesting (although not always successful ideas) including underground werewolf nightclubs that lure in unwitting tourists to be massacred, an experimental 'cure' for the lycanthropic state as well as a serum that brings upon the wolfish form irrelevant of whether the moon is full. There are also some adrenaline-fuelled wolfy action-set pieces, albeit marred by the aforementioned cheap looking effects.
Whilst 'Paris' is certainly no 'London', it's not without charm and if you can overcome the shaky start and set-aside what has come before (not always easy, I know) then this one can be a fairly fun ride if you let it. |
I think you sum it up quite well, Bizarre_Eye. I remember enjoying it at the cinema as a decent and enjoyable werewolf film and would have worked better with another title perhaps so as to discard any links with Landis' classic.
I think i only watched the vhs and dvd releases i bought the one time. Definitely time for a revisit.