An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Anthony Waller

Writers (WGA):

John Landis (characters in An American Werewolf in London)
Tim Burns (written by) ...

Release Date:

25 December 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Romance | Thriller | Comedy

Tagline:

Things are about to get a little hairy.

Plot:

An American man unwittingly gets involved with werewolves who have developed a serum allowing them to transform at will.

Plot Keywords:

Paris | Werewolf | Death | Morphing | Spirit

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Tom Everett Scott	...	Andy McDermott
Julie Delpy	...	Serafine Pigot
Vince Vieluf	...	Brad
Phil Buckman	...	Chris
Julie Bowen	...	Amy Finch
Pierre Cosso	...	Claude
Thierry Lhermitte	...	Dr. Thierry Pigot
Tom Novembre	...	Inspector LeDuc
Maria Machado	...	Chief Bonnet
Ben Salem Bouabdallah	...	Detective Ben Bou
Serge Basso	...	Officer with Flashlight
Charles Maquignon	...	Bouncer
Jochen Schneider	...	Lycanthrope
Alan Mckenna	...	Lycanthrope
Hervé Sogne	...	Lycanthrope

Also Known As:

American Werewolf 2
Le loup-garou de Paris (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for werewolf/violence and gore, and for some sexuality/nudity.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA | UK | Luxembourg | Netherlands | France

Language:

English | French

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KNT | Brazil:16 (DVD rating) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | Germany:16 (w) | Mexico:B | Netherlands:16 (video premiere) | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #35147) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Company:

Avrora Media

Trivia:

John Landis was the original choice to direct this sequel.

Goofs:

Continuity: After fighting the werewolves in the crypt, Andy goes back to the house and he has a cut on his right shoulder. However, when the werewolves turn up, he runs down the stairs and the cut has now disappeared.

Quotes:

Andy McDermott: Great. Come to Paris and check out les drains.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Cinderella (1950)

Soundtrack:

Downtime

Dumb and Unnecessary

It took me nine years to finally see this film. Back in 1997 it sounded like a dreadful idea. However, now, with a Blockbuster Video movie pass, I can take chances on certain films without actually having to 'pay' for them.

It's a dumb film. What made "American Werewolf in London" work was it was more of a serious film than a comedy, and the comedy was wonderfully dark, which added well to the horror element. "Paris" seems aimed toward attention-deficit teenagers, though it's rated R. The lead character is too goony to be of much interest or to be taken seriously, plus he'd have been killed in his early-on rescue scene; therefore, the film doesn't even try to make the unrealistic set-up seem realistic. (You can't buy into a drama or horror film if the film doesn't strive to be true in its own world.) CGI werewolves aren't scary. "London" has outdated effects, of course, but they're still wonderful to watch for the audience is being treated to a painful and prolonged transformation. A real-seeming, nice guy -- not some bland goofball -- is going through something horrific, and the special effects strive for realism and therefore one can buy into the transformation, all the while knowing it's not real. Turning an actor into a cartoon werewolf is not engaging and therefore there's nothing to buy into.

The ending is one one of those "ha-ha" wrap-things-up-in-a-bow scenes that plagued so many horror/suspense films of the 90s, such as the also-unnecessary "The Vanishing", a weak remake of a gut-wrenching Dutch film.