Schlock

Landis wrote the original draft for American Werewolf in London in the late 60s and shelved it for over a decade.

Landis later wrote, directed, and starred in his debut film Schlock, which developed a cult following.

He then... directed some successful comedies, the Kentucky Fried Movie, Animal House, and the Blues Brothers, before securing $10 million finances from Polygram Pictures for his American Werewolf in London that bridged the horror and comedy genre.

All right.

it was pretty close to fucking up the narrative.

And even as good as the effect, even if the effect looked 10 times better, like we've seen that effect so many times, you know, like, uh, like, uh, works best as an evolutionary chain from 2001 to John Landis' Schlock to this being in the middle of, like, say, Schlock and Teen Wolf.

Like, you know, so I didn't mind the way it looked in a bubble, but I felt like it fit with the rest of the movie.

Yeah, that's, you know, but on the flip side, it's it's sort of I think it's difficult to make this movie like you need an escalation, right? Like, I think it would be more difficult to have an escalation without these things bleeding over into the physical world.

Yeah, that little time lapse, like, okay, it's not quite as graphic as maybe as we're now used to post-American Werewolf.

So Landis wrote the first draft of American Werewolf aged 18 in 1969, but it was another comedy horror script of his, 1973's Schlock, with which he made his feature debut as a writer-director.

And of course, he went on to become known for his comedy movies like Animal House and The Blues Brothers.

And it was the success of these that led to American Werewolf being bankrolled, despite exec concerns about the tone of the film.

because I feel like I'm robbing for elsewhere in the episode.

Fair point.

So Baker and Landis had first worked together on Schlock and Landis had primed Baker for American Werewolf.

batting ideas back and forward about how the transformation might be realised.

But what happens when the horrific and the hilarious collide? Few filmmakers have mastered this delicate balance quite like John Landis.

From his artisanal debut with Schlock in 1973 to iconic masterpieces such as An American Werewolf in London, 1981, and the revolutionary music video Michael Jackson Thriller, 1983, landis has redefined modern genre cinema rejecting rigid labels he approaches comedy parody and satire with the same artistic seriousness and dignity demonstrating how real terror and absurd humor can organically coexist in issue three twenty six of la biennale di venezia magazine titled pandemonium and dedicated to the theme of parody Film critic Giulia Danilo Vallan sat down with Landis to unpack his relationship with monster movies, the supernatural and the mechanics of laughter.

Here, Landis reflects on his craft and discusses how the unique blend of comedy and terror truly came to life with an American werewolf in London.

Let's listen to his own words.