John Landis (Part One)

The Writer/Director talks about monsters in general and the strange encounter that led to An American Werewolf in London

John Landis, photographed by Bret Curry.

by Kurt Sayenga

JOHN LANDIS is famous for directing the big, noisy hit comedies Animal House, The Blue Brothers, Trading Places, and Coming to America. But Landis’ masterpiece – a film that keeps rising in esteem with each passing year – is An American Werewolf in London, which he wrote and directed. In many ways, Werewolf is Landis’ most personal film, skillfully blending dark humor and horror to subtly express the anxiety of being a young Jew traveling through Europe, where reminders of racist pogroms are inescapable. In part one of this interview, Landis discusses the monster genre and the genesis of his cinema classic.

THE MEANING OF MONSTERS

KURT: What’s the appeal of monsters?

LANDIS: There are certain universal fears - pain, death, hunger, disfigurement. And they are dealt with in horror films really directly. Much more so than in other genres, except the Western perhaps.

KURT: What do monsters mean to you?

LANDIS: Monsters are metaphors. So yo…