As a special Halloween treat we are showing the iconic comedy horror film - An American Werewolf in London - directed by John Landis and with some scenes filmed locally!
The story tells of two American hitchikers who are on a walking tour of Britain when they are attacked by a werewolf whose existence is consistently denied by the locals. The film includes groundbreaking special effects from the days before CGI, when models, makeup and special effects animatronics were used to create the werewolf scenes.
Apparently, Michael Jackson had never heard of John Landis until he saw American Werewolf and he was so impressed that he asked Landis to direct his Thriller video. Landis only agreed if he could make it into a short film, rather than the usual promotional video - and the resulting 13 minute film changed music videos forever. It also had a massive influence on a whole generation of directors including the likes of Spike Jonze who made the music video into an industry and provided the opportunity for channels like MTV to develop. And if you have been to see Christopher Nolan's Oddysey you might notice a heavy influence of American Werewolf on the Circe scene with Samantha Morton. Nolan has avoided using CGI and utilises similar methods to John Landis in order to turn the soldiers into pigs.
Although the story involves the two characters arriving on the Yorkshire Moors, these scenes were actually filmed on the road by Hay Bluff to Capel y Ffin and the Slaughtered Lamb pub was in fact a house in Crickadarn.
Come and see for yourself on October 30th with our screening in the Great Hall. Bring a cushion.
