An American Werewolf In London is a classic horror film, bringing the fog and castles atmosphere of the Universal monster movies of the ’30 and ’40s to early ’80s London, all set to a soundtrack, what else, songs about the moon. It’s one of director John Landis’ crowning achievements, and a remake would be a tricky project for anyone to take on. A recent announcement reveals that it won’t be just anyone taking over as writer and director: An American Werewolf in London is now officially a family business.
Max Landis, best known for writing Chronicle and American Ultra, is taking over the remake for Universal. This will be only Landis’ second feature film as a director, following the comedy Me Him Her, which had a limited theatrical release earlier this year. The project is still in its early stages, and it’s not clear whether it’ll be a modern take on the idea or be set in the original period. This won’t be the first attempt at extending the franchise: 1997’s An American Werewolf In Paris featured American bungee jumpers running afoul of the daughter of the couple in the original movie.
Son or not, the original is a tough act to follow, widely beloved among horror fans it’s the rare film to balance laughs and scares and is rightly considered a high water mark for the horror genre in the 1980s. Still, take a moment to pity Landis: If this goes wrong somehow, he’s got a long span of awkward Thanksgivings in front of him.
(via Deadline)
