An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)

In 1981 the horror genre got one of its most influential offerings in the form of John Landis’ dark horror comedy An American Werewolf in London, arguably containing the best werewolf transformations ever put to film, then sixteen years later we got a sequel that left us asking, “Was it worth the wait?”

The sequel centres on American tourist Andy McDermott (Tom Everett Scott) and his escapades through Paris, where he stumbles into a nightmarish world of Parisian werewolves. The film opens with Andy and his two friends, Brad (Vince Vieluf) and Chris (Phil Buckman), who are on some kind of European daredevil tour where you gain points for performing outlandish stunts. While they’re out exploring Paris, these thrill-seekers decide to bungee jump off the Eiffel Tower. It’s here that our hero, Andy, inadvertently saves a young woman named Serafine Pigot (Julie Delpy), who is also attempting to jump from the tower, but not in the extreme sport kind of way, more the “End it All” sort of way. Captivated by her mysterious demeanour, Andy becomes determined to find Serafine again, but after tracking her down, he discovers she is hiding a dark secret—she’s a werewolf.

 

Well…nobody’s perfect.

It turns out that Serafine’s affliction stems from a bloodline of cursed individuals, and she fears she may endanger those around her, particularly Andy, who seems increasingly smitten. As the story unfolds, Andy’s interest in Serafine leads him deeper into the werewolf underworld of Paris. One night, Andy and his friends are lured to an underground nightclub, “Club de la Lune,” where they are ambushed by a group of werewolves who want to increase their numbers by feasting on unsuspecting tourists. In the chaos, Andy is attacked and bitten, thereby infecting him with lycanthropy. And we must ask the question, “Can true love survive in the face of such adversity?” Sadly, I couldn’t have cared less. Instead of generating chemistry or tension, their interactions are so painfully forced that you wonder if they even like each other, let alone if there’s a cursed love story at play.

 

Beware of supernatural STDs.

What follows is standard werewolf stuff, with Andy starting to experience unusual symptoms, such as heightened senses, aggression, and uncontrollable transformations during the full moon, not to mention murdering tourists and police detectives. As he comes to grips with his new reality, he realizes he’s now part of a werewolf conspiracy involving an organized pack, that includes Serafine’s stepfather, who plans to continue transforming humans into werewolves. He also has to deal with the ghosts of American tourist Amy Finch (Julie Bowen), who wants him to kill himself so that she can stop being an undead spirit. We also have Brad’s ghost, who pops in and out of the movie to drop some new werewolf lore. The biggest addition to this is the fact that you can, apparently, cure lycanthropy by eating the heart of the werewolf that bit you. Sure, why not?

 

“Do either of you have a clue as to what’s going on?”

Stray Observations:

• The opening credits state, “Based on Characters Created by John Landis in An American Werewolf in London” but no characters from that film appear in this sequel.
• Does anybody else think bungee jumping off the top of the Eiffel Tower is an exceedingly stupid and a most likely fatal idea?
• The eyes of the werewolves in this movie have cat or fox-like vertical slit pupils. Wolves have round pupils. Come on guys, at least get your werewolf biology right.
• This sequel changes up the mythology of the werewolf from the first one; in this outing you are super-strong in human form and drink smoothies made of raw human hearts. Not to mention becoming more bipedal at times.
• Both Amy and a police detective are killed by Andy when he goes all wolf-man, but only Amy becomes a “rotting sidekick” while the detective vanishes from the movie. Why didn’t he make the cut as a spiritual advisor?
• If you want to watch a better movie that deals with a werewolf cult? Check out Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf. It’s gloriously bad, but also a lot of fun.

 

This film could really have used Sybil Danning.

Without a doubt, one of the film’s biggest shortcomings was its over-reliance on CGI effects, which, while innovative for the time, have not aged well. The transformations lack the visceral impact of Rick Baker’s iconic makeup and practical effects from the original, with these CGI werewolves looking almost cartoonish, stripping away the fear factor that made the original’s transformation scene so terrifying. Rather than inducing terror, these computer-generated werewolves were futile in bringing any sense of horror to the table, instead, they undercut each moment, as the cartoonish CGI failed to create any real sense of a threat.

 

Even Scooby-Doo and Shaggy wouldn’t find these things scary.

Unfortunately, while the CGI may have been thin the characters themselves were even thinner. Andy is likable enough but underdeveloped, and the chemistry between him and Serafine is surface-level at best, reducing what should be a compelling supernatural romance to an awkward fling. Serafine, meanwhile, is shrouded in mystery, but instead of intrigue, she comes across as half-heartedly written, with motivations and a backstory that are too loosely connected to the plot. Despite Julie Delpy’s talent, her character feels out of place, unable to bring any true depth to the story. And while the idea of exploring werewolf lore in new contexts was interesting, the execution felt half-baked, leaving the cult subplot more distracting than compelling.

 

How is it possible to make a werewolf cult this boring?

There is also the issue of tone. Where An American Werewolf in London found the right balance of humour and horror, this entry seems uncertain of its own identity, often veering into slapstick without warning. Certain sequences try to evoke comedy through bizarre stunts and jokes, which only come off as out-of-place distractions, and it’s this inconsistency in tone that leaves you wondering if you should laugh or be frightened, achieving neither effectively. This movie has no idea what it wants to be. Is it a horror comedy? A love story? A coming-of-age tale about American bros in Europe? You can almost hear the filmmakers scratching their heads mid-production, throwing in slapstick one moment, attempting romance the next, and then suddenly expecting us to feel scared.

 

Even werewolf-on-werewolf action couldn’t save this movie.

In the end, An American Werewolf in Paris is an uninspiring sequel that failed to capture the magic of its predecessor, instead, it leaned into clichéd horror tropes resulting in a film that has few scares, little heart, and even less charm. Ultimately, this werewolf offering is an unfortunate example of a sequel that misreads what made its predecessor so memorable, offering instead a patchwork of horror and humour that never quite meshes.