The landscape of horror remakes is a tricky realm to navigate. While some of them are downright terrible, others actually turn out well when handled correctly. On that note, John Landis' An American Werewolf in London is one of the next major horror properties to get the remake treatment, with his son Max currently hard at work on the film's script. It turns out the elder Landis worries about the prospect of a remake, and he even tried to talk his son out of it. John Landis explained:
I advised him not to do it. I think he's putting himself in a bad position. My son is brilliant, he really is, and he wants to do it. So what am I going to say? No? I know it won't be as bad as An American Werewolf In Paris, which was shit. So, I don't know. He's a great writer.
John Landis' aversion to a remake of An American Werewolf in London doesn't seem rooted in territoriality. Instead, he seems more concerned about the inherent difficulty of pulling off a remake such as this. The property already tried to delve into full-blown franchise territory with the widely maligned An American Werewolf in Paris in 1997. And given the lackluster reception that film received, it is arguably hard to justify another dip in that particular creative well.
Then there's the fact that the original An American Werewolf in London has arguably become one of the most iconic films of the 20th century, horror genre or otherwise. It has become widely regarded as one of the most famous and groundbreaking horror movies in existence, and it won the first ever Academy Award for Best Make-Up -- an award which it definitely earned, given the utterly insane (not to mention gut-wrenching) transformation sequence.
With that said, John Landis does seem to have faith in his son's ability to pull off the remake, even if he thinks it's a bad idea. The delightfully outspoken Max Landis has already proven himself as a successful writer with his work on Chronicle, so he's not an untested and unknown quantity in the Hollywood landscape. John Landis already told Collider that he's not involved in his son's work on the remake of his 1981 classic (aside from the money he will earn), but let's keep our fingers crossed that some of those Landis genes can help make this iteration of the story live up to the original.
Last time we heard about the An American Werewolf in London remake, the reports indicated that Max Landis was still in the process of penning the film's screenplay, but we will keep you up to date with any and all relevant news as it becomes available. Until then, check out our 2017 movie premiere guide and give us your thoughts on a remake of An American Werewolf in London below!
