"An American Werewolf In Paris" Lyrics

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"An American Werewolf in Paris" Soundtrack Description

What this album actually feels like

A time capsule with a pulse. It’s 1997 outside: alt-rock everywhere, radio guitars bright and a little serrated, drummers counting in like they mean it. The soundtrack leans into that world—hook-forward, night-drive energy—then sneaks in a few curveballs that sell the film’s messy romance and messy monsters. It’s less “horror score,” more “club flyers stuffed in a jacket pocket you forgot to wash.” And yet, it works. The big single roars, the deep cuts wink, and the whole thing moves like a chase through a city that won’t go to sleep.

Production

Hollywood Records handled the release and went full compilation mode: recruit bands who could sit next to a trailer hit and not wilt, clear tracks that slot under club scenes without feeling like generic wallpaper, and let the marketing ride the wave. Meanwhile, the film itself carried a separate original score by Wilbert Hirsch—lean, functional, mostly living in the background while the licensed songs do the strutting. The result is a classic late-’90s move: the soundtrack is its own product, with a radio life that often eclipsed the movie’s reputation.

Musical Styles & Themes

• Alt-rock horsepower: Mid-tempo chug, choruses you can spot from a block away, and that slick 1997 mix where everything hits at once.
• Punk-leaning jolts: Two-minute sprints that feel like they punched through a wall to get on the record.
• Grunge afterglow: Crunch and brood, but tidier than ’93—angles rounded, menace radio-friendly.
• Left-field covers: A deadpan, bass-heavy croon where you least expect it; attitude over acrobatics.
• Score glue: Hirsch’s cues sit in the seams—enough tension to keep the teeth sharp between songs.

Track Highlights (scenes, not a full tracklist)

• The trailer monster: A remixed alt-rock cut with a sub-bass snarl—“The Stingray Mix”—that turned a solid album track into a billboard. It’s the calling card here: sleek, predatory, built to loop in your head while a werewolf stalks the club floor.
• College-radio heartbeat: One veteran Baton Rouge outfit brings a chiming, road-worn tune that cools the temperature and quietly sells the film’s bittersweet edges. Windows-down music for a movie that keeps pushing you indoors.
• “Never, Never Gonna Give You Up” (yes, that one—but Barry White’s): An arched-eyebrow cover that slides between menace and flirtation. The bass is a smirk; the vocal stays dry. Somehow it both undercuts and heightens the film’s romance-in-danger vibe.
• Skate-park adrenaline: A Michigan punk-ska blast that hits like a firecracker. Perfect for jump-cuts, foot chases, and bad decisions.
• Alt-country tang: A Phoenix bar-band groove with a snide grin, the kind of track that turns exposition into motion.
• Industrial scuff: One Canadian cult favorite drops a mid-tempo grind that feels like metal on concrete—useful when the story wants you uneasy without going full jump-scare.

Plot & Character Threads

A tourist trio hits Paris. A woman jumps from the Eiffel Tower. A mid-air save turns into an obsession, then a curse. Nightclubs with secrets, syringes with worse ones, ghosts who won’t leave you alone until you fix what you broke. The soundtrack doesn’t narrate any of that; it tracks the mood swings—cocky, then panicked, then weirdly tender—until the end credits grin and take one last leap.

Who the music shadows

• Andy McDermott (Tom Everett Scott): Songs keep him moving—lanky, uncertain, then stubborn. When guitars lean forward, so does he.
• Sérafine Pigot (Julie Delpy): The palette shifts warmer around her, even when the story gets cold. The cover tune above? That’s her gravity: complicated, magnetic.
• Brad (Vince Vieluf) & Chris (Phil Buckman): Bro-energy needle-drops, then darker shades when the night bites back.
• Claude (Pierre Cosso): Anything with a swaggering backbeat fits his predator’s patience.

Cast snapshots

Tom Everett Scott — Andy

Boy-next-hostel energy; the songs make his bad luck feel kinetic.

Julie Delpy — Sérafine

Half feral, half tender; the soundtrack treats her like a candle flame in a draft.

Vince Vieluf — Brad

Comic relief turned cautionary tale; tempos drop when the jokes do.

Phil Buckman — Chris

Best-friend engine; tracks that thump keep him in motion.

Pierre Cosso — Claude

Cool menace; grooves that smirk.

Julie Bowen — Amy Finch

A human detour the music briefly lights in neon, then cuts.

Behind the Scenes

The label’s masterstroke was simple: center the marketing on that one feral single. It was featured hard in trailers and pushed to radio, which boomeranged attention back to the album. The compilation arrived in September ’97, months before the U.S. Christmas release, which meant the soundtrack did advance scouting for the movie. Another very-’97 detail: the film features a then-ubiquitous West Coast pop-rock smash that didn’t make the album tracklist. Licensing is a labyrinth; sometimes the maze wins.

Critic & Fan Reactions

The film took a critical drubbing; the album didn’t. It charted modestly but had staying power in glove compartments and dorm stereos. Fans still argue which cut really “is” the movie—team Remix vs. team Deep Cut—and both sides have a point.

“I was really disappointed… I thought it was lousy.”— John Landis, on the film

“Say what you want about the CGI, the soundtrack slapped.”— a long-time fan who kept the CD in the car

“It’s a better night-drive record than a horror record, and that’s fine by me.”— a retrospective take

Technical Info

• Soundtrack/Album: An American Werewolf in Paris — Music From the Motion Picture
• Type: movie
• Year: 1997
• Album Release Date: September 23, 1997
• Label: Hollywood Records
• Runtime (album): ~53 minutes
• Primary Styles: Alternative Rock, Punk-adjacent, Stage & Screen
• Notable Single: “Mouth (The Stingray Mix)” — released October 1997 off the back of the soundtrack push
• Chart Note: Peaked around the lower rungs of Billboard’s Top Album Sales; brief five-week run
• Film Release (US): December 25, 1997
• Composer (film score): Wilbert Hirsch

FAQ

Is this mostly songs or mostly score?

Mostly songs from various artists. Hirsch’s score is present in the film but not the focus of the album.

Which track blew up outside the movie?

The remixed “Mouth” turned into a standalone radio moment thanks to the trailer and soundtrack push.

Wait—does Cake really cover Barry White here?

Yep. Their “Never, Never Gonna Give You Up” is a sly slow-burn, not the Rick Astley tune.

Why isn’t that huge late-’90s hit from the film on the album?

Licensing. The movie uses it; the compilation skips it. Very era-appropriate headache.

Does the album sequence follow the plot?

Not strictly. It’s built for car stereos and club scenes: energy waves first, chronology second.

Additional Info

• The soundtrack dropped months ahead of the U.S. theatrical release—a tactic to prime awareness and test radio heat.
• One track credits a “Stingray” remix persona tied to the band itself—part of a broader late-’90s remix culture.
• If you chase the film’s storyline beats, notice how the punk-ska cut lands right when the movie’s moral brakes fail.
• The Paris setting invites café jazz clichés; the album dodges them and chases neon instead.
• If you’re revisiting, play it at night. The sequencing leans headlights and wet pavement.

September, 23rd 2025

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