Plot; Two young Americans backpacking across Europe are attacked by a creature, leaving one of them dead and the other irrevocably changed.Despite its lofty status (and the fact it ran on a loop on TV in the 80s), I'd somehow managed to never watch An American Werewolf in London. For sure horror isn't my favorite genre, but I knew of its comedic counterweight and that's a combination that would seemingly appeal to me. 36 years later, on a recommendation from the great 80s All Over podcast, I finally gave it a go. I'm glad I did.Deftly balancing the horror with the comedy, Landis uses one to enhance the other. It's a very fine line, and he and his cast walk it expertly. The script is snappy and there's no wasted motion in its tight hour and a half runtime. The cast all acquit themselves well, with David Naughton making for a likable and sympathetic lead, the impossibly beautiful Jenny Agutter breathing life into what could've been a thankless role, and Griffin Dunne stealing every scene he's in as Naughton's undead best friend.The end feels a bit too sudden, but I was both surprised and impressed by the direction Landis went and it gives the film a weight and poignancy.I love it when I'm rewarded for going back and watching an older film that I'd previously ignored or otherwise missed. This may have been the first time, but it won't be the last, that I watch An American Werewolf in London.

David and Jack are two young American enjoying a long holiday in Europe and naturally their first place to visit is a particularly bleak Yorkshire moor. Cold and wet they take shelter in The Slaughtered Lamb public house… the welcome is such that they decide to leave fairly soon. As they leave the locals warn them to stick to the roads, stay off the moor and beware of the full moon. Soon they hear something and are then attacked by a wolf-like creature; Jack is killed and David wakes in a London hospital a few weeks later. Soon afterwards an undead Jack visits him and tells him they were attacked by a werewolf and if David doesn't kill himself before the next full moon he will turn into a werewolf and start killing people. As he recovers he gets close to Alex Price, his nurse, and when he is discharged she lets him stay at her flat… and in her bed. Come the full moon he does indeed transform into a werewolf and goes out and kills six people; when he wakes up he has no memory of what happened and is naked in London zoo. After these events his doctor starts to wonder if he was involved and David tried unsuccessfully to get himself arrested before the next night.There are plenty of comedy horror films but most fail to be funny enough or fail to be scary enough… or frequently both. This however succeeds on both counts. The film starts amusingly with David and Jack getting a lift on a lorry full of sheep before going to the perfect example of an unfriendly pub. When they are attacked it is obvious that the horror is going to be good too… both scary and pretty gory. The special effects are still impressive over thirty five years after it was made… the transformation of David into a werewolf, using great physical effects is a classic scene… much better than the rapid CGI transformation of certain recent films that include werewolves. David Naughton does a fine job as David, nicely portraying his disbelief and later fear, about what is happening to him. Jenny Agutter also impresses as Alex, the nurse who falls in love with him. There is a fun selection of music to accompany the film; a succession of well-known songs, each of which refers to the moon. Overall I'd recommend this to horror fans although it certainly isn't suitable for younger viewers.

Greetings Fans, Of all the Myths and Legends in the world, I sometimes side with the Werewolf, I'm Pretty Sure you know already know about the Lycan Legends, If you get bitten by these things is you Survive an encounter, You become cursed to Turn into one when the Fullmoon is up at night, And it happened in our little country of England in London in a Movie that is... Kinda true to the legends, An American Werewolf in London, That's right guys I'm Reviewing another Universal movie that was released back in 1981 (The beginning of the 80's) Directed by a man named John Landis the guy who did a movie I never seen before Animal House, But this is a different kind of Animal, The Monster effects in this to be truthful is very good, so good this movie won an Academy Award and Oscar for Best Make Up, Well this was done by one man named Rick Baker, Looking up this guy on Wikipedia shows that he has done quite a lot, Some notable work such as the Alien Designs in the Men in Black Movies, the 2001 version of Planet of the Apes, Schlock (Something from the Beginning of his Movie Make Up Job life) Star Wars (The First one) Hellboy and he also did the Make Up effects on the 2010 remake of The Wolfman, So yeah he is a Monster Make Up Artist (Almost forgot, He also did Make Up effects on The Grinch) I own this movie on Blu-Ray and... I don't know what to say about this Werewolf movie, Don't get me wrong It's an alright film, The Werewolf Transformation is Amazing and somewhere creepy, But Rick Baker did a Fantastic job on it, To my opinion it's just on of them Comedy Horror films that resembles a B-Movie, Ofcause what was done here was amazing, Some of the story elements in this are similar to the Original Wolfman movie that was released in 1941 (the one staring Lon Chaney, Jr) The 1941 Wolfman is what a lot Lycan movie nerds claim that American Werewolf took ideas from it, It was rumored that American Werewolf was at one point an Wolfman Remake, but since, Universal wanted this to be a B-Movie tip and The Original Wolfman is a Classic, They left in a bunch of the Ideas, There is a Sequel to this movie called An American Werewolf in Paris released in 1997 (Some year as Batman & Robin), But since it wasn't a very interesting movie due to it receiving Negative Reviews I'm skipping it for the time being, All n All, This was a alright film.

A lovely start to a film. Taking us along down the river of no return with David and Jack. Expect a lot of jump cuts in this film. The dialogue is okay, but the message is unclear. Still, the film could be used as a metaphor for old yuppies giving bad advice like "go for a walk" when you express discontent. And for people that struggle with opening and closing doors and entering rooms, this could be a good entrances into a room practice. John Landis subscribes to a good deal of attention to detail in these opening scenes. It's like we are running with the bulls in Plamplona Spain. Would've liked it better if Landis gave us a more realistic howling sound then what we got; and, it would've been cool if he aimed the camera at the creature as it was howling, dripping saliva. The howl sounded too faint in a crucial role, introducing us to the monster. Lots of anxiety and stress put into the making of this film. But it pays off! Landis does an excellent job at keeping us on the edge of our seat. This is done in one way, by dissolves, especially, the one used for the nightmare scene. I will say that his talking friend, the dear dead friend whom gives insight on the supernatural. It's a rare beauty, gift, and blessing when you see the special effects crew decide to give a close up of their work like this. In this case, Tom Hester and the makeup effects crew, did a wonderful job. The visual hallucinations in this film are right on, too. This is confirmed mostly from his friend Jack, of course, whom David keeps seeing. How Jack was able to get all the other members of his "undead" club membership together for a meeting seems unrealistic. Skipping ahead though, redemption granted. This film could be a lesson in camera work. Mainly POV. The wide array of neat angle shots help, such as the ones in the rain whilst you hear loud thunder claps. These sound effects get you involved. Nice if you like surround sound. However, nothing is consistent, and there are cold spots where the film loses its energy drive and dies out. Fortunately, the film has a killer soundtrack. Yes! Wait for it... we get a killer song by Creedance Clearwater Revival, the song Bad Moon Rising. Get ready because the famous transformation scene is right around the bend. Be careful, you've been warned! This scene has awesome attention to detail as well,  which is not easily viewed. The dude in the subway is so screwed! not to mention he looks like Michael Cera. Mayhem at its best during the action sequence of the snapping Werewolf scene while the orgy film is rolling. Some strike outs in this rocking film, sad to say. The overuse of London sirens, and some screen shots. This is a sad film, funny, and funny acting all rolled into one. Check this one out, this film Rocks!! Props!!