The original: 

An American Werewolf In London (1981)

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Directed by: 

John Landis (Trading Places, Animal House, Spies Like Us, Thriller)

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Starring: 

David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne; with Brian Glover, John Woodvine, Don McKillop and Frank Oz 

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What’s it about? 

Two American students, David (Naughton) and Jack (Dunne), decide a hike on the Yorkshire moors by moonlight is a good idea and are promptly set upon by a werewolf. Jack is killed, David is injured. 

 

In London he meets Nurse Alex Price (Agutter) and before someone can say Nightingale, Doomed Romance, or Formative Sex Scene, the pair hook up, with love and passion blossoming fast. 

Then David learns he is a Werewolf and horror, death and tragedy await. 

 

This is a masterful piece of film making. 

Equal parts comedy and horror, with humanity, bestiality and mortality being prominent themes. 

 

All characters are fully formed, from the three leads to every side character, regardless of prominence. 

From the Hospital orderly, to the patrons of the Slaughtered Lamb pub; from the Doctor, Police Inspector, Bobby on the street, to that little kid who only says ‘No’, every aspect here is fully realised, and utterly real. 

This makes the humour funnier, the horror all the more tragic. 

 

American Werewolf is a masterpiece.  Ground-breaking effects and makeup add to compelling storytelling and deep pathos.  

 

So next time, stay for that drink, stay on the path, and beware the moon. 

 

David: “I want you to arrest me, you asshole!” 

Policeman: “There's no call for that kind of language.” 

David: “Queen Elizabeth is a man! Prince Charles is a faggot! Winston Churchill was full of shit!   ….Shakespeare's French!” 

  

Jack: “The undead surround me. Have you ever talked to a corpse? It’s boring!” 

 

Little boy: “A naked American man stole my balloons.” 

…”