User reviews

While it isn't high art, "An American Werewolf in London" is easily among the most entertaining films that I have ever seen. It mixes humor and horror in a way that, while tonally inconsistent, it provides so many scares and laughs that I didn't care what its flaws were.

The film's sense of humor is definitely because the film's director and writer, John Landis, has directed so many great comedies. If you gave the same premise to a much more serious filmmaker, they probably would have made a straight horror film, subtracting all of the brilliant laughs that Landis gives us. Of course, part of what makes "An American Werewolf in London" so special and so entertaining is how hilarious it is. It's almost unbelievable that a movie with so many horrific and gory moments can also be laugh out loud funny throughout.

Another important part of "An American Werewolf in London" is the use of the acclaimed, award winning special effects, that earned Rick Baker a well deserved Oscar win. The werewolf transformation scene definitely lives up to the high expectations anyone viewing the film for the first time may have. It's legitimately disturbing, and amazingly well done!

Interestingly enough then the 1981 horror movie "An American Werewolf in London" still is one of the most iconic werewolf movies out there and has been so for 41 years. That is some impressive feat, I have to admit that.

I had the opportunity to sit down and watch writer and director John Landis' 1981 movie again here in 2022, and of course I needed no persuasion to do so, because "An American Werewolf in London" truly is a horror classic. And I find that the movie is every bit as entertaining and enjoyable as it was back in the day when watching it as a kid.

The storyline is pretty straight forward, and it is actually rather enjoyable, despite being somewhat generic. But take into consideration that this movie was made in 1981, so it was somewhat pushing boundaries back in the day.

The visual effects were great back in the day. And I will actually go as far as saying that they still hold up now 41 years later. Sure, there are signs of aging, but having just seen the movie again, I still find the special effects in the movie rather enjoyable and good. Especially the transformation scenes, they are just spectacular and very, very impressive for a movie 41 years old.

The cast in the movie is good, and I've always liked David Naughton in this movie. But the movie also have familiar faces on the cast list such as Jenny Agutter, Frank Oz and even a short appearance by Rik Mayall.

If you enjoy werewolf movies, then you should be well-familiar with "An American Werewolf in London" already, and if you are not familiar with this 1981 classic, then you should make haste and acquire a copy and sit down to watch John Landis' masterpiece.

My rating of "An American Werewolf in London" lands on a well-deserved eight out of ten stars. This is a classic werewolf movie, and it is one that can be watched over and over.

An American Werewolf in London is a 1981 horror comedy film written and directed by John Landis. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, the film stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, and Griffin Dunne. The film's plot follows two American backpackers, David and Jack, who are attacked by a creature while traveling in England, causing David to question whether he will become a werewolf under the next full moon.

After watching an American Werewolf in London for the first time I found the film to be a clever mixture of comedy and horror which succeeds in being both funny and scary, The film possesses an overriding eagerness to please that prevents it from becoming off-putting. It delivers a good share of scares and dark laughs. Some of the special effects are a little creaky now, but the snap of Landis's editing and the razor's-edge balance of horror and comedy are still fresh. The metamorphoses into the werewolf scenes are spectacular and the beast's rampage through Piccadilly Circus is marvellous. Splendid gory fun. It feels increasingly like a symbol of traveller abroad alienation-what trying to live in a place that isn't home can feel like: confusing, rageful, even physically debilitating.

An American Werewolf in London (1981) is a flat out great movie. There are good characters, good humor, a hilarious ending, and some scenes scared the hell out of me. The film's pretty inappropriate, with some nudity and awesome gore. This film is one of if not the best werewolf movie you can watch. Some of this makes you feel like you're in the protagonist/antagonist's mind, and the movie had some good suspense too! Overall, the film is definitely watchable, scary, humorous, and one of my favorite films.

One of the best werewolf movies ever made, full of dark humor and gory thrills. As most people know, this has one of the best human/werewolf transformation scenes in cinematic history! The only other movie to show such detail is The Howling. This movie is really fun to watch, and if you are seeing it for the first time you will be shocked at some of the things you see. Great performances from the cast, and an excellent script make this a memorable experience. Unlike monster/horror movies today, this film has no computer-aided special effects. It doesn't need them, for this is a landmark film.

John Landis has one of his most memorable films, as it challenges him as a director of comedy and horror, and he's rarely done better in the latter. While many of his best films are among the comedies that he directed for SNL alumni Belushi and Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy, An American Werewolf in London stands apart from those by casting David Naughton, Jenny Aguter, and Griffin Dunne in the parts- all practically unknowns then- and giving them some of the best kinds of genre roles imaginable. The two friends played by Naughton and Dunne are out on vacation, sort of, and they stumble upon a town loaded with superstition about wolves and other things. When Dunne gets killed and something, uh, peculiar happens to Naughton, it changes both of them- principally because Naughton keeps seeing Dunne, deteriorating throughout the rest of the film, even as he both turns into the werewolf ("Beware the moon, David, beware the moon") and falls for a kind nurse played by Aguter. All three roles are realized well, though it might be prudent to put a lot of good will on the male leads, as they both go under Rick Baker's still show-stopping make-up jobs.

This is the kind of production that could go in a few different directions, and for someone like Landis's skills it could've gone in those directions, either one, considering his background. It could have been a send-up much like his Kentucky Fried Movie. It could have been just dumb, pure camp like one of his lesser comedies of the 90s. But here he's really sticking to his guns to make it really believably scary, but also with a sly, coarse, and crude sense of humor about it. It's almost in tune to what would come a few years later with Ghostbusters, only without the mega-wit and overall mainstream appeal. It's a cult item that probably isn't seen by many as Landis's other films, yet I still remember things very well from the film years later, indelible things like the use of songs (obvious, sure, by 'moon' being all over the place, but everything from Van Morrison to CCR to the main Blue Moon theme used during the crossover are really dead-perfect for what's needed). Aside from the obvious make-up scenes, I remember being both freaked and delighted by the undead exchanges with David, especially when it finally reaches its purest absurdity in the movie theater scene.

And even the ending, unlike other Landis films, is with a tinge of tragedy and sadness. This is not the ending a typical comedy director would bring, as by now we've really gotten on the side of David, the scorned protagonist turned bloody villain by way of a curse. Some of the scenes that end up cutting back to the old rural village, as I also remember it, were not my favorite scenes as they brought more of the superstitious stuff that is not necessarily needed. It's the bits with Naughton, with Dunne, and even with the lady of the film that make it worthwhile. It's fun but not too goofy or bad B-movie-like, and it's scary without being cheap. It's basically the finest synthesis yet from the filmmaker to combine his gory theatrics with his firm, cool sense of humor. It's also one of my favorite films of 1981.

I first saw this in the late 80s on a vhs n found it scary and then again in the early 2k on a dvd which I own.

But aft revisiting it recently, i found that most of the kills are offscreen n it takes hell lottuva time for the creature mayhem.

Generous with a 7 cos it was scary then and this movie has the best transformation scene n the make up effects r top notch.

I liked the scenic village and the isolated moors. Its on my travel list.

The decapitation scene is well shot n the traffic accidents n mayhem on Piccadilly Circus junction is more brutal than some of the kills.

The Zapata moustache guy in the porn movie n the way he walks out from the room is funny.

I found the lead actress Jenny Agutter attractive but her sex scene is lousy.

Can someone tell me where does David's or for that matter the werewolf's *enis disappeared during the transformation scene.

There is a Bollywood unofficial remake which i saw in the 90s in a theatre n had a blast cos the effects are cringy n the movie is badly done. They have changed it from a werewolf into a weretiger one n added some religious mumbo jumbo stuff.

Here's a film that never fails to entertain, year after year. It's almost a quarter of a century old but hasn't become dated and the special effects, which were astounding in its day, are still good. Director John Landis is so good at making entertaining movies. This is one of his best.

The appeal to this film is the combination of horror, suspense, action and humor. The latter actually is the key ingredient because this can become a downright scary movie. The levity here and there is welcome relief. There is just the right amount of contrast between horror and comedy.

For parents wanting to know, there also is a fair amount of rough language and there two sex scenes, one as part of the story and one "on screen" in a porn- movie theater where the two male leads meet late in the story.

Jenny Agutter is the love interest in here, a very pretty woman whom Americans audiences aren't that familiar with. It isn't just her: neither of the two leading (American) male actors in this popular movie ever became stars, either.

An entertaining but silly sequel came out almost two decades later, "An American Werewolf in Paris." I own both movies but much prefer this one.

The most memorable scene has to be the abrupt cut to the credits and then blasting the "Blue Moon" song by the Marcels. While the effects are brilliant and steal most of the show, there is not much in the way of actual werewolf cinematography, as you get split-second glimpses of it from afar or extremely close up, and only towards the end. When you look at the film as a whole, it is amusing yes, but the word-of-mouth surrounding the film seems to be more enigmatic than the experience of watching it. The comedy is dark and sprinkled throughout, but not strong enough to garner a real laugh, and the horror is well executed, but not atmospheric or moody enough to give you a feeling of uneasiness, the closest it gets being the beginning in the moors.

An American Werewolf in London (1981) is a cult classic horror werewolf slasher flick. It is my third favorite werewolf film of all time!

An American Werewolf in London is not only the best werewolf movie ever made it is also one of the best genre films of all time. I grew up watching this film and it is a childhood favorite of mine. I first saw this movie when I was 13 years young of age, it is a childhood movie for me and it is the first werewolf film I ever saw. I love this film to death and I think it is a great horror film of all time! It is one of my personal favorite horror werewolf movies of all time.

It is very scary, especially the ending you can see a human's head falling down the street. I don't know much about the cast I don't know almost anyone except actress Jenny Agutter I know her from Logan's Run (1976) and The Eagle Has Landed (1976). This film is directed by John Landis who directed a lot of comedy films. The movie was entirely shot in London, Surrey, and Wales, which you can see a beautiful country side in the UK. This film: The Howling (1981) and Dog Soldiers (2002) are my top 3 favorite werewolf films this will be my number 2 favorite film.

Plot: Two American college students are on a walking tour of Britain and are attacked by a werewolf. One is killed, the other is mauled. The werewolf is killed but reverts to its human form, and the local townspeople are unwilling to acknowledge its existence. The surviving student begins to have nightmares of hunting on four feet at first but then finds that his friend and other recent victims appear to him, demanding that he commit suicide to release them from their curse, being trapped between worlds because of their unnatural deaths.

This is a classic horror film about two young American men, David Kessler (played by Naughton) and Jack Goodman (played by Dunne), attacked by a werewolf on a backpacking holiday in England. With Jack killed, David is taken to a London hospital, where his disturbing apparitions of his deceased friend informs him that he is a werewolf and will transform at the next full moon. What I love about this film is: I love the story, the special effects and the humor in here. In the opening scene you have a really beautiful view on an England country side when you see David Kessler and Jack Goodman walking down the road. This movie is really beautiful shot I love that two young men best friends are traveling together and seeing England in a country side. I love the werewolf story and everything in it.

I love the characters in this movie, the story is a full long horror film with awesome black comedy in it, practical effects by Rick Baker that still rival some god awful cartoon ps1 CGI now a days!!! I have seen this film more then any other movie and it still feels fresh. And while filmed in the early eighties, it feels timeless. The blend of horror and humor are perfect. The horror comes at you brutal and/or fast and the humor is never forced but comes naturally out of the absurdity of the events (waking up naked in the zoo, having your dead friend tell you that you are a werewolf.) Oh man, this is such a fun movie. It's a great werewolf story with enough gore for the splatter junkies, and enough story to make it better than just some run-of-the-mill horror flick. This was created in a time when horror was HORROR, as opposed to these kiddie flicks with predictable jump scares we get today.

The special effects, done by the great Rick Baker, are absolutely astounding, even more believable than a lot of what we get today. The first transformation scene is one of the best to ever be featured in a werewolf film, especially with the convincing screams of pain from David Naughton. The actual look of the werewolf is also just as great, giving one of the most menacing and evil appearance I've ever seen on a wolf. The howl sounds like a mixture between a man's scream and an actual beast giving a call, a sound that sends a chill down your spine every time you hear it. These sort of details remind you that even though there's comedy in it, Landis did put great focus on the horror aspect of the film.

An American Werewolf in London is a 1981 British-American horror comedy film written and directed by John Landis, and starring David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, and Griffin Dunne.

Overall: An American Werewolf in London is a timeless excellent cult classic movie my favorite number 2 werewolf film of all time! Score: 10/10 I love this film, the acting is really solid the characters in this film a well written. The special effects in this movie are well made. This movie on it self's stays a true classic in a horror genre and it is way better movie, than these days horror movies that are in PG-13 ratings awful!

The old adage of the simplest ideas being the best is once again demonstrated in this, one of the most entertaining films of the early 80's, and almost certainly Jon Landis' best work to date. The script is light and witty, the visuals are great and the atmosphere is top class. Plus there are some great freeze-frame moments to enjoy again and again. Not forgetting, of course, the great transformation scene which still impresses to this day.

In Summary: Top banana

Two Americans travelling in The UK are attacked by a werewolf. One dies and the other survives, only to turn into a creature of the night himself. This 1981 John Landis cult classic starts off on a relatively moody and loose note, but the mood quickly evaporates when the setting changes from the moors to contemporary London and the focus shifts from honoring horror traditions to an unconvincing love story. The loose quality of the film is here to stay, though, and your enjoyment of the experience depends largely on whether you can accept characters acting wacky for the hell of it. For me, the fact that the second act is mostly just this instead of actually advancing the story kinda tanks the whole film.

The film does have its pleasures. The iconic special effects and makeup work are fantastic, working for both gruesome and amusing affect. All the actors seem to be on the right frequency when it comes to balancing conflicting styles and tones. Griffin Dunne really elevates his few scenes with deadpan delivery, even as his undead character's appearance keep getting closer to a meatloaf.

While by no means terrible, I was underwhelmed by this supposed gem. It's more of a time waster than anything, though fairly decent as such.

Lost count of the number of times that I have watched this classic. There are just so many things that I love about it, beginning with the opening scenes that were shot in the Black Mountains, not far from my home & a place that I know well. Then to the Slaughtered Lamb, joining the likes of Brian Glover & a very young Rik Mayall. And finally on to London. It is a fantastic combination of horror, comedy and even romance, brilliantly paced and of course showcasing Rick Baker's amazing special effects. And last but certainly not least it stars the very beautiful Jenny Agutter. Not only is this my favourite werewolf movie but it is almost certainly one of my top 10 horror movies of all time. Essential viewing.

While backpacking through Europe, two friends, David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne), find themselves out on England's moors, despite advice to avoid them. When a wild animal attacks them, one of them dies, and the other just might be turning into a monster.

Director John Landis' "pet project"--he had to sit on the script for 10 years before he had enough clout from other films for this one to be greenlighted--is an excellent, seamless melding of comedy and horror, with a surprising amount of brutality and one of the most wonderfully dark, abrupt conclusions ever made.

John Irving once said that he loves to put comedy and tragedy in close conjunction because each can make the other more effective. That's just the effect that the combination has in An American Werewolf In London. Both the comedy and the horror in the film are fully committed to, unlike many attempts to merge the two. If "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts" is ever true, this is an example. The comic bits wouldn't be nearly as delightful if they didn't supervene on the disturbing, and the horror wouldn't have near the impact if they didn't arrive in the context where you half-expect the next moment to be just as lighthearted and amusing. Both the initial "animal attack" and the apocalyptic ending are perfect examples of this.

Aside from that exquisite unusualness, An American Werewolf In London has many other superb characteristics. The cast is perfect. Naughton, who also starred in the seriously underrated Desire, The Vampire (aka I, Desire) (1982), carries the film with ease. The cinematography is excellent. The shots of the countryside (actually filmed in Wales) are actually both beautiful and very eerie at the same time. The make-up effects are awesome, and the transformation effects are unsurpassed. The music, which is primarily a number of different "moon" related pop songs, is also perfect, partially because of the bizarre contrasts in mood that the music creates, which echoes the comedy/tragedy juxtaposition. Unlike many other films, every scene in this one is a something I'd like to spend years exploring. The settings, the characters, the scenarios are all so fascinating.

This film is a 10 out of 10 even with one hand tied behind its back. If you enjoy it, and you're open minded about newer horror film styles, the "sequel", An American Werewolf in Paris, is also worth a watch.

John Landis reveals a philosophical take on mankind in this film, namely, that we have two natures: one benign, one monstrous. The werewolf legend handily serves as that proposition's allegorical vehicle, and compared to the alluded-to Nazi atrocities in two scenes, the legend actually pales. Sadly, under the dark impetus of our arrogance and vanity, our metaphorical "full moon", man is perfectly capable of transforming into nightmarish beast.

As a director, Landis approaches Hitchcock in terms of scene economy and symbolism. For example, the opening sequence set on the moors of northern England features the tragic hero David and his friend Jack climbing out of the bed of a truck laden with sheep - benign animals destined for slaughter. Biped "sheep" David and Jack meander to "The Slaughtered Lamb", a pub sheltering cowering, xenophobic locals from the monster afoot on the moors during full moon. Soon the inhospitality of the town folk compels the two lambs to leave - virtually sending them to their slaughter.

And so it goes throughout this brilliant film. Without revealing the ending, it can be stated that Landis makes his case against the idea that love conquers all; instead, he suggests that love only gives the beast within us pause.

Beware the moon.

Only John Landis knows exactly what this movie tried to be. He maintains that it's horror with some comedy elements, but aside from that tube scene, which is genuinely tense, everything else is either fast cut carnage or crude jumpscares. Meanwhile, the other half of the movie is just tonal bedlam with awkwardly paced dialogue, characters acting irrationally, and ill-suited jokes that honestly only work when Griffin Dunne is in the scene, the only time when dark humor is actually indispensable.

Some of the scenes are just frankly pointless. Like a doctor going to the village from the beginning. Learning nothing and not affecting anything.

But, of course, the claim to fame of this movie isn't the plot but its transformation sequence. It is indeed exceptional and should be cherished. But in my opinion, the best sequence is the incredibly gruesome car pileup at Piccadilly Circus.

The practical effects are amazing. Some parts of the story are good, but character development is poor. The support character Jack is way more interesting than main character David. All in all, solid flick except for the ending. It's so sudden and different from the rest of the movie it might as well be a scene copy pasted directly from blues Brothers.

Well, other than the live making scenes, it is appropriate for a kid to view. Watched it with my daughter in grade 3, skipped over the age in appropriate parts. Also watch the behind the scene in you tube, it s amazing how those animetronics are brought to life.