An American Werewolf in London

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.

Violent, gory yet somewhat bittersweet tale of an American tourist who has the misfortune of being bitten by a werewolf. David Naughton is young and bewildered, Jenny Agutter cute, innocent and sexy and Griffin Dunne hilarious as a rapidly decomposing poltergeist. The score is great and the special effects outstanding. This movie gives new meaning to the term Ugly American. Don't watch this on commercial TV. It can only be appreciated in its original, unedited form.

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.

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

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.