An American Werewolf in London Movie Review 1981

Strange, darkly humorous version of the classic man-into-wolf horror tale became a cult hit, but never clicked with most American critics. Two American college students, David (Naughton) and Jack (Dunne), are backpacking through England when thy're viciously attacked by a werewolf one foggy night. Jack is killed, but keeps appearing (in progressively decomposed form) before the seriously wounded David, warning him of impending werewolfdom when the moon is full; Jack advises suicide. Seat-jumping horror and gore, highlighted by intensive metamorphosis sequences orchestrated by Rick Baker, are offset by wry humor, though the shifts in tone don't always work. Great moon songs permeate the soundtrack, including CCR's "Bad Moon Rising" and Van Morrison's "Moondance." Followed by "An American Werewolf in Paris" (1997).

Distribution

Artisan Entertainment, 2700 Colorado Ave., Ste. 200, Santa Monica, CA 90404, Phone: (310)449-9200, Fax: (310)255-3730, URL: http://www.artisanent.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 97 minutes.
Originally from British.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Werewolves, Metamorphosis, Special FX Extravaganzas: Make-Up, Special FX Wizards: Rick Baker, Vacations, London

Screenplay

John Landis

Cast

David Naughton, Griffin Dunne, Jenny Agutter, Frank Oz, Brian Glover, Lila Kaye, David Schofield, John Woodvine, Don McKillop, Paul Kember, Colin Fernandes, Rik Mayall, Paddy Ryan

Cinematography

Robert Paynter

Director

John Landis

Music

Elmer Bernstein

Other

Rick Baker

Producer

Mark Huffam

Awards

Oscars 1981: Makeup.