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An American Werewolf in London [HD DVD] [1981] [US Import]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

With an ingenious script, engaging characters, nerve-shredding suspense, genuinely frightening set-pieces and laugh-out-loud funny bits An American Werewolf in London is a prime candidate for the finest horror-comedy ever made. Americans David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) are backpacking in northern England when Jack is killed by a wild beast and David is bitten. Back in London David finds himself falling in love with a nurse, Alex (played with winning charm by Jenny Agutter), and turning into a werewolf. Adding to his problems, an increasingly decomposed Jack keeps coming back from the dead, and he is not a happy corpse. The Oscar winning make-up and transformation scenes still look good and rather than send itself up Werewolf plays its horror seriously, the laughs coming naturally from the surreal situation. Naughton is engagingly confused and disbelieving, desperately coping with the ever more nightmarish world, while Landis delivers one absolutely stunning dream sequence, an unbearably tense hunt on the London Underground and a breathtaking finale. Gory, erotic, shocking and romantic, this unforgettable horror classic has it all. Tom Holland's Fright Night (1985) remixed the formula with vampires, as did Landis himself in Innocent Blood (1992). A disappointing sequel, An American Werewolf in Paris, followed in 1997. --Gary S Dalkin


YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE
Review date: 2007-09-19 Rating: 10 out of 10

The opening scene, on i presume the Yorkshire Moors, will be with me forever. This is a classic film with a blend of humour and horror neatly rolled into one. The special effects were cutting edge at the time.

I can't believe it's more than twenty five years old. Quick, get me a wheelchair !!

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Reviews


A GREAT WEREWOLF HORROR/COMEDY
Review date: 2007-08-08 Rating: 8 out of 10



After discovering that his boss,' Professor Irwin, (Guy Vieg) new formula is a failure, Walter, (Allen Lee Haff) discards it down the drain. When Professor Irwin comes to check on him, and inquires about the work he's supposed to have done. As he continues working, his friends Alicia, (Leah Rowan) Gary, (Richard Peterson) Burke, (Derek Hoffman) Chelsea, (Alexandra Townsend) and Frank (David Bradley) go over to the lab where he works to take him out partying. When they get there, he informs them that the test rats have been acting weird all day. Worse, the staff at the lab is disappearing, and the lab rats they've been testing on have gotten bigger. Fearful that giant rats are on the loose inside the lab, Walter locks it down, much to their dismay. Splitting up to go find the lost rat, the group is slowly picked off one-by-one by a giant rat. Down now to only a few survivors, they now have to face off against the vicious rodent to get out of the lab alive.

The Good News: It's weird to say this, but this wasn't an all that bad movie. What I really liked the most about it was that the film kept up some high level of suspense all the way through, once we've discovered the threat. The fact that all of the elements of suspense come together in these last twenty minutes are a rare fact that not too many films of its type are like: people you care about trapped together in a cramped area with a known killer. The actions of the group, the situations that they get into, and even the music itself all make it an effective amount of time. In fact, the last twenty minutes are easily highlights of the film. It has the traditional suspense scenes as well as plenty of action and tons of gore. In fact, there is lots of gore splattered throughout the film. I was actually surprised. We get several people eaten alive by the rats, one other has his eyeball pulled out, another has half their face eaten away, and another is decapitated. There is still more though, and that is what was so surprising. There is a great dignity in having a very low-budget film with an ending that comes completely by surprise. I really do enjoy the last thirty minutes of this great film.

The Bad News: The low-budget really shines through in the special effects of the film. There are only a few gags that are believable in the film, and with so many of them, that can be a bit of a downer. It can seriously detract from the enjoying of the film. Also, the design of the giant rat and its execution is almost as laughable as the plot and the acting in the film. I really don't know what else I can comment on, as I did enjoy this one.

The Final Verdict: I really don't know what to say; I liked this one. It definitely falls in as a guilty pleasure and it is a film that not all will want to see. Check this out if you're in the mood for a giant killer rodent film, as well as those that like a lot of cheese with their movies and don't take whatever they see with a grain of salt.

An American Werewolf in My Nightmares
Review date: 2007-06-19 Rating: 10 out of 10

As a huge fan of the horror movie genre, I have seen enough of them to know which have scared me the most, this is one of them. There have been enough horror films that I have found scary but out of all of them, this is the only one that after more than twenty years later, is the only one that I can remember having nightmares over and to this day I can still remember that night when I had those nightmares and I can tell you that I have never wanted the next morning to arrive so much in my life. The funny thing is that I had aready seen this with my dad about a year before in the days of video rental and although it was scary the first time, it was nowhere near as scary as the second time when I was sort of on my own watching this on BBC1 in the living room at night with the lights off although not alone in the house thankfully, I was too young anyway, which proves to me again that to get the most out of horror films, they have to be watched at night with the lights off, I have a rule now that I must watch them in this way at least once.

This film is scary but it is also funny, if I had just seen the funny parts of this film, I wouldn't have believed that it was a horror movie and this is probably one of the reasons which make the scary parts really scary. I also think that I found this film really scary at the time because I hadn't seen many horror films that were filmed in England and so it felt very realistic.

There are so many timeless moments in this horror classic, for example the moors and slaughtered lamb scenes, the incredibly creepy London underground scene and those horrific nightmares David (David Naughton) has.

I am not going to waste my time explaining the story as I am sure that even if you have never seen it, you will have an idea as to what it is all about, so all I will say is, if you like horror films and have never seen this, then as a horror film fanatic myself I can't recommend this highly enough. DON'T HAVE NIGHTMARES.

Theres a bad moon out tonight........
Review date: 2007-02-26 Rating: 10 out of 10

Two young American backpackers are attacked by a wolf on a hike over bleak English moors. One is savaged to death but his friend survives. When he recovers he begins to suffer from terrible nightmares and hallucinations.

Although this film is over a quarter of a century old, it still remains one of the scariest films I've ever seen. It has a streak of black comedy running through it and isn't intended as an out and out horror but still gives me the creeps every time I watch it. It begins with the boys visiting The Slaughtered Lamb, a local pub for local people where they soon realise something is very wrong on the moors. The people are perculiar and make sure the two friends feel so unwelcome they quickly leave on foot under the light of a full moon. A few of the towns men head out with shotguns when they hear the wolfs howl and arrive just in time to save David (Naughton) but it's too late for Jack (Dunne). When David wakes up he is in a London hospital where the doctor tells him he was attacked by a madman but can't seem to explain the claw and bite marks on Davids body. He begins to have terrible nightmares where he runs naked through the forest killing deer with his bare hands and eating the flesh. When he is discharged he goes to stay with a beautiful yound nurse (Agutter) with whom he formed a close friendship during his stay in hospital. He is then visited by the decomposing body of his friend Jack who explains that he is now a lycanthrope and must commit suicide before the next full moon. David thinks he is going insane and ignores the hallucinations until it is too late.

The transformation effects are amazing considering there was no CGI. Rick Baker won an academy award for his special effects. It's also interesting to see Jack rotting away more and more with every appearance. The film gets very bloody as David (as a wolf) stalks London tearing people to pieces. There is a brilliant scene in the deserted London Underground where the wolf attacks a commuter. The poor guy manages to make it to the escalator and turn just in time to see the beast slowly emerge into the light from the dimly lit catacombs. Meanwhile, Davids doctor has started to suspect his ravings may have some substance to them and has taken a drive north to visit The Slaughtered Lamb. He realises that there really is a curse and returns to London to stop David.

Veering wildly from tongue in cheek horror to gory violence with a rock n' roll soundtrack of songs about the moon, An American Werewolf In London is a brilliantly stylish oddity. Avoid the rubbish sequel, An American Werewolf in Paris.

Like This? Try: The Lost Boys

The best Werewolf
Review date: 2006-10-21 Rating: 10 out of 10

For a longtime this was my favourite film of all time, its not anymore, but it is still a genuine classic film, that deserves a place amongst the greatest horror films ever made.

The reasons for this are threefold:
Firstly the special effects by Rick Baker are amazing. Remember this was made 25 years ago, there was no digital effects then, what you see on the screen was either done with make-up or animatronic puppets. Rick Baker won an Oscar for his work on this film in 1982.

Secondly the blend of horror and comedy. If you watch the extras you will hear the director Jon Landis state that the film is not a comedy, although he admits it is funny. Some of the scenes are very funny and this comedy, sometimes black comedy works really well against the horror in the rest of the film. The horror in this film is brilliantly done with the double nightmare sequence being a particular favourite of mine.

Thirdly of course its a love story. The ending to the film is ultimately all about the love story, but once again John Landis confuses our emotions by immediately playing The Marcels great version of Blue Moon over the end credits.

The scene in the Slaughtered Lamb is a direct reference to the multitude of classic Hammer Films that featured a Pub that went silent went our hero entered it. You will spot quite a few well known faces in the Slaughtered Lamb including a fresh-faced looking Rik Mayall.

The extras on this edition are pretty good, with both Rick Baker and Jon Landis having some interesting things to say. Perhaps the most surprising was that Jon Landis wrote the script for this film in 1969. There's also some fascinating stuff on how Rick Baker created the amazing special effects.

Beware of the moon.


Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Griffin Dunne
Jenny Agutter
John Woodvine
David Naughton
Lila Kaye

Creators:
David Naughton (Primary Contributor)
Jenny Agutter (Primary Contributor)
Robert Paynter (Cinematographer)
John Landis (Writer)
Malcolm Campbell (Editor)
George Folsey Jr. (Producer)
Jon Peters (Producer)

Director(s):

Recording label: Universal Studios
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
EAN: 0025193128928
Binding: HD DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: AC-3, Colour, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen,
Release date: 2006-11-28
Universal product code (UPC): 025193128928
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 1
Running time: 97 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1981-08-21
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)

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