The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

One of John Landis's best, this movie stays with you over the years, and the special effects aren't at all dated nearly 40 years on. Jenny Agutter really steams the bathroom screen in the obligatory sex scene, and one can only wish the scene lasted longer.The London tube scenes are effective, and really make you think twice about being in the tube all alone just in case.

Two American college students are on a walking tour of Britain where they stumble upon a local pub known as the Slaughtered Lamb. They converse with the locals, but feel out of place and decide to leave early despite being warned about venturing outside on a full moon. Shortly after they leave the pub, the two students are attacked by what appears to be a werewolf and one of the students gets killed where the other one lives. The surviving college students attempts to tell his story, but it seems that no-one wants to believe him...Landis sets this whole scenario up in wonderful fashion and considering that he is an American film director he does seem to have an excellent grasp of some of the customs that we have in the UK. The whole xenophobia angle to the narrative is presented wonderfully; the Americans are received with a predictability frosty reception (and believe me this is typical of a lot of pubs in England whom are very unreceptive to strangers). However, the Americans soon feel rather uncomfortable in this close-knit public house and decide to venture out on their own despite some of the publicans advising against this...**************SPOILERS FOLLOW FROM THIS POINT ONWARDS****************However, the moment that both of the American students get killed the film ultimately becomes weaker and perhaps that is partly down to Landis as a director. Landis is used to directing a lot of comedy films and that shows here as he does give this film a kind of goofball charm to it, but part of the problem here is that this seems to be a comedy-horror which I didn't find particularly funny and was also a film that I didn't find particularly scary. The fact that it is so daft means that it works slightly better as a comedy than a horror, but I'm not entirely sure if that was Landis' intention. I'll give him some credit though as he does add some weight to the narrative by playing this out as some kind of fantasy or dream on the part of David Kessler - this is the only rational way that I could accept what was happening... Rolling with it on this basis I did enjoy it, but I have to admit that all of the scenes towards the end showing all of Kessler's dead or undead victims and Jack Goodman talking in the cinema may have come across as being profound, interesting or funny at the time now look silly, cheap and rather unnecessary and serve as more of a distraction now than anything else. Although I must admit that the moral debate that occurred in these scenes did provide a rather interesting social commentary.Whilst I found An American Werewolf in London to be reasonably enjoyable I didn't think it was brilliant as for me it didn't entirely work as either a comedy or a horror. In fact, the most interesting thing about it was trying to determine what was really happening and what was going on in our protagonists head... There is definitely a meld between fantasy and reality. This is worth a look if you're a fan of comedy horror type films (if nothing else Landis does keep things moving well and the film doesn't really hit any dull spots). However, if I'm totally honest I didn't find the story that involving and felt that Landis had made the film a little too silly at times.

Plot; Two young Americans backpacking across Europe are attacked by a creature, leaving one of them dead and the other irrevocably changed.Despite its lofty status (and the fact it ran on a loop on TV in the 80s), I'd somehow managed to never watch An American Werewolf in London. For sure horror isn't my favorite genre, but I knew of its comedic counterweight and that's a combination that would seemingly appeal to me. 36 years later, on a recommendation from the great 80s All Over podcast, I finally gave it a go. I'm glad I did.Deftly balancing the horror with the comedy, Landis uses one to enhance the other. It's a very fine line, and he and his cast walk it expertly. The script is snappy and there's no wasted motion in its tight hour and a half runtime. The cast all acquit themselves well, with David Naughton making for a likable and sympathetic lead, the impossibly beautiful Jenny Agutter breathing life into what could've been a thankless role, and Griffin Dunne stealing every scene he's in as Naughton's undead best friend.The end feels a bit too sudden, but I was both surprised and impressed by the direction Landis went and it gives the film a weight and poignancy.I love it when I'm rewarded for going back and watching an older film that I'd previously ignored or otherwise missed. This may have been the first time, but it won't be the last, that I watch An American Werewolf in London.

I first saw this movie as, well, probably TOO young of a child. What can I say? My parents didn't baby me as far as film went. I've since re-watched it maybe three times now and it just gets better every viewing. This movie is a goddamn CLASSIC and if you haven't seen it yet, go do so RIGHT NOW (it's on Amazon Prime!). It turned 35 this year so consider it a birthday present.As soon as it started up and "Blue Moon" came belting out (the first of a ridiculous number of moon-centric pop songs), I felt all nostalgic… and seeing David (played by David Naughton) and Jack (played by Griffin Dunne) in their matching puffy coats just drove it home.Ultimately it's just impressive how well this movie balances comedy and horror. The scary scenes can be downright terrifying — the sounds of the werewolf howling in the distance are some of the most chilling I've heard in ANY movie — and the comedy is clever and sharp. From the very first few scenes, we go from hilarious banter between the two to a truly haunting trek through the foggy British moors. It's a damn shame when Jack gets mauled by an unidentified wild beast, but thankfully we still see him later on, as witty as ever even with flaps of skin dangling from his torn open neck.You never know what emotion you're going to feel next, whether it's sharing in David's frustration over the law enforcement not believing his story or being surprised by how sexy it is to see his nurse, Alex (played by Jenny Agutter), feeding him while he gazes at her with those big brown doe eyes.The standout scene of the movie though is, by far, his transformation scene, thanks to Rick Baker. Set in a fully lit livingroom, you sit through almost 3 painfully uncomfortable minutes of his bones breaking and snapping into place, his hands and feet extending to a freakish length, and lots of sweating and body hair. Definitely one of my most vivid memories of watching the movie as a child (I'm surprised it didn't give me more nightmares), and just another example of how brilliantly the horrifying and hilarious are merged — he even manages to sneak in a joke in between pained screams, "I didn't mean to call you meatloaf, Jack!".Even the ending manages to be perfect. I won't spoil it for you, but… it's great. Just a joy from top to bottom! Supposedly the director, John Landis's, son, Max, is slated to do a remake. That is a high bar, though, even for a blood relative of the director!