The ULTIMATE were-wolf movie!! (An American Werewolf in London (DVD))

Member Name: sparkymarky1973

Product:	An American Werewolf in London (DVD)
Date:	10/11/09 (28 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some great set-pieces, at times very disturbing!

Disadvantages: Has aged a little with the special effects but these are still amazing for the time!

American tourists David and Jack are backpacking in Northern England when they stumble across a local pub called The Slaughtered Lamb. Entering the premises, they receive a distinctly frosty reception and soon make their excuses and leave to the joint warnings of "Stay off the moor" and "Beware the moon!" Not long later, the pair find out just why they were warned when they are attacked by a wild wolf. Jack is killed and David mauled shortly before the local villagers arrive just in time to kill the ferocious animal; at which point the body changes into that of a young man. David is escorted to a London hospital whilst Jack's body is transported back to the States. Meanwhile, a story begins to circulate that both American boys were attacked by an escaped lunatic. But David thinks he knows better......

Lying in his hospital bed, David is visited by ghastly and horrible dreams which include visions of him running through the woods and feasting on deer. But that is not the end of it. His best friend Jack returns from death to tell him that he has been bitten by a were-wolf, that Jack will be forced to walk the Earth in limbo until the were-wolf's blood-line is severed and that David should kill himself before the next full moon rises. David begins to wonder if he is going insane but is comforted by his nurse, played by Jenny Agutter, who offers him a place to stay when he is eventually discharged. But even outside the hospital, he is visited again by a rapidly more and more decomposing Jack who repeats the warning that David should die before the next full moon lest he begin to kill more innocent victims. Again David ignores what he has been told. Then two days later, the full moon rises and the cycle begins anew with one of the most shocking transformations ever shown on film!

FX specialist Rick Baker quite understandably recieved an award for his part in creating the special effects of this film pre-CGI, it was filmed over twenty years ago way back in 1981, and though the transformation sequence does look a little dated now, still it was highly impressive for its time! John Landis too helped with his efforts to create one of the most memorable horror films of that era with his own unique take on the were-wolf legend in a film that far surpassed anything else he would do in later years such as the vampire flick, Innocent Blood, which failed to suitably impress. The vastly under-rated actor, Griffin Dunne, stars as the undead Jack and brings his usual dry wit to the role that he would likewise exhibit in films such as Who's That Girl?, After Hours and Amazon Women On The Moon and there are also cameos from English veteran actor, Brian Gover and comedian, Rik Mayall. Right from the beginning, this is a very surreal film with some very comic moments that also manages at times to be likewise very dark and menacing!

Has there ever been a better were-wolf movie? My money is on no, there hasn't. This is about as good as it gets and the only other lycanthrope film that ever came close was probably the first Ginger Snaps! One of my favourite and most surreal moments is when David is sitting in a porno theatre and is visited by a now very decomposed Jack and some of David's victims. At which point, his guests begin to discuss amongst themselves the best way David should probably kill himself! Likewise a dream sequence at the beginning is equally bizarre, those who have seen American Were-wolf will no doubt be aware of what I am referring to, and all lends towards the film not taking itself too seriously. A dramatic and spetacular finale filmed in a busy Piccadilly Circus setting merely serves to complete what is an excellent entry in the field of horror and no other film since or before this comes close to surpassing it for its excellance!

This is a genuine classic that deserves to be watched again in a time when too many horror films have begun to rely on generic frights and scares in order to pull in their audiences. A sequel, American Were-wolf In Paris, would come later to very mixed reviews (I have not ever bothered to see it but maybe one day will) but this remains, alongside other classic horror films such as Scanners and Videodrome, an iconic movie of the eighties. And one that if you have not seen, you really need to watch!

Summary: Two American back-packers fall foul of a lycanthrope curse......