American Werewolf in London, An

Synopsis
In John Landis' (THE BLUES BROTHERS, ANIMAL HOUSE) dripping black comedy, two American students (David Naughton and Griffin Dunne) on a European vacation wander into a creepy local pub in Northern England and are quickly thrown out. Stranded and alone in the dark countryside, the pair get lost in their search for warm lodging. Little do they know that they are about to be changed forever by an ancient terror as they walk along the moors on a moonlit night. Only one of the students survives a deadly attack by a supernatural beast--at least he thinks he survived, until the next full moon rolls around. Terrific makeup effects (by Oscar winner Rick Baker), clever editing, and raunchy tongue-in-cheek humor made this suspenseful and thrilling horror effort an instant classic.

Production Notes
One of the chief successes of the film is the inventiveness of makeup artist Rick Baker, who slowly transforms both Naughton and Dunne into werewolves.
Director (Landis's) trademark: SYNW (See You Next Wednesday) can be seen on a poster advertising a porn film in the London T tunnel where the werewolf (Naughton) kills one of his victims. The same porn film is the film being shown and advertised on the marquee at the porn theater in Picadilly Circus, where Naughton meets his zombie friend Jack and the undead victims of his murder spree. Later, Naughton turns into a werewolf in the theater.

"I'm not being threatened by a walking meatloaf."--David (David Naughton) to Jack (Griffin Dunne)

"Have you ever talked to a corpse? It's boring."--Jack to David

Reviews
"...A clever mixture of comedy and horror....Redolent with sharp dialog and offbeat humor..." (Variety)

"...Landis is...serious about making this a horror film that packs a wallop..." (New York Times)

"John Landis' giddy, gory 1981 horror comedy remains the lycanthropic gold standard." -- Grade: A- (Entertainment Weekly)