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Almost Perfect - nice mix of horror and comedy

I enjoyed this movie alot. A great mix of the nasty with a liberal splash of humour. I think John Landis has committed to film one of the great horror/comedies - come to think of it, it really is just a horror film as the humour is quite natural and unforced. In fact I love this film so much, could watch it all the time. Hey, i just might do that anyway.Just watch it and don't be disappointed.

More of a landmark in makeup.

I had watched it this movie a long time back and so totally forgot that I did that when I saw this movie featured as one of Empire magazine's Top 500 Movies list, I decided I really should rent it and watch it. Well I apparently didn't like the movie then and I decidedly still don't like it now.The achievement of Werewolf, it seems, from reading various comments on IMDb, is in its makeup, and yes, after so many years, the scenes in which man becomes werewolf are still remarkable for their smooth and realistic transformations and into a werewolf that looks... well, like a "real" werewolf. But, as with Citizen Kane, movies known for their landmark technical achievements or how they brought what to movies yet to come, doesn't exactly move this layman moviegoer.Still, all that would be irrelevant if Werewolf were a good movie. But it's not. It borders on both camp and humor but doesn't quite reach either, and as a horror, I certainly wasn't horrified at any point, though, admittedly, I might've zoned out later in the movie. So yea, beyond its excellent makeup and special effects in the few transformation scenes, the appeal of this movie mystifies me.

They dont make em' like this anymore!

American Werewolf in London, is a brilliant little yarn about David Naughton getting bit by a lycanthrope, and turning very nasty when the moon is full. The film is done in such a way that you feel you actually know the young Americans, and you start actually pulling for David to be cured of the curse of the werewolf. The werewolf itself far surpasses any other in screen history as far as scariness (Although the one in "Silver Bullet" aint bad) and you will never again hear the Van Morrison hit "Moondance" without thinking of Jenny Agutter. We should all be so lucky as to have sensual hotties as nurses! "Blue Moon" also is heard in many versions, and the music only adds to the atmosphere in downtown London, all the way to the middle of the moors, and who wants to stop at the "Slaughtered Lamb" for a pint of ale after the movie is over? It is very close to being the horror hit of the eighties.`It was to werewolves what "Fright Night" was to vampires. One of the very best of the horror genre.

allcanadianguy@shaw reviews * * * *

Who would like this? : horror, cult classic buffs

Worth seeing?...
-buy it : yes
-rent it : yes

Cast:
David Naughton
Jenny Agutter
Griffin Dunne
John Woodvine

___________________
John Landis
Director

* a classic horror with a little black comedy, suspense and Jenny Agutter. A must have for any horror fan.

Among the giants

This film,along with The Howling,is the last great werewolf film produced. If you are a fan of the genre,and haven't seen it,you are doing yourself a gret disservice. Obtain and enjoy!

John Landis' An American Werewolf in London is fine horror-comedy

After 26 years, I finally got a chance to see John Landis' An American Werewolf in London in its entirety. David Naughton, whom I first saw on Dr. Pepper commercials singing "I'm a Pepper", is fine as the guy who becomes the title character. Griffin Dunne, perhaps best known for Martin Scorsese's After Hours, is likewise as his doomed buddy who comes back as the decaying undead. Jenny Agutter has great chemistry with Naughton as the nurse who falls for him. And John Woodvine acquits himself nicely as the doctor trying to help David. Loved the reference to Lon Chaney's The Wolf Man when David and Jenny are in bed. Rick Baker wholly deserved the first Makeup Effects Oscar for the believable werewolf transformation. Nice quick shots of various wolf killings. Most hilarious scenes were when Naughton wakes up naked in the London zoo and gets, first, balloons and then a lady's coat to cover himself up! Also loved his insults to the police constable like, "Prince Charles is a faggot!" The ending seemed abrupt to me especially when it changed to The Marcels' doo-wop version of "Blue Moon" in the end credits but otherwise, this was a fine mix of comedy and horror. One of John Landis' best. P.S. Watch for two Landis trademarks: Fake movie See You Next Wednesday is the title of a porno flick-which we see some scenes of-playing at the cinema of Picadilly Circus where David meets Griffin and his victims and the "When in Hollywood, Visit Universal Studios (Ask for Babs)" slide which previously appeared at the end of Landis' last two features for the studio, Animal House and The Blues Brothers, also appears here (Babs being the AH character who was revealed to have become a US tour guide).

One of the best horror films ever made, holds true today

I'll admit that I saw this movie for the first time only recently after a huge referral from one of my best friends. Well, it was definitely a worthwhile rental, and I was not disappointed in the least. Forget the cheesy Tom Everett Scott remake, this is the one to watch. Chilling scenes of gruesome murders, surprising moments of dark humor, an expertly tuned witty script, and probably the best werewolf transformation scene captured on camera. I spoil nothing by revealing that Jack 's (Griffin Dunne) role is larger than you think. But you'll end up feeling sorrier for David (Naughton). Oh yeah . . . and the most appropriately fitting use of Creedence Clearwater Revival's Bad Moon Rising in the history of cinema.

Horror as it should be

American werewolf in London/this hit home with me as its set in UK and i am yes English, its a very easy to say its just a film and i know that but not long after seeing it i was in London and i was scared of getting the tube at night as it can be v v dead late at night, also i found myself taking longer ways home from a friends so i did not have to walk over a field at night. Everyone has a button that when pressed scares them and sticks with them but i just feel that its not been done much theses days, but this one remains a fav of mine, yes it shows its age in places but the change into werewolf is still one of the best bits of horror film ever full stop. If you ain't seen it then catch it on DVD, watch at night and loud!, then walk over a field in the dark.................i bet you have problems keeping calm lol."Blue moon, you saw me standing alone"

One of the greats...

'An American Werewolf in London' is one of the great horror films. Most people remember it for the iconic transformation scene. Traditionally, most special effects in movies tend to not date very well. But like Karloff's Frankenstein, or John Carpenter's re-imagining of The Thing, the transformation scene in American Werewolf continues to get better with age. The feats accomplished in this scene (when you look at it from the eyes of the post-CGI world) have never been topped. Even today, you feel David's pain as his body stretches and snaps and morphs into something else.And the film itself is just as iconic. It's such a simple story when you stop to think about it. There's no final twist. No underlined message put in by a director who thinks he's smarter than you. No room for a sequel (although the hacks in Woodtown saw fit to make one anyway in the mid-1990's). The movie hangs on a very basic plot-thread, and for a movie known for it's jaw dropping effects, it's primarily character driven.John Landis wrote the movie when he was 19, and that may have something to do with it. There's a strong sense of empathy that runs through the narrative. Just as the transformation scene makes you feel what David's feeling on a spectacular and dramatic level, the rest of the movie makes you feel David's pain, grief, happiness etc. just as affectively. You really get a sense of what this nineteen year old Yankee's backpacking in Europe is all about. Hell, he could even be you.The film does not get bogged down in trying to explain the supernatural events it chronicles. Sure, you're given basic explanation and a sense that there's something bigger going on, but for the most part the movie says that werewolves exist because werewolves exist. David is a werewolf because he was attacked by one and survived. There is no cure. He needs to kill himself. Nuff said thank you very much. Landis does a great job of planting these events into a real world surrounding. It's like he's saying, here's reality as far as this movie is concerned, and just like in our reality, life sucks. Get over it.I read somewhere that the Suits wanted Landis to change the bleak ending. They were saying ((SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT))"Come on John, we've gotten to like this kid, why does he have to die?" and Landis just laughed and said "Because that's how it ends." You've got to respect a guy who sticks by his vision like that.There's a lot to be said about this movie. I could go on and on about the soundtrack. I could mention the hot sex scene. I could write a term paper on the significance of David's dead best friend Jack, who haunts our hero throughout the course of this movie like Hamlet's wacky neighbor. But I will leave this as my final thought in this review - An American Werewolf in London is a timeless masterpiece made by a man who was at the top of his game. Pure. Simple. To the point.

"...98, 99, 100! Here I Come, Ready or Not".

Being around fifteen at the time, when I first saw this movie, it was on VHS Video. I was at my aunts Cottage in the middle of nowhere. It was late on a summer's evening. The cottage was a Servants Cottage, as she was Maid to a very well heeled family. After watching I had to go home, the walk home was only a few miles, no problem back then to hitch a lift. The walk from the cottage to the main road was one mile. One mile of country lane. With no streetlights, and plenty of empty fields and trees along the narrow winding "single traffic width" lane.Now, you are walking down a dark, quiet and a "little too peaceful lane", late at night, after watching An American Werewolf in London. I never ran so fast down that lane so much in all my life. 1982 Academy Award Winner Rick Baker has been in the business of scaring the life out of people since his very early days in 1971. Working as Make up and Special Effect's Artist on movies such as Star Wars (1977), Flesh Gordon, The Ring, Batman Forever, Videodrome and the 1976 King Kong movie to name but a few. The category for Best Make-Up had only just been introduced to the Oscars, in 1981, because of An American Werewolf in London. Rick Baker was the very first to win an Oscar for this category. To date he has won six Oscars, for his work on Best Make-up and Effects. Winning, also, the 1982 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films Saturn Award for Best Make-up for Werewolf in London, (and Star Wars (1977) in 1978 and Interview with the Vampire in 1995, to mention a couple here). The Director of Animal House, 1978, and The Blues Brothers from 1980, John Landis, has come a long way since becoming a stunt performer in Sergio Leone's 1968 masterpiece Once Upon A Time in the West, and as assistant Director on the 1970's Kelly's Hero's movie. Though not his first Horror movie to be Directed and written by Mr Landis, this being the 1973 Schlock comedy/horror movie. He took up the role as Writer for Werewolf in London as early as 1969, when he was nineteen years of age, some twelve years before the film was filmed and released. The impact of this movie at the time of its release was phenomenal. Nothing had ever been seen like this before. Being the story of two American friends, David and Jack, back packing across Europe. It is when they reach the English Moors in Yorkshire on a cold and wet afternoon, on a night of the full moon, that they find that their troubles will begin. After upsetting the locals in the Slaughtered Lamb pub, they are shown the door. "Beware the Moon", they are forewarned, this was to become one of the most iconic phrases in modern horror movies of all time. But it is too little too late, whilst getting lost on the Moors they are attacked by a lukanthropia. Jack dies and David wakes up in a London Hospital days later. The love interest here is done through the connection between the young and beautiful nurse Alex Price, played here by the ever quintessential English Rose Jenny Agutter. The next full moon rises, and David has other plans for the night. The Beast has awoken. What has made this movie transform itself from the mainstream werewolf movie to the Movie of Werewolf's is the fantastically frightening and completely original manner that David transmogrifies between Man and Beast. While other Werewolf movies rely on out of shot changes for example, here you are with him in the same room, to terrified to move. You are here as character witness, the fear locking your senses to the sheer terror that is unfolding before your very eyes and seeing every minuet detail, from Man to Beast. Every stage a transgression of a dangerous and terrifying ordeal. There is nowhere for you to run. Your next. As typical Landis style, humour, be it slapstick or dark is never far away. Even for Werewolf in London. David, in his Lycanthropic state devours several victims. The most famous being the businessman alone on the London Underground System. Classic horror. The point being that Jack and his poor victims come back from the dead to ask David to kill himself. Jack and his new found undead friends are now cursed to walk the Earth in limbo until he himself is dead. To break the curse. These undead are talking, walking and extremely decomposing carcases. The make up, at the time, was second to none. The attention to detail is truly (Oscar) inspiring.What is odd about this movie is that every musical soundtrack is a song that contains the word "Moon" in the title, for example: Blue Moon by Sam Cooke and Bad Moon Rising by The Creedence Clearwater Revival. This works very well, and brings home the ever foreboding fear and trepidation that Werewolf in London is. Here we see the late Brian Glover and a non-speaking cameo role by the then young and unknown English comic Rik Mayell, as the second chess player. Frank Oz, the Muppet master plays a tiny role here too. This werewolf movie has surpassed them all, due to the combinations of Rick Baker, John Landis and a great team of movie people working hard behind the scenes. An American Werewolf in London is an epic special effects masterpiece. If the Academy Awards have to make an entirely new Category because of Werewolf in London's merits, then that is telling us something, that perhaps Hollywood have become Animal lovers? No, they recognise talent and hard work when they see it.

Toothsome Movie

I'm a sucker for a good werewolf movie, and this is a good werewolf movie. Probably the best transformation scene ever filmed, even counting later computer generated ones.

CLASSIC WEREWOLF MOVIE

A YOUNG AMERICAN [DAVID NAUGHTON] AND HIS FRIEND ARE BITTEN BY A WEREWOLF IN THE WOODS OF LONDON. HIS FRIEND DIES, BUT HE SURVIVES. SOON, HE BEGINS TO BECOME A BLOODTHIRSTY WEREWOLF. VERY THRILLING AND VERY FUNNY TOO. THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST WEREWOLF MOVIES OF ALL TIME. IF YOU WANNA SEE A HORROR MOVIE THAT ACTUALLY MAKES SOME SENSE, WATCH THIS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THE WOLF LOOKS FANTASTIC. FOLLOWED YEARS LATER BY AN IN NAME ONLY SEQUEL.

10/10

This movie has what I think the best werewolf transformation scene ever filmed to date. But it also has a good and darkly humored script. It is also good on scares too. I think you should rent it on video and if you have not seen it for a long time see it again.

A great idea badly executed

AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON is arguably the most brilliantly creative vehicle from the 80s, but ideas alone don't make full-length feature films.The film's script provides its audience with precious little story, and what there is of it is illogical and therefore unconvincing. Instead of story, Landis fills the screen with gimmicky sequences that undermine the impact of the truly substantial ones that work. Provided that the dialogue, which is really quite awful throughout the film, be reworked--the nightmarish home-invasion, the second visitation of the protagonist's savaged friend, the protagonist's transformation, the hilarious balloons-in-the-park and the haunted theater sequences are all keepers. The rest of the script should be scrapped and replaced with a story that makes sense.Further, the film's lovers, David and Alex, are virtual strangers--not only to the audience, but to one another. The audience needs to know who these people are and understand what motivates their love. Given that Alex invests the most and is willing to put her life at risk, it is especially important that we be given some clue as to why she apparently comes to love David so much. Reducing David's and Alex's relationship to what appears to be a casual affair while depicting acts of great devotion is confounding and seriously undermines the impact of the film's horror. Also, the film's comedic element is introduced too early in Landis' version. This should not occur until after the romantic element is well established.Landis' film is a B-movie, unconsciously presented as something more, but not in the tradition of the great, classic noirs of the 40s and 50s. This film really is mediocre.Not withstanding, the film's makeup, for which it deservedly won its only Oscar, and some of its special effects are really quite excellent and continue to hold up against today's standards. And though its effectiveness is somewhat undone by the film's shortcomings, the juxtaposition of real horror and comedy is stunningly imaginative.I give it a 5 out of 10 for creativeness and effort, and strongly recommend it to film lovers, as this is a potentially great film still waiting to happen and should not be allowed to languish as a cult classic, namely because it isn't, i.e., a classic. I recommend Michael McDowell to write and Tim Burton to direct the remake.

A MODESTY MASTERPIECE MOVÝE

First time when ý saw this great movie ý was a teenage.I had seen it in the Theatre three times at 80'(I was 15 then)And ý could never forget it.I live ýn Turkey.I was'nt able to have this movie till last year.Now ý'am 32 and ý see it again and again.There is something in this movie.Theres Magic of John Landis and Guru Baker.Baker is as known as always.But John LANDÝS is the reason of difference and magic of this movie.Baker made a great job to complete the part of David's transformation and amazig make-up.
It's my all time favorite movie.No doubt it's a Cult Movýe to me.The Story of John Landis is Great.Script and Direction is Superior.Director of Photografy is very Successfull from the beginning of the movie and gives us the mood and what they means and thought about..The Moors Pictures and London are very smart choises for this story and movie.
David Naughton fits extremely good as an american young,good hearted sacrýface of an Werewolf.And he's in love...
And musics,tracks(choises of great JOHN LANDIS) are very Brilliant,Impressive,Able Choises to the movýe and attitudes in the movie.They making the mood more impressive and unforgetable,tragic and realistic.ý enjoyed so much all the time when ý see and ý don't fade up to see it.Ýt's an Art of Motion Picture or even Still Picture of Director.
Ýt's a Modesty Masterpiece....in the pictures even without
Zombies,Monsters or Werewolfes...

Arguably the greatest werewolf film of all time!

PLOT: The film opens on the moors of northern England. Two vacationing Jewish-American college kids, David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne), are traveling on foot. By nightfall, they reach the small village of East Proctor. They stop at a local pub named "The Slaughtered Lamb." The sign features a painting of a decapitated wolf's head on a pike. "Where's the lamb?" asks Jack. The two walk inside and the villagers immediately go silent and stare at them, as if they were freaks or something. They sit down and the barmaid takes their order. They ask if she has anything like hot soup, coffee, or hot chocolate. "We have spirits and beers. If it's something hot that you want then you could have tea," she replies. The two quickly order the tea. Jack looks on the wall and notices an old drawing of a five-pointed star surrounded by candles. "Maybe the owners are from Texas," suggests David. After the villagers start talking amongst themselves again, Jack identifies the star as a pentangle. "It's used in witchcraft. Lon Chaney Jr., in Universal Studios maintained that's the mark of the Wolf Man", he states. Jack builds up some courage and asks why the star is on the wall. The room goes dead silent. A dart playing villager points at the boys and states, "You made me miss. I've never missed that board before." David and Jack, now realizing that they are not welcome, decide to get going. The barmaid yells out, "Wait! You just can't let them go!" The rest of the villagers just say, "Go. Stay on the road. Keep clear of the moors. Beware the Moon, lads!" The two start walking down the road, hoping they'll find an inn or something. As soon as they left, the villagers started debating over if they should have let the two go or not. It soon starts raining and the barmaid says, "Perhaps they'll be safe in the rain." Suddenly a blood-curdling howl is heard. The barmaid starts pleading, "We must go to them!" "I heard nothing," replied a chess-playing villager. The rain doesn't last long and David and Jack suddenly hear the howling. They immediately get scared. They look up to see a full moon and remember what the villagers said about bewaring the moon and sticking to the road. They look down and notice that they accidentally wondered off the road into the moors. The howling starts getting louder and they decide to retrace their steps. They soon realize that they are really lost and they sense that the large howling creature (whatever it is) is circling them. The two start running in a random direction, hoping that the howling sound will start to get far away. Suddenly David slips and falls. Jack leans over to help him up and a huge hellish beast attacks him from out of nowhere. David runs off to save himself, but Jack's calls for help make him feel guilty and he soon runs back. Suddenly the beast attacks him. David then hears the sound of guns firing. In a dazed stupor, he looks over to his side to see a dead naked man. He then looks up to see the villagers examining him. Then he blacks out. He awakens in a hospital in London three weeks later. Upon awakening, he is greeted by Dr. Hirsch (John Woodvine). He informs him of where he is and that Jack is dead. Two Scotland Yard detectives inform David that he and Jack were attacked by an escaped lunatic, he was shot by the local police, and that there were two witnesses at the attack. David immediately states that he and Jack were attacked by a wild animal (not a man) and that there were no witnesses. He suggests that the villagers of East Proctor are trying to hide something. Everyone just thinks that extreme trauma has clouded David's memory. While in the hospital, David has realistic nightmares such as one in which he is running naked in the wilderness and another bizarre one in which wolfen Nazi storm troopers murder his family. On the bright side, David is also finding himself drawn to his sexy nurse, Alex Price (Jenny Agutter); she also finds herself drawn to him. One morning while eating breakfast, David looks up to find himself face-to-face with a rotting Jack. "Can I have a piece of toast?" he asks. David goes into shock. Jack informs David that the two were attacked by a werewolf on the moors. Since Jack was killed, he has to wonder the Earth in limbo as one of the undead. Since David survived, he is now a werewolf. In order for undead ones to be freed of their limbo, the last remaining werewolf must be destroyed. Jack pleads for David to kill himself or he'll make others undead. "Beware the moon, David," he says. Then he disappears. David now realizes that the true horror is only about to begin.


COMMENTS: John Landis' An American Werewolf In London is an awesome film and arguably the best werewolf film ever made. Landis wrote the screenplay in 1969, and saved it for when he became a famous director. He later started a friendship with Special EFX genius Rick Baker. Rick Baker designed the ape-man in Landis' 1973 low-budget film "Schlock." Landis told Baker about his plans for AAWIL, but at the time no one exactly was banging down Landis' door for him to make it. Immediately prior to filming this, Rick Baker served as the special effects consultant on Joe Dante's classic werewolf film "The Howling." He must have gotten an idea or two while working with EFX man Rob Bottin. Landis wanted his film to be about a tragic werewolf, basically a modern update of 1941's "The Wolf Man", with Lon Chaney Jr. Baker wanted to design a bipedal werewolf like the ones from "The Howling", but Landis wanted his werewolf to be a quadrupedal hound from Hell. What Baker ultimately created was arguably the scariest werewolf in the history of cinema. Landis also wanted the transformation scene to be in harsh, bright light. A transformation scene in a dim room, like in "The Howling", is a lot easier because the dark can hide whatever flaws are in your makeup and EFX. Bright light shows everything. Baker managed to pull it off. This was also the first werewolf film in which the transformation is depicted as an extremely painful metamorphosis, with bones cracking and everything. Baker's transformation work was absolutely amazing. No more cheap lap dissolve tricks from films like "The Wolf Man." This also predated CGI and it shows that a realistic transformation scene can be done without it. I am not a big fan of CGI werewolves. The horrid sequel, "An American Werewolf In Paris (1997)," was done with all CGI werewolves. I think that they look like ridiculous cartoons. Baker's animatronic puppeteered suit looks awesome the way it is. Baker later became the first Oscar winner in the category of "Makeup" for this film. Many people expected this film to be a comedy, since Landis previously scored success with 1978's "National Lampoon's Animal House" and 1980's "The Blues Brothers." Audiences were in for a big surprise. Some people call this a horror comedy. Landis states that this is not a horror comedy and that it is a serious horror film with some humorous moments. Every song on the soundtrack has the word "moon" in the title. This film is a timeless horror classic. I would recommend this film to anyone. The new collector's edition DVD is awesome. The picture and sound have been completely remastered and it is presented in its original widescreen theatrical ratio. It also features outtakes, storyboards, photograph montage, production notes, cast bios, archival footage of Rick Baker casting a mold of David Naughton's hand, commentary w/ David Naughton and Griffin Dunne, a 1981 documentary entitled "Making An American Werewolf In London, and brand new interviews with John Landis and Rick Baker. If you really love werewolf films, then buy this DVD as well as the special edition DVD for The Howling. Check out my reviews for The Howling, Howling II, and Howling III DVDs as well.

BEST WEREWOLF MOVIE EVER.

THE WEREWOLF TRANSFORMATION IS EXCELLENT.I THOUGH IT WOULD BE SCARY,IT WAS ,BUT IT WAS ALSO FUNNY.I RECOMEND THIS TO EVERYONE.I LOVED IT.

Better remembered than seen

I remember seeing this when I was 10. It was interesting because I'd never seen a mix of horror and comedy like this film had.The effects were good, too. For a 10 year old, what's not to like?I rented this recently and realized that it hasn't aged well. Dunne's performance is still funny -- but the material isn't as funny as I remembered. Or as scary. A lot of the story is disjointed. It sets up many paths and then, boom, it's over; characters and motivations don't resolve. I do feel this film had a big impact on horror storytelling -- for instance, Buffy the Vampire Slayer seems influenced by its ironic comedy and horror mix. But its offspring are better, livelier, and more inventive. Seen today, this film is noteworthy for its inspirations, not its content.

One of the very BEST werewolf movies ...

This one, together with The Howling, belongs to the top of ALL werewolf-movies ever seen on this planet ! ;)The tranformation-sequence was a masterpiece of special effects, even today ! Animatronics, make-up effects (especially the undead guys ;)) and the settings itself are incredible ! Todays werewolf-movies (eg. Bad Moon) only set up a guy in a dark area, usually a forest, and turn on their computers to perform a CGI morph as introduced in Terminator II. This movie is old school morphing at it's best !!! The only two other transformations, nearly as cool as this one, are The Howling and Manimal ;)The Music ? Hey, I LOOOOOOVE the 'Moon' song during the morphing and the other great scores. Neah, there is a single one that I can't listen anymore... the one at the porn-cinema ;)The Storyline ? Just look at the other comments ;) They say it all... a bit outdated today, especially the two Americans, but it's still a great effort in mixing werewolf-horror/gore with comedy. And the really DARK british humour was very cool, too. Unfortunately I like Monty Python's kind of humour a bit more ;) Regarding An American Werewolf In Paris, the second part of this movie: It's not as good as this one, but still has some sort of "nearly equal" storyline. The morph-scene as far TOO short and CGI-animated, compared to this freaky masterpiece, but it has Julie Delpy in it ;) Werewolf in Paris is more a popcorn-cinema for fast visits.The Making Of and the Outtakes on the Collectors DVD are really nice, but the special-effect Making Of a bit too short for a glimpse beyond the scenes. Anyway, the Outtakes are a really must-see, especially at the end ;)My rating ? 10/10 for the special effects but 8 of 10 points for the rest ;)

One Way Ticket to Nowhere

This horror tale plays like the supernatural version of "Breaking Away" and "American Graffiti" in which the young male character goes through painful Rites of Passage. Except in AW the man changes into an actual man-eating beast... and there is no bicycle (or vintage car) race. Is this movie horror, a comedy... or a little of both? Director Landis says it is definitely "horror." So let's press on... AW is also about culture shock, post-pubescence, raging male-hormones, nihilism, & traditional and historical apathy (two vacationing American student friends are only discovering 'new ways' and new young women to lay in Europe).David (David Naughton) is the visiting Yank who, when bitten one evening by a large and savage beast on the English moors, is doomed to become one himself every full turn of the moon.The cathartic (i.e. orgasmic) last scenes in this movie (The Piccadilly Circus and The Alley sequence) are excellently played out, but the viewer might get the impression that everything here was a rush job, with no serious consideration for responsibly explaining anything previously seen or set up, plot-wise.Regarding nostalgia for the '50s and '60s, directors George Lucas and Steven Spielberg never dared to go this far, gore-wise, and for this, Landis is to be commended. Add to this the fact that the AW soundtrack is predominantly different versions of 'Blue Moon.' Rick Baker won the first Academy Award here for special-effects makeup (You won't dare use the The Tube when touring London). Don't even bother seeing the sort-of sequel, "An American Werewolf in Paris.""Sean, there's hooligans in the park again."