Beware the moon.
American tourists David and Jack are savagely attacked by an unidentified animal while hiking on the Yorkshire Moors. After retiring to the home of a beautiful nurse to recuperate, David soon begins experiencing disturbing changes to his body and mind.
- Body horror
- Graphic violence
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Character
Resolved, meticulous, effortless and classical in form.
- resolvedopen-ended
- rawmeticulous
- effortlessdemanding
- classical in formformally daring
- character-ledplot-driven
Who loves it, who doesn't
23 profiled raters. Loved most by The Cartographers; disliked most by The Ironists.
Where do you stand?
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“Is this John Landis's best work?”
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“Is it actually scary?”
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“Is David Naughton the best thing in An American Werewolf in London?”
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A yes-or-no question, answered from what people wrote here, on TMDB and on Wikipedia. Never made up.
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- CinemaSerfon TMDB · Apr 20247/10
"David" (David Naughton) and his pal "Jack" (Griffin Dunne) are taking a walking tour of the UK when they decide to stop off at a pub. They are about as welcome as a dose of the clap and after a few minutes banter with the natives decide they are better off walking. The thing is, those inside know how dangerous it's about to be out there - and the boys soon find out. It's "David" who wakes up in hospital, replete with some mysterious scratch marks, nightmares and claiming that they were attacked by a brutal hound. Nobody really believes him, and anyway his attention is quickly diverted by nurse "Alex" (Jenny Agutter) whom he visits for dinner and never leaves. Luckily she works nights, else she might have discovered that her beau doesn't just stop at a bit of gentle biting. With corpses piling up around London, he is at a loss to know where he goes at night (waking up naked in the wolf enclosure at the zoo might be the final straw) but try as he might, he can't engage the authorities with his claims. Maybe only doctor "Hirsch" (John Woodvine) believes that something unusual is amiss - but can he help before "David" does himself or anyone else more damage! Increasingly more often na
Read the whole review on TMDB - Potential Kermodeon TMDB · Feb 201710/10
**The best horror film of the eighties** This is a gem, it really is. Alternately amusing and horrific - John Landis plays our emotions like a fiddle here. He is pulling all the strings and we are uncertain as to which string he is going to pull next. From the eerie Yorkshire countryside of the opening scenes through David's _awful_ nightmares in hospital to amusing zombie chit chat and finally the climactic slaughter in London - this film never lets up. How many films will you find Kermit the frog sharing a scene with throat slicing, machine gun wielding mutants dressed as Nazis? - Potential Kermode
Read the whole review on TMDB - Peter89Spenceron TMDB · Oct 20208/10
An 80s horror classic! The storyline was well written, the special effects were amazing, and Jenny Agutter was so sexy! Although the ending was a bit rushed - just like the Wolfman, the main character dies, and the film ends, just like that! What's more messed up is they play an upbeat song during the end credits, right after we see David's lifeless body. The ending is my one critique. The rest of the movie was pretty good.
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Cast
- David NaughtonDavid Kessler
- Griffin DunneJack Goodman
- Jenny AgutterNurse Alex Price
- John WoodvineDr. J.S. Hirsch
- Don McKillopInspector Villiers
- Brian GloverChess Player
- David SchofieldDart Player
- Lila KayeBarmaid
- Rik MayallSecond Chess Player
- Sean BakerSecond Dart Player
Crew
- John LandisDirector
- John LandisScreenplay
- Robert PaynterDirector of Photography
- Elmer BernsteinOriginal Music Composer
- Malcolm CampbellEditor
- George Folsey Jr.Producer
Where to watch
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Pairings
Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.
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Often watched with
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