CHAMP'S REVIEW OF:
AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981)

OPENING THOUGHTS

    Yeah. You see it. It gets an A. Why? Basically its hands-down the best werewolf movie I've ever seen. It doesn't really play off as a horror movie either. Its pretty comedic throughout the whole thing, then towards the end, it takes this turn and, and things start happening so fast! You can barely fathom an opinion or thought  of what's happening, you're just like, WHAT?! HOLY CRAP! NUH-UH! JEEZ! OH MY GOD! IT'S ANARCHY! IT'S CHAOS! It's truly classic film making at it's best!

ACTING

    DAVID NAUGHTON plays David (isn't that crazy?!! that's his real name too... I wonder if they planned that...), the friend who survives getting mauled by the beast, but is scratched, and has strange things begin to happen to him. I think this is the only movie I've ever seen this guy in, but he does a decent job. There's some pretty good dramatic moments too, when he finds out he's a werewolf, and he calls home to tell everyone he loves them.
    GRIFFIN DUNNE plays the friend Jack, who dies during the mauling, then proceeds to haunt his friend David, because he died a wrongful death, and he's in limbo. He informs David that he's a werewolf, and that he'll continually haunt David until he kills himself. His character relentlessly tries to persuade David throughout the film. Everytime he shows up, his body has decayed and rotted, and it seems he's always a little more pissed off that David is having a hard time believing him. Dunne brings a great comic relief to the film, and... that's about all there's to say. Onward HOOOOOOOOOOO!
    JENNY AGUTTER plays nurse Alex Price who takes David home from the hospital, because she's hard up, and feels sorry for him, or some crap like that. Anyway, I felt she was the weakest character, simply because she couldn't act. She said her lines, like she was saying lines. The sex scene didn't even save her. I didn't really find her all that appealing anyway. She falls in love with David too, but I felt the love story was somewhat forced. That's about the only complaint of this movie I have.

DIRECTION AND SCRIPT

    JOHN LANDIS wrote and directed this movie waaaay back in 1981. I guess he wrote it originally in 1969, when he was only 19. His pacing and characters really hold the movie together, but what I'm about to rave about, is the transformation scene. This is how werewolves should transform. Its THE BEST, werewolf transformation scene, in film history. I guess I should credit Rick Baker with creature design, and special effects, but damn, it's good! I haven't seen anything that's even compared to this scene, and it was made in 1981! Talk about staying power! I guess I've already raved about the end sequence too, but it's a perfect finale to this movie. Its great. The only thing that sucks, is that the actual werewolf is a bit dated, and looks kind of fake. Remember though, 1981!!!

THE VERDICT

    If I were to make a werewolf movie, I would hope it would be compared to this. Its got realistic integrity, along with great comic relief, and excellent special effects. Its simple, yet effective, and current horror directors and writers should take note, and study this great film. People who won't like this film, are people who don't like older movies, or complain about how boring something is. They won't understand it. People who will like this movie, are people who like good horror and cult movies, and are willing to give something, even though it's a bit old, a chance.
 
 

RATING: A

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