BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

GazerRise Fantastic!

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

onnozuidema Saw this movie when I was young and impressionable...; remember that I liked it. I just watched it again with my sons, but it was quite a letdown. The opening scene, with the two American boys roaming the English moors is still pretty strong, but from there it goes downhill. The acting is flat and unconvincing, especially from David Naughton who plays David, the main character. Jenny Agutter and John Woodvine as nurse and doctor fare a little better. There is some attempt at humor, which does not really work; horror and humor usually are not comfortable partners anyway. The transformation scene is still strong and has survived the test of time, but thereafter the werewolf appears as a totally different creature from the one we see emerging from transformation. Weird. There are very few moments which are actually scary, and the ending is rather abrupt and disappointing. My teenager sons (who love SF/horror classics like Alien and The Thing from roughly the same area) found the movie boring. Cannot disagree with them. If this is the ultimate werewolf movie (which a lot of people claim it is), I shiver to think what the rest might be.

hellholehorror I would love to have grown up in America just so that I could watch this film from a true American perspective and truly appreciated it. I thought that it was a very good film but you could tell that it was an American writing because of the slightly alternate perspective on the English culture. This is a horror film with light comic undertones which I think were actually ahead of its time. The style is distinctly seventies even though it was made in the eighties. The story plays really well with solid progression and interesting sub-plots never taking attention away from the screen. Ignore the unbelievable elements and this is an amazing werewolf film. Probably the best werewolf film sandwiched between Ginger Snaps (2000) and The Howling (1981). I think that the light humour and interesting storytelling and some pertinent moments really make this a leader in the genre. I loved the detail of London conversely I hated the stuffy British people. The final scene was a climatic masterpiece probably never seen before or since to the same quality. It is not especially scary but I would still highly recommend this. Horrifically eerie, made me think that it could happen to me.

Tweekums David and Jack are two young American enjoying a long holiday in Europe and naturally their first place to visit is a particularly bleak Yorkshire moor. Cold and wet they take shelter in The Slaughtered Lamb public house… the welcome is such that they decide to leave fairly soon. As they leave the locals warn them to stick to the roads, stay off the moor and beware of the full moon. Soon they hear something and are then attacked by a wolf-like creature; Jack is killed and David wakes in a London hospital a few weeks later. Soon afterwards an undead Jack visits him and tells him they were attacked by a werewolf and if David doesn't kill himself before the next full moon he will turn into a werewolf and start killing people. As he recovers he gets close to Alex Price, his nurse, and when he is discharged she lets him stay at her flat… and in her bed. Come the full moon he does indeed transform into a werewolf and goes out and kills six people; when he wakes up he has no memory of what happened and is naked in London zoo. After these events his doctor starts to wonder if he was involved and David tried unsuccessfully to get himself arrested before the next night.There are plenty of comedy horror films but most fail to be funny enough or fail to be scary enough… or frequently both. This however succeeds on both counts. The film starts amusingly with David and Jack getting a lift on a lorry full of sheep before going to the perfect example of an unfriendly pub. When they are attacked it is obvious that the horror is going to be good too… both scary and pretty gory. The special effects are still impressive over thirty five years after it was made… the transformation of David into a werewolf, using great physical effects is a classic scene… much better than the rapid CGI transformation of certain recent films that include werewolves. David Naughton does a fine job as David, nicely portraying his disbelief and later fear, about what is happening to him. Jenny Agutter also impresses as Alex, the nurse who falls in love with him. There is a fun selection of music to accompany the film; a succession of well-known songs, each of which refers to the moon. Overall I'd recommend this to horror fans although it certainly isn't suitable for younger viewers.

skybrick736 American Werewolf in London, undeniably the most highly praised werewolf film but is it really all that the film is cracked up to be? The film starts off really rough with atrocious dialogue between the two lead actors. It's a painful beginning ten minutes as the writing eventually gets better as more characters are introduced. David Naughton overacts a bit too much but otherwise he did a solid job in his lead role and has a good look for it. Jenny Agutter was the real star of the film, having great screen presence and bringing an authenticity to her role. Other attributes that the film did rather well was great dream sequences that were actually frightening. There are a lot of horror films that try to pull of scary dream sequences but American Werewolf definitely did it right. Also, of course, the transformation scene is top notch with perfect background music and interesting filming techniques on Naughton's arms, legs and exterminates. The werewolf's completed state is pretty believable too. There is a great ending too, albeit a tad ridiculous but there is no shown remorse to the Londoners and the city landscape was shot really well. John Landis's American Werewolf in London starts off really poor but quickly redeems itself into being a great horror film.