Film Review: Reviewed By Alan Jones; 4 out of 5

Director John Landis (The Blues Brothers) here pulls off the difficult trick of revitalising the horror genre while parodying it at the same time. David Naughton and Griffin Dunne play the American students who are attacked by werewolves on an English moor. Only Naughton survives, but is visited by his dead friend, who has bad news. Funny, scary and extremely gory - Dunne's gradual decomposition is an absolute hoot - this lycanthropic lampoon is also a splendid satire on British life as seen through American eyes. The special effects and Rick Baker's Oscar-winning make-up established new trends in monster metamorphoses: after this revolutionary movie, no horror transformation was ever the same again. The belated, watered-down sequel, An American Werewolf in Paris, followed in 1997.

Plot Summary

Horror comedy starring David Naughton and Jenny Agutter. Two American travellers are attacked by a werewolf while walking on the moors. One is killed but the other, David Kessler, is saved by locals. Later, in hospital, he experiences nightmare visions but fails to convince nurse Alex Price of what really happened.