An American Werewolf in London: Full Moon Edition

By Jeff Swindoll Sep 15, 2009, 17:51 GMT

Re-discover one of the most gripping horror films of all-time with the cult classic An American Werewolf in London. Blending the macabre with a wicked sense of humor, director John Landis (National Lampoon’s Animal House) delivers a contemporary take on the classic werewolf tale in this story of two American tourists who, while traveling in London, find their lives changed forever when a viscious wolf attacks them during a full ...more

Get ready to howl at the moon again.  John Landis’ classic film is one that comes up every time there is a list of the best werewolf movies ever made.  The film is a delicious mix of gore and comedy that also features some great special effects from the masterful Rick Baker.  It’s nice to see some wet work as we’ve been inundated with CGI.  

David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne) are two American college students backpacking across the Yorkshire moors.  The duo is attacked by a beast, after being warned to stay off the moors by the sinister villagers.  Jack is killed.  David is mauled and is taken to a London hospital.  He wakes up three weeks later and doesn’t remember what has happened to him. 

Things don’t get better when Jack’s ghost appears to him and encourages him to kill himself before the next full moon to spare himself the horror of also being haunted by the victims of his lycanthropy.  David moves in with pretty nurse Alex Price (Jenny Agutter) and thinks nothing of Jack’s warning… until the full moon rises and even a man who is pure of heart can’t resist the beast inside.  

So impressive were the makeup effects for An American Werewolf in London that a whole new category was christened in 1981 “Outstanding Achievement in Makeup” and American Werewolf was the recipient of the first statue.  That category would continue on and is still awarded to this day. 

1981 might be called the year of the wolf since Wolfen and The Howling also appeared on screens as well.  Wolfen may well be the more forgotten of the trio, but The Howling and American Werewolf are the cream of that crop.  I remember at the time that the makeup effects were shocking and gruesome for the time.

The gruesome factor might’ve worn off as films after it seemed to try and up the ante, but in some way these old school effects are made the more effective these days.  I’m getting awfully tired of seeing digital blood sprays in films these days. 

At least in 1981, the effects were happening in the real world and the actors could react to them.  Now we have a technician holding a green ball that will represent the monster and the actors react to a green ball and hope they’re looking in the right place.  Landis also infuses his gorefest with large amounts of comedy so you’re screaming with laughter one moment and just screaming or cringing the next. 

Simply put, An American Werewolf in London is one of the classics of the lupine genre.  

An American Werewolf in London is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.  The “Full Moon Edition” adds two new special features.  Disc two is devoted to the lengthy 97 minute “Beware the Moon: Remembering An American Werewolf in London.” 

The other is a new 7 minute interview with Rick Baker on disc one and he also talks about his latest Wolfman gig.  The rest of the special features are on disc one and from the previous DVD edition of the film. 

They include the 5 minute vintage documentary “Making An American Werewolf in London,” an 18 minute interview with John Landis, an 11 minute interview with Rick Baker, the 11 minute “Casting the Hand” vintage featurette, 3 minutes of outtakes, 2 minutes of storyboards, and a 3 minute photo montage. 

The film also has a commentary from the werewolf and his decomposing buddy, David Naughton and Griffin Dunne.  

An American Werewolf in London is a howling classic.  This new addition adds a fantastic new look back at the film while holding over the nice special features of the previous edition.  Just beware the moors when the moon is full.

An American Werewolf in London: Full Moon Edition is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.