#7 AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON - Horror Countdown to Halloween

The early 80's saw a revival in the werewolf film. Joe Dante's The Howling, was first and entered theaters in late 1980. Then came the not so great Wolfen starring Albert Finney. Finally, late in the summer of 1981 came John Landis' An American Werewolf in London, which set the benchmark for werewolf films ever since. Even now the film remains at the top of the list of werewolf films.

Landis falls into that rare category of filmmakers who understand the balance of horror and comedy well. Sam Raimi and Edgar Wright are two others. What makes An American Werewolf in London so enjoyable is that the movie aims to please on both a comedic and a scary level. Landis was on a role when he came to the film having made Animal House and The Blue Brothers, both classics.

The film opens in the countryside of North England, where two Americans, David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne), are on a backpacking trip. They decide to stop in at the local pub, a place with the foreboding name of "The Slaughtered Lamb". After they ask one too many questions, they are rudely told to leave, although, before departing, they are given a warning to stick to the road and not wander onto the moors - a warning they of course ignore.

The attack is swift as it is brutal. The next thing David knows, he is recovering in a London hospital under the care of an attractive nurse named Alex Price (Jenny Agutter). He has a series of harrowing nightmares and begins to get visits from his zombified friend, Jack, who informs him that he has become one of the walking dead and that David, at the next full moon, will be transformed into a werewolf.

And what a transformation it is. Landis said he wanted it to be painful and boy does it ever look painful. Stan Winston's work here is truly amazing and has still to be topped. It's the film's most stunning and memorable sequence.

Overall An American Werewolf in London is the best werewolf movie out there. It gets the mixture of comedy and horror just write, throws in some amazing effects, and gives us characters we are engaged in. The film holds up well and considering how few good werewolf movies there are, Dog Soldiers and Ginger Snaps are others, this film had to make our list.

written by Matthew Robinson