An American Werewolf in London [Special Edition] [DVD]

With an ingenious script, engaging characters, nerve-shredding suspense, genuinely frightening set-pieces and laugh-out-loud funny bits An American Werewolf in London is a prime candidate for the finest horror-comedy ever made. Americans David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) are backpacking in northern England when Jack is killed by a wild beast and David is bitten. Back in London David finds himself falling in love with a nurse, Alex (played with winning charm by Jenny Agutter), and turning into a werewolf. Adding to his problems, an increasingly decomposed Jack keeps coming back from the dead, and he is not a happy corpse. The Oscar winning make-up and transformation scenes still look good and rather than send itself up Werewolf plays its horror seriously, the laughs coming naturally from the surreal situation. Naughton is engagingly confused and disbelieving, desperately coping with the ever more nightmarish world, while Landis delivers one absolutely stunning dream sequence, an unbearably tense hunt on the London Underground and a breathtaking finale. Gory, erotic, shocking and romantic, this unforgettable horror classic has it all. Tom Holland's Fright Night (1985) remixed the formula with vampires, as did Landis himself in Innocent Blood (1992). A disappointing sequel, An American Werewolf in Paris, followed in 1997. --Gary S Dalkin

DVD Special Features:

Actors' Commentary
Behind the Scenes
Outtakes
Interview with John Landis
Interview with Rick Baker
Focus on Technical Effects
Storyboard to Film Comparison
Stills Gallery
Four Page Booklet with Production Notes

Subtitles: English for deaf and hard of hearing
Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital 5.1
Picture: 16:9 anamorphic widescreen

David Naughton and Jenny Agutter star in this classic cult black comedy: American backpackers David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) take off for a three month European jaunt. Walking in the desolate English countryside they come across some locals who give them chilling words of advice: "Keep to the raod and keep clear of the moors" and "Beware of the moon". The boys set off into the darkness and hear a terrifying howl from across the moors, unaware that they are being stalked by a mythical beast with a taste for blood. Those who are killed by this creature become the undead, roaming the earth throughout eternity; but anyone who escapes with his life has a different fate in store ...