An American Werewolf in London (1981)

American Werewolf in London is simply one of the most amazing movies of its kind. It has the best and possibly most realistic, pre-CGI effects style transformation scene and won an academy award for it that year. The movie blends comedy and horror with ease without being campy. It's original while honoring previous classics like "The Wolf Man".  I personally think it’s interesting that three wolf theme movies came out that year, the other two being “Wolfen” and “The Howling”.

David and Jack are two young Americans backpacking across Europe. The movie begins with them traveling through the distant countryside of England. They come across a small town just as night falls and decide to try to get something to eat at an inn aptly named “The Slaughtered Lamb”. As they enter, they are met with objecting stares from the locals. They become more unsettled when they see a large pentagram on the wall. When Jack asks about the pentagram, the locals become hostile so Jack and David decide to leave. Before they go, they are told to stay on the road…which of course they don’t. Before long they have lost their way and the road and begin to hear a creature pacing around them in the darkness. Suddenly Jack is attacked and brutally killed and before David can get away, he too is mauled. Before the beast can finish him off, the locals from the pub arrive and shoot the beast. And David passes out…

When David comes to three weeks later, he finds himself in a hospital. He is interviewed by police and a representative from the American Embassy, but he doesn’t remember much and is shocked to find out that Jack is dead. The doctor takes an interest in David’s story while the nurse takes an interest in David. As David heals, he begins to have weird dreams about Nazis and hallucinations about a decomposing Jack. Except Jack is not a hallucination, he’s a spirit caught on earth begging David to kill himself before the full moon comes. David dismisses Jack’s existence and moves in with the nurse, Alex. Everything is going well until she leaves him alone one night when the full moon is near and David goes through his famous painful and horrific change into the werewolf, where he then breaks out of Alex’s apartment and kills a couple going to a party, a few homeless bums and a man walking from the subway. When David wakes up in the morning, he is naked in a zoo. He is later visited by Jack and the ghosts of those he murdered. David’s sanity is tested as Alex and the doctor quickly try to find the truth from the locals at “The Slaughtered Lamb” before it’s all too late.

Favorite moment – the transformation scene!

Second favorite moment – The conversation in the porn theater between David, Jack, and the other ghosts. Some are nice towards him while others want him to kill himself and to be quick with it.