7.5
An American Werewolf in London
1981, 1h 37min -
The rare horror comedy to be as truly frightening as it is funny, John Landis’s howlingly original genre touchstone follows a pair of American backpackers (David Naughton and Griffin Dunne) traveling across England whose encounter with a werewolf leaves one dead—but not buried—and the other subject to a grisly metamorphosis. Rick Baker’s brilliant makeup work (winner of the inaugural Academy Award for Best Makeup) set a new standard for creature-feature practical effects and gives the astounding transformation scenes a still-terrifying realism.
