DVD review (region 1 & 2)
Directed by John Landis
Starring David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne, John Woodvine, Brian Glover
Release date Out now (region 1); 28 September 2009 (region 2)

Two American backpackers, David (Naughton) and Jack (Dunne), are travelling across the Yorkshire moors, when they’re attacked by a werewolf. Jack is killed, while David wakes up in a London hospital, where he’s plagued by horrific nightmares. After beginning a relationship with his nurse, Alex (Agutter), David is visited by Jack’s ghost who warns him that he’ll turn into a werewolf come the next full moon…

Pulling off a horror-comedy successfully is notoriously difficult, with many directors making the mistake of treating the characters and situations so flippantly that the threat doesn’t seem real. 1981’s An American Werewolf in London remains the textbook example of how to do it. It’s frequently hysterical, but the laughs only serve to make both the eventual horror and tragedy even more shocking.

Most importantly, we actually care about the characters. David Naughton and Griffin Dunne bounce off each other effortlessly as the two pals whose failure to follow the advice of the locals (“Stick to the roads, stay off the moors”) has bloody consequences. The lighthearted banter between the pair (both before and after Jack’s death) has us laughing along with them, but it feels natural and believable; we instantly like these kids and care about what befalls them.

They’re backed up by some fine, idiosyncratic supporting playing: Brian Glover’s chess player, who, like all of the denizens of The Slaughtered Lamb, speaks like a character ripped from the pages of a gothic novel; Jenny Agutter’s love interest who manages to make a line like “Shall I be forced to feed you, David?” sound impossibly sexy; and John Woodville’s crotchety doctor who orders his receptionist to put off visitors with the excuse “Tell them I’m dead!”

Part of the joy of the movie also lies in the deadpan supporting characters - the two ineffectual policeman (one stern, one subservient and clumsy); Frank Oz’s embassy official; the couple who remain cheerful, even after death by werewolf; the characters of See You Next Wednesday, the porno that David ends up watching. Sure, they may not actually further the story, but these bit-parters make a lasting impression in just a few minutes of screen time.

In terms of structure, American Werewolf is actually very unconventional. Though it takes its cue from classic Wolfman movies, David doesn’t actually change into a werewolf until over halfway through, and lycanthropes only feature in a handful of scenes. It only makes those scenes even more special, and the film’s showcase transformation sequence, courtesy of FX guru Rick Baker, is an excruciating slice of body horror that remains both technically brilliant and utterly horrifying (the equal of Rob Bottin’s work on The Howling from the same year).

American Werewolf also contains some of the great, unforgettable moments in the history of horror cinema: who can forget the eerie hush that greets the friends as they enter The Slaughtered Lamb or the brilliantly tense stalking sequence at an empty underground station? The film ends suddenly and perfectly, with the impact of all the best romantic tragedies… which is immediately followed by the upbeat strains of The Marcels’ version of Blue Moon. The combination of darkness and lightness is a pretty good summary of this endlessly rewatchable movie.

This ‘Full Moon Edition’ comes with some significant extras. Chief among them is Paul Davis’s feature-length documentary Beware the Moon. Davis’s tenacity in making the doc – hampered by zero budget - has paid off. The interviews with cast and crew really shed light on the story behind the movie, while the linking sections in which Davis wanders around locations from the movie are a nice touch.

But wait! There’s more! You also get an interview with Rick Baker entitled I Walked With a Werewolf; an interview with Landis; a commentary by Griffin Dunne and David Naughton, outtakes and more. It’s the treatment the movie deserves. Matt McAllister

VERDICT: 10/10
A film that shoots for the moon and succeeds; impossibly perfect.