An American Werewolf in London (1981) First Time Watching! Full Movie Reaction!!
Added 2021-10-05 15:39:50 +0000 UTC
Comments
I haven't seen this movie in a long time, so I decided to watch this on Prime Video along with yall's reaction and outro commentary, which was very entertaining. There is an 80s werewolf movie that I would recommend yall to watch when it is on a streaming service in the future: Stephen King's Silver Bullet. It stars Gary Busey and Corey Haim (RIP) and was released in 1985. The movie was based on King's novelette Cycle of the Werewolf, which was intended to be a calendar.
Lee N.
2024-09-22 00:43:31 +0000 UTCAlso silver was thought to hurt evil because ancient peoples equated evil with disease and silver is an antibiotic, it kills bacteria. The same with salt which is a preservative because it kills bacteria, and it is often used in warding off evil, 'a salt circle' 'throwing salt over your shoulder to bring luck' etc. Also garlic has immne boosting properties and is meant to ward off vampires.
Aaron Barlow
2024-05-02 15:49:06 +0000 UTCWhile "The Howling:" is up there on my list of better werewolf movies, I don't see how you can compare the transformation sequences. If "An American Werewolf in London" didn't exist, sure. But it does. "The Howling" continued the trend then, and for many years after AAWIL where scenes like the transformation are filmed with fixed camera positions, in low light (to hide the flaws) with a non-moving subject and usually just in close-ups. AAWIL, in comparison, the director specifically wanted to blow people away - so he required a brightly lit scene, full body transformation, shot from multiple angles and with David moving around.
Thomas Yanez
2021-11-24 04:01:24 +0000 UTCI had a crush on her when I was young. Her short green silk miniskirt in Logan's run :)
Aaron Barlow
2021-11-01 12:04:00 +0000 UTCI've never seen this movie before and watched it only because you watched it. And it was great! I'm with you, I didn't expect any of this. Wow. The graphics live up to it's reputation. It was both horrifying and funny and so weird. Thank you to the people who recommended it.
PIG
2021-10-11 17:51:02 +0000 UTCThe CG in those films was amazing. Also helped that the films themselves were good with some great performances. But yeah, as a Apes fan that loathes the 2001 remake, those films were a pleasant surprise.
Mitchell Smilie
2021-10-08 06:59:10 +0000 UTCJenny Agutter is one of my favorite actresses and stared in some great movies, Chief among which one of my Favorites Logan's run(1976), as Well as Amy(1981), Child's Play 2(1990) The Eagle Has Landed(1976) And An American in London(1981)
Turtle
2021-10-08 06:33:40 +0000 UTC"This isn't a comedy." The last third of the film's reaction clips were you two chuckling. haha But yeah, its not a comedy. It's horror with comedy elements. Yeah, this film is totally weird, in the best way. It's scary, weird, gory, funny, ridiculous, etc. Like, what's up with that sequence with all the cars crashing towards the end?! lol This film scarred me as a kid. I can deal with vampires, mummies, Frankenstein's monsters, etc. But this film destroyed me for werewolves to the point my nightmares as an adult still involve werewolves. And my interpretation at the end was that David recognized Alex and 'attacked' her to die by cop suicide to end things and ultimately save her.
JayWantsACat
2021-10-07 22:32:45 +0000 UTCWhile I like this movie, I think The Howling is a better film. It's definitely scarier and it's directed better as well. I've never been a big John Landis fan, while I think Joe Dante is a great director. Plus, The Howling doesn't have the lulls that are found in An American Werewolf In London; it has a much more interesting and layered story.
Mike Tocci
2021-10-07 21:57:21 +0000 UTC"we haven't seen The Howling!" Highly recommend. It's my favorite werewolf movie, and the only one in my opinion that has a transformation scene that competes with American Werewolf in London.
Joel P
2021-10-07 21:33:35 +0000 UTCGreat reactions! Just as an FYI, the movie won an Academy Award to Rick Baker for Best Makeup (the first ever given in that category).
Miles E Coburn
2021-10-07 10:47:10 +0000 UTCI think in retrospect, this was probably marketed with more of an emphasis on the comedy elements because the director, John Landis was coming off of ANIMAL HOUSE, which was at the time the highest-grossing comedy movie of all time, and THE BLUES BROTHERS, another huge comedy hit. So the comedy tag probably stuck even though, as you mention, it wasn't exactly a knee-slapper.
Patrick Flanagan
2021-10-07 10:11:32 +0000 UTCThe effects man for AMERICAN, Rick Baker, actually started out doing the effects for THE HOWLING. (Weirdly enough they were made at the same time, along with a third werewolf movie, WOLFEN.) But I guess Baker had promised AMERICAN's director, John Landis, years earlier that he would do effects for his werewolf movie if he ever sold the script, so Baker had to reluctantly quit THE HOWLING (which was directed by Landis's friend Joe Dante, who went on to direct GREMLINS and other movies) and turn the effects over to Rob Bottin. Luckily Bottin was ALSO a special effects genius and the werewolf work in HOWLING is pretty great for its time as well. After THE HOWLING Bottin did effects for THE THING.
Patrick Flanagan
2021-10-07 07:56:01 +0000 UTCA nice touch that the muppets was on in the dream massacre sequence. Frank Oz also did Miss Piggy. I wonder if he got paid for that clip as well :).
Aaron Barlow
2021-10-07 04:59:21 +0000 UTCExactly, when done right CG can be amazing like Weta digital's work on the Planet of the Apes prequels. (It's where I work currently so I'm a bit biased, but the apes look photoreal and I often think what an amazing job they'd make of a werewolf movie).
Aaron Barlow
2021-10-07 04:58:04 +0000 UTCDog soldiers is a must watch TBR. It's a brilliant supernatural action thriller similar to 'Aliens'. You guys will love it.
Aaron Barlow
2021-10-07 04:54:52 +0000 UTCOh wow, I didn't know she had a brother. Yes, we were told about her awful murder after we watched the film, just horrible along with all the other untimely deaths from that film -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2021-10-07 04:41:19 +0000 UTCWe haven't seen that yet! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2021-10-07 04:40:22 +0000 UTCHaha! Agreed! All strange, but perfect choices -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2021-10-07 04:40:10 +0000 UTCHaha! I love it! I definitely think great practical effects hold up better from what we've seen on the channel so far! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2021-10-07 04:39:36 +0000 UTCYes! I haven't seen a lot, if any other werewolf films, but it has to be shown as extremely painful to be "accurate" lol we haven't seen The Howling! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2021-10-07 04:38:49 +0000 UTCHaha there were definitely some comedy elements, but not as funny as we thought it would be! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2021-10-07 04:38:01 +0000 UTCHaha! Google misled us! I don't think either of us have seen Teen Wolf though. Oh man, What We Do in the Shadows is one of TBR Schmitt's favorite movies! We haven't seen the show though. Oh wow! I had no idea he directed Thriller to, but that makes sense! What an incredible music video. I'm loving all the great facts in this comment section! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2021-10-07 04:37:30 +0000 UTCAbsolutely! Google really tricked us with this one's genre haha I imagine this would be terrifying for a kid! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2021-10-07 04:34:19 +0000 UTCHaha it was Google's fault! The genre says Horror/Comedy so we stuck it on that poll and we did not know what to expect haha wow I love that you can place the first time you ever saw this and so young! Sign of great film! But also glad at that age you saw the tv version haha -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2021-10-07 04:33:24 +0000 UTCGoogle tricked us! It says Horror/Comedy haha The practical effects and the makeup in this film are insane! So well done and hold up so well! I've feel like I've learned so much from your comment, thank you! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2021-10-07 04:32:09 +0000 UTCI saw that you watched Poltergeist. Did you guys know that the guy that plays Jack, Griffin Dunne, is the brother of Dominique Dunne. She played the older sister, Dana Freeling in Poltergeist. She was stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend the year after this movie came out and a few months after Poltergeist. She is part of the movie’s “curse”. Three others died during the making of the poltergeist series and they did an exorcism on the set of part 2.
Chandra
2021-10-06 16:37:02 +0000 UTCThe Howling is another excellent werewolf film from the 80's. A definite recommendation. It was directed by Joe Dante and has some more of the best effects ever seen in a werewolf transformation.
Mike Tocci
2021-10-06 13:43:34 +0000 UTC"A naked American man stole my balloons." This movie is so delightfully strange. Three of my favourite things: 1) The bizarre casting choice of Frank Oz (the voice of Fozzie Bear and Yoda) as the American embassy guy. So great. 2) The bumbling cop's tie at the hospital. LOL, I just dunno... 3) The dialogue to the porno. Genius!
Uncle 'Traveling' Matt
2021-10-06 08:41:35 +0000 UTCWatching your faces as this film unfolded made the monthly patreon charge worth every penny. To this day, I have not seen a werewolf transformation come close to matching this. The work by Rick Baker (who won an oscar for best makeup for this film) is amazing. While I'm not anti-CGI, this film is a good reminder of how great practical effects can be when done by talented people. I think many people can learn how to do good CGI. But it takes a real artist to do what Baker and his team did in this film (and others he worked on).
Mitchell Smilie
2021-10-06 08:03:55 +0000 UTCThis is my favorite werewolf film . My favorite werewolf transformation because it just looks painful. Many would say The Howling that it's transformation is just as good. They both were set up I by Rick Baker. I would say The Howling has the most bad ass transformation.
Anakin Starkiller
2021-10-06 06:32:59 +0000 UTCI mean it's not TEEN WOLF, but if that's the standard for "horror comedy" then the genre (or genre crossover or however one defines it) is in real trouble. I think this film falls squarely within the boundaries of both comedy and horror cinema.
Patrick Flanagan
2021-10-06 04:58:12 +0000 UTCAs you can see from the other comments, and obviously you know by now, yeah when you called it a comedy, I was like 'uh oh' 😆 Teen Wolf would be a werewolf comedy, this movie had some laughs but it was really famous for Rick Baker's practical effects. And it's still one of the best werewolf movies ever made, I think. Of course it's a pretty short list, so many vampire movies but only a handful of good werewolf ones. Dog Soldiers and Wolf with Jack Nicholson are two other stand outs. What We Do In The Shadows is about vampires but there's a hilarious episode with werewolves. That show and the movie are awesome! Also, some quick trivia, John Landis also directed the music video for "Thriller". Frank Oz, who played Mr. Collins, the guy from the US embassy, is the original voice of Yoda, and several Muppets and Sesame Street characters like Grover, which I just noticed in this rewatch he mentions "Grover's Square" in his dialogue haha. And Rick Baker who won the first ever academy award for Make Up FX, also did the makeup for Wolf and The Howling, which is also one of the best werewolf movies ever, and some great comedies like Coming To America and Life (both starring Eddie Murphy).
Joe D. MacGuffinstuff
2021-10-06 01:28:07 +0000 UTCIt's not really much of a comedy, there are some funny parts but it's more serious. I remember being scared as a kid watching it. It's still a great story and the effects are pretty good. The abrupt ending and change of tone was hilarious in itself.
Aaron Barlow
2021-10-05 23:12:03 +0000 UTCOh, this movie…. When I saw y’all had this in the comedy poll I was a bit confused, but of course I voted for it. Then when Sam mentioned at the beginning that it was a comedy I actually laughed, knowing what y’all were in for and how confused y’all were going to be. This movie was a big part of my childhood and I’ll distinctly remember watching it when I was home from school with chickenpox in the first grade. It was the edited-for-television version, however, and I didn’t see the unedited original until was well into adulthood. Quite shocking, even now. Thank y’all for watching this, and I’m glad you enjoyed it, even though it was nothing like you expected. 😆
Aimee
2021-10-05 22:45:53 +0000 UTCSO glad you guys watched this, especially for Halloween season! Some film-nerd (and monster-nerd) notes: 1. this film is a MASTERPIECE of the 120 years of cinema, as well as one of the very best horror films ever made. Watching it is like taking a film class. 2. Someone tricked you into thinking it was a comedy, but it is a dark, dark, DARK ironic parody of the werewolf story, set in modern times: you've got the superstitious villagers, the love interest and doctor trying to uncover the curse and save him, and of course the tragic ending. The cars wrecking at the end is just over-the-top carnage, to the point of being ridiculous. The American(s) being young and dumb, the British being absurdly polite. And of course, the soundtrack made up of entirely moon-related songs. And yet, despite being a parody, it is so well made that it works as a horror film. 3. like The Thing that opened the year after this one, these are all pre-CGI, practical effects, and were the absolute state-of-the-art. This was the first time a werewolf transition was shown completely on screen vs. cutaways and shadows and such. Award-winning stuff that stands the test of time despite being all latex and red corn syrup (Everyone talks about that one little jiggly piece of flesh in Jack's neck when he visits him in the hospital.) 4. Since werewolves are controlled by the moon, "lunatic" has moon in it, and silver bullets/weapons were believed to be the only way to kill them, because people used to believe the moon was made of silver, and all the silver on Earth had fallen from the moon. 5. there are three days of the full moon during which werewolves change. 6. This is John Landis, the same director who did Blues Brothers just the year before. He clearly has a taste for the absurd, as well as huge over-the-top spectacles. 7. despite the amazing practical effects, the film also maximizes them by keeping things in the shadows or barely seen - consider how much of David in wolf form we only see little glimpses of until the very end, and when jack shows up all green at the nurse's place he walks through the shadowy hallway, just giving us glimpses of how much he's decomposed, giving our imaginations the space to do the rest. 8. the whole idea of having his dead friend being his conscience, like Obi Wan Kenobi, except urging him to commit suicide (which unfortunately was the best course of events) - so dark - AND having him be a bit more decomposed each time, as if his ghost is keeping up with the state of his corpse - is BRILLIANT. Landis wrote this himself in addition to directing, and it's easily also one of the best scripts ever written. In conclusion, I'm so glad you guys watched it, and in not expecting the kind of film it was, you probably had the best possible experience you could've 40 years later, compared to someone in 1981 going in without knowing anything.
Mark
2021-10-05 19:13:33 +0000 UTC
