For werewolf fans, it can be tough to navigate the world of werewolf cinema. There just aren’t as many outright classics in this domain as there are for vampire or zombie movies. Werewolves have always been a tad more expensive to realize on-screen and that (combined with their limited box office potential) means these critters have often been limited in their cinematic representations. When such films do materialize, they tend to be disappointingly “grounded” fare like 2025’s poorly received Wolf Man.
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Fret not, werewolf devotees, though, there are a handful of quality werewolf motion pictures out there. One of those titles also doubles as one of the greatest monster movies in history and a phenomenal showcase for practical makeup effects work. It’s staggering to consider such a title exists, but An American Werewolf in London makes that achievement so effortless with its immense entertainment.
What Is An American Werewolf in London About?
That title, “An American Werewolf in London,” should be pretty self-explanatory as to what the ensuing feature concerns. However, the specific plot begins with backpackers David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dune) getting attacked by a vicious, hairy creature in the dead of night. This unexpected encounter results in Jack’s death, but David survives — kind of. His body is the same, but David realizes, when the next full moon rises, he’s changed forever. He’s now forced to transform into a werewolf, a mythical creature that previously attacked him and Jack.
While David Naughton and Griffin Dune contractually get to be the biggest names on any poster or DVD cover art for An American Werewolf in London, the real star of this John Landis directorial effort is makeup legend Rick Baker. Thanks to his contributions to projects like Star Wars, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Men in Black, and Tropic Thunder (among many others), Baker’s imagination and craftsmanship have impacted all corners of American cinema. His artistry has always made the impossible staggeringly tangible and those skills are impeccably deployed in An American Werewolf in London.
For the big transformation sequence when David experiences lurching into his werewolf form for the first time, Baker’s makeup work is particularly outstanding. Every stage of this metamorphosis is realized with such precision, detail, and pain. You can feel the anguish David is enduring so vividly that it makes your toes and fingers recoil. Run-of-the-mill CG could never accomplish that kind of feat — only Baker’s commitment to practical materials and textures could make this kind of sequence so engrossingly compelling. It’s a tour-de-force display of makeup effects and just one of many London scenes where Baker’s talents are so gloriously evident.
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An American Werewolf in London Is Also Pretty Funny
While that transformation sequence is full of screams and anguish, An American Werewolf in London is no tedious, grim slog akin to a Saw movie. On the contrary, the inspired detail in this feature is that it’s actually a dark comedy. The scares and imposing monster effects work still register as frightening, but there are moments of grim levity throughout which inspire plenty of laughs. This inherently ludicrous premise can’t be played for “grounded realism,” and London’s more complex tone cheekily recognizes that reality.
The best manifestations of that dark comedy are when comically over-the-top violence is dished out by David’s werewolf form in the London-set finale. These blood-soaked visual gags would be right at home in an “Itchy & Scratchy” short, while their depraved spectacle fully realizes all the possibilities of a werewolf movie set in the heart of England. Whereas Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan left people frustrated at all the wasted potential of plopping a machete-wielding killer in the Big Apple, nobody could walk away from An American Werewolf in London yearning for more British werewolf carnage.
An American Werewolf in London is outstanding in its intricate tone, groundbreaking makeup work, and breezy pacing (the feature runs only 97 minutes). Best of all, these qualities don’t really register with the viewer while the film is transpiring. London is so entertaining that you get absorbed into its freaky little world. The only bad part about this sublime monster film is how much it underscores the disappointing nature of typical werewolf films. Why couldn’t Wolf Man have had some of this fun energy and craftsmanship?
An American Werewolf in London is now streaming on Tubi.
