An American Werewolf in London is a horror film released in 1981, written and directed by John Landis.

The movie was followed by a 1997 semi-sequel, An American Werewolf in Paris, with a completely different cast.

Plot synopsis

Two American college students, David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne), are backpacking on the British moors when they are attacked by wolves. Goodman is instantly killed, but Kessler is only severely injured. Goodman's corpse visits Kessler in hospital and warns him to kill himself by the full moon or else he is doomed to turn into a werewolf. Kessler does not believe this. He goes on living and even finds romance with his pretty young nurse, Alex Price (Jenny Agutter).

Kessler is in Price's London house during the night of the full moon and turns into a werewolf. The transformation sequence, designed by Rick_Baker, is often held by special_effects enthusiasts as the greatest special effect of its kind. Kessler, in wolf form, goes out and kills some Londoners who happen to be out at night. When he wakes up in the morning, he is naked and sleeping in a wolf cage at the zoo.

He soon discovers that Goodman was right and realizes he is responsible for the deaths of the night before. He is haunted by visions of his victims, and Goodman appears again, telling him that he has to commit suicide before he turns into a werewolf again. He does not kill himself, once again he turns into a wolf and kills more people. Finally the police shoot him as a wolf and he turns back into a human when he dies.

External links

• IMDB page