5 Star

1981 Crystal Clear Hilarious Horror

From the legend, John Landis (The Kentucky Fried Movie, National Lampoon’s Animal House, Trading Places, Michael Jackson: Thriller (Music Video)) comes his vision of a comedy that is so horrific that it scares the life out of you. Many years in preproduction. It finally came to fruition due to his success with films such as The Blues Brothers. An American Werewolf in London was a breath of fresh air to the horror genre, and went on to win the very first Academy Award for Best Makeup. Now it is here crystal clear for you to see the gory details in UHD. A must-buy for the horror fan in the house, whether they be reminiscing about 1981 or are new to this release.

From the very first note of Bobby Vinton’s Blue Moon, those in the know, know they are in from a horrific treat. As a sheep farmer pulls up at the crossroad to Erwood, Leshire and East Proctor. He lets out two backpackers who are Americans Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne, Who’s That Girl, I Like It Like That) and his bestfriend David Kessler (David Naughton, Urban Safari, Big Bad Wolf), the pair are headed for East Proctor. So they put on their backpacks and head off down the road. “Stick to the roads”

As it starts getting dark they arrive in the village, and being cold they decide to see if the local pub has some warm food. The pub is the Slaughtered Lamb, where an unknown face is like a giant square peg trying to fit into a small round hole. It just doesn’t fit.

These American lads stick out like a sore thumb, as American culture does not mix with Yorkshire rural culture, where myths have lasted centuries, when America was a Colony. So their superstitions are totally alien to Jack and David. Which is why when Jack asks about the pentagram on the wall, everything grinds to a halt in the pub.

Without any explanation, they are asked to leave, they are not given any choice in this. They go to leave, and they are told to keep to the roads. They head out into the night tired, cold and hungry.

The boys head down the road looking for shelter, but as they chat they get distracted, and don’t pay attention to their direction. As in the pub, the barmaid (Lila Kaye, The Black Panther, Dragonworld) feels guilty about sending the boys out into the night during a full moon. But the chess players (Brian Glover, Alien³, Snow White: A Tale of Terror), (Rik Mayall, The Young Ones (TV Series), Filthy Rich & Catflap (TV Series)) and the dart player (David Schofield, Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest) say it is their own fault, even as there are howls ringing out in the night sky.

It’s a full moon… Beware the moon… And stick to the road. Oops.

I vote we go back to the Slaughtered Lamb.

The howls get loader, and the boys start to hear the snarls of an animal. Then David slips and as Jack goes to pull him up.

AAAARGH something comes out of the night and rips Jack to bits,

David tries to help but is slashed and pushed away, just before the shots ring out and a man (Paddy Ryan, The Meaning of Life) lies dead on the ground, just before David passes out.

Three weeks later David lies unconscious in a hospital bed, being cared for by nurse Alex Read (Jenny Agutter, Logan’s Run, The Railway Children) and Dr J. S. Hirsch (John Woodvine, Miss Potter, The Further Adventures of the Musketeers (TV Series)), they have a mystery to solve. With a week before full moon and a dead friend telling him of the terrors to come. David must face an uncertain future.

An American Werewolf in London is a horror classic, and now we have the perfect way to scare ourselves with this UHD version. A must for fans, and newcomers.

An American Werewolf in London is available on 4K UHD