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An American Werewolf in London
American tourists David and Jack are savagely attacked by an unidentified animal while hiking on the Yorkshire Moors. After retiring to the home of a beautiful nurse to recuperate, David soon begins experiencing disturbing changes to his body and mind.
1981 · Directed by John Landis · 97 min · Comedy · Horror · Fantasy · Screenplay in the scene database · 42 frames
Tagline
Beware the moon.
Plot
Two American graduate students from New York City, David Kessler and Jack Goodman, are trekking across the North York Moors. As night falls, they stop at the Slaughtered Lamb, a local pub. Jack notices a five-pointed star on the pub's wall. When he asks about it, the pub-goers grow hostile, prompting him and David to leave. The pub-goers warn the pair to keep to the road, stay clear of the moors and beware of the full moon. David and Jack wander off the road and onto the moors, where a vicious creature attacks them. Jack is mauled to death and David is severely injured. The beast is shot and killed by some concerned pub-goers who followed the pair. Instead of an animal carcass, David sees a naked dead man lying next to him before passing out.
David wakes up three weeks later in a London hospital. Inspector Villiers interviews David and informs him that the locals reported that an escaped lunatic attacked him and Jack. David insists a rabid dog or wolf attacked them. An undead Jack later appears to David and explains that they were attacked by a werewolf; since David was bitten, he is now a werewolf too. Jack is cursed to walk the earth in limbo, neither dead nor alive, until the wolf's bloodline is severed. Jack urges David to kill himself before the next full moon so he does not harm anyone.
Dr. J. S. Hirsch visits the Slaughtered Lamb to investigate, suspecting that David might have been influenced by local superstitions. When asked about the incident, the pub-goers deny any knowledge of David, Jack or the attack. However, one distraught pub-goer privately tells Dr. Hirsch that David will endanger other people when he transforms.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Screenplay: John Landis
- Cinematography: Robert Paynter
- Edited by: Malcolm Campbell
- Music: Elmer Bernstein
- Produced by: George Folsey Jr.
Cast
- David Naughton as David Kessler
- Griffin Dunne as Jack Goodman
- Jenny Agutter as Nurse Alex Price
- John Woodvine as Dr. J.S. Hirsch
- Don McKillop as Inspector Villiers
- Brian Glover as Chess Player
- David Schofield as Dart Player
- Lila Kaye as Barmaid
- Rik Mayall as Second Chess Player
- Sean Baker as Second Dart Player
Production
- Country: United Kingdom, United States of America
- Language: English
- Studios: Lyncanthrope Films, Polygram Pictures
- Budget: $10,000,000
- Box office: $31,973,249
- Themes: dying and death, london, england, intensive care, nurse, loss of loved one, zoo, transformation, affectation, halloween, full moon
More by John Landis
On this film
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