It's been several decades since I watched An American Werewolf in London on an ancient black and white portable television perched on fold up chair late one night. I was too young at the time to appreciate the jokes or the erotica - but I do remember it being a scary suspenseful watch with plenty of jumpy moments. I'd also clearly misremembered a line I could have sworn had been said, "There's nowt here for likes of you".This time around, Agutter's performance as Jenny stand out. She brings a lot of subtlety and helps ground the film in reality - especially in some of her street based exchanges with Naughton's David.
In amongst the catalogue of moon based songs, there's the occasional moment of comedy to lighten things. But it's blooming weird at times, particularly the dreams and visitations, David starts having afterwards. Whoever came up with those was a genius as they give credibility to his character's concern that he's going insane.
One of the things that's a staple of werewolf films is the transformation process. At the time, it felt revolutionary - and it still feels like the benchmark against which other films are measured. The actual werewolf is a lumpen looking creature, but obviously actually there in a way that few CGI beasts manage.
Lastly, for a film of this age An American Werewolf in London looks stunning on blu-ray. It's rich in detail and naturalistic looking which, period detail aside, helps contribute to the ageless quality of this film.
Verdict: 80's horror classic.
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