Two American tourists in England (David Naughton, Griffin Dunne) are attacked by a werewolf on the moors one night (despite being warned twice by locals). Dunne is lucky enough to be killed with Naughton has to deal with turning into a murderous, rampaging beast every full moon while also coping with the nurse he loves (the attractive Jenny Agutter) and his pal Dunne showing up in various stages of decomposition to warn him.

One of two classic werewolf flicks to come out in the early eighties (the other being The Howling), this is a great mixture of horror and comedy with a self-conscious script by director John Landis that works more on character development, in-jokes for horror fans and decent humour for the first two thirds before trotting out the mayhem packed finale.

This is considered one of the best modern werewolf movies and I have to agree since barely any similarly themed movies since have really worked (though I do have a soft spot for 2000's Ginger Snaps). It has a great "moon" themed soundtrack, above average transformation/creature effects by Rick Baker (in fact he would win the first ever Acadamy Award for special effects make-up), lots of morbid comedy (like Dunne's first undead appearance) and some really wacky nightmare sequences (some werewolf soldiers kill Naughton's family with machine guns!).

Solid entertainment and highly recommended.

Followed by a sequel.

Directed By: John Landis.
Written By: John Landis.

Starring: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne, John Woodvine.