An American Werewolf in London (1981)

Among horror's more traditional tones and formula of the typical sexy teens dying by the hand of a deranged slasher, very few films in the genre shine enough to surpass what cinema has done for the past fifty years and push the usual schematics down to focus on other qualities. An American Werewolf in London is a film that presents very few (but highly qualified) scares to present other aspects of paranoia, like culture shock and unfamiliar territory in the great city of London.

The more thrilling aspects of John Landis' hybrid film not only presents the greatness of werewolf movies accompanied with numerous references to the original Universal classic The Wolf Man, but also focuses on character interaction and tongue-in-cheek humor. An example of this would be David's communication with those who fell victim to werewolf's curse.

David (David Naughton) and his best friend Jack (Griffin Dunne) is brutally attacked by a werewolf in a genuinely chilling scene involving a beast closing in on them as they leave the "Slaughtered Lamb Pub." After Jack's life is claimed, leaving David the sole survivor, local townsfolk report that they were attacked by a lunatic who was simply out for blood. After David awakens in hospital in London, he forms a relationship with a nurse named Alex (Jenny Agutter) who tends to his wounds a develops an attraction for the American boy. David ends up staying with her, coping with his transformations and frequent visits from his best friend who constantly decays being stuck in limbo. This is where the movie get's the aforementioned comedy aspect, as his friend transitions from heavily wounded, to fully zombified. His first transformation ends with him waking up naked in the wolf exhibit at the local zoo.

The whole mythology of the werewolf is expanded up here, as his prey for every full moon night's hunt ends up being stuck in the same limbo as Jack. David meets with them in an adult film theater, and while some victims show angst towards him, a happy couple he killed remains chipper. All of the victims calmly try to convince him to commit suicide in the most uplifting way, with numerous suggestions. The ending isn't the greatest, but involves a savage bloodbath on the streets of London, ending with his final encounter with Alex.