Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases

Search cinema listings

Browse cinemas A-Z

Search 20,000 reviews

 

An American Werewolf in London (Re-release) (1981)

Director: John Landis

4

Time Out rating

Average user rating
3 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

It’d be interesting to see polling data on how many Brits recall John Landis’s hysterical gore-spattered masterpiece as that all-important rite of passage: their first 18. Well, the folks at the BBFC have ruined all that: in reclassifying the film, they’ve made all our childhoods seem that little bit less dangerous. Which is no reflection on the film: horror-comedy is overfamiliar nowadays, with diminishing returns, but this only makes Landis’s achievement more impressive. Not just gory but actually frightening, not just funny but clever, ‘American Werewolf…’ has its flaws, but these are outweighed by the film’s many, mighty strengths: the soundtrack is astounding, the characterisation is marvellous and the one-liners are endlessly memorable (‘a naked American man stole my balloons!’). A classic, no less.

Author: Tom Huddleston 2009-10-27 12:11:41

Time Out London Issue 2045, Oct 29 – Nov 4 2009


  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

User reviews of this film

  • marina said...
    Posted on Nov 10 2009 00:15 Love it , love it , love it!
    Report as inappropriate
  • christie ann said...
    Posted on Oct 29 2009 15:11 Excellent film, watched it countless times. Seemed kind of dangerous watching it when i was young. Great music, even the eerie moor music by Elmer Bernstein i loved. Good old fashioned horror..
    Report as inappropriate
  • Charlie Wheatley said...
    Posted on Oct 29 2009 13:24 My all time favourite film...
    Report as inappropriate

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields


Cast & crew

Director: John Landis

Cast: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne, John Woodvine, Brian Glover, Lila Kaye, Frank Oz, Don McKillop, Rik Mayall

Genre(s): Horror

Rated: 15

Duration: 107 mins

UK Release: Oct 30 2009




Top Stories

Time Out's 50 greatest monster movies

Time Out's 50 greatest monster movies

As Joe Johnston’s long-awaited reinvention of Universal’s howl-at-the-moon classic ‘The Wolfman’ hits cinemas, Time Out lists our 50 favourite cinematic stalkers, growlers, slashers and biters.

Mark Kermode: A life in film

Mark Kermode: A life in film

Dave Calhoun chats to Britain's most outspoken film critic and pundit ahead of the release of his memoirs

Has Ricky Gervais gone all serious?

Has Ricky Gervais gone all serious?

The trailer to 'Cemetery Junction' suggests that its writer-director is suppressing his funny bone.

The genius of Roman Polanski

The genius of Roman Polanski

Ahead of his new film, 'The Ghost', we must forget the media circus and remember the artist pleads Wally Hammond

Oscars 2010: The nominees

Oscars 2010: The nominees

Tom Huddleston offers his acute analysis on the list of nominees for the 2010 Academy Awards

Rotterdam 2010: Geoff Andrew's report

Rotterdam 2010: Geoff Andrew's report

Geoff Andrew finds rich leftfield pickings at the 2010 Rotterdam Film Festival

Can Tom Ford cut it as a director?

Can Tom Ford cut it as a director?

After ten years as creative head of Gucci, Tom Ford has directed his first movie. Nina Caplan meets him

Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade

Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade

So here it is… Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this.

2009: The year in film

2009: The year in film

We look back at the best movies of 2009 and pick out some of our favourite lists, features and interviews.