Director John Landis (The Blues Brothers) here pulls off the difficult trick of revitalising the horror genre while parodying it at the same time. David Naughton and Griffin Dunne play the American students who are attacked by werewolves on an English moor. Only Naughton survives, but is visited by his dead friend, who has bad news. Funny, scary and extremely gory - Dunne's gradual decomposition is an absolute hoot - this lycanthropic lampoon is also a splendid satire on British life as seen through American eyes. The special effects and Rick Baker's Oscar-winning make-up established new trends in monster metamorphoses: after this revolutionary movie, no horror transformation was ever the same again. The belated, watered-down sequel, An American Werewolf in Paris, followed in 1997.

American tourists David and Jack are savaged by an unidentified vicious animal whilst hiking on the Yorkshire Moors. Retiring to the home of a beautiful nurse to recuperate, David soon experiences disturbing changes to his mind and body.