John Landis’s cult classic feels as clever and original today as it did over 30 years ago. The story follows two college students, Jack and David, who walk down the wrong dark road while backpacking through the British countryside and are attacked by a mysterious beast. While Jack is killed, the surviving David, who now has continuing nightmares of being a hairy, fanged monster as well as visions of his massacred friend talking to him, must put the pieces together and figure out what happened that fateful night.

Originally given the distinction by potential investors as too scary for a comedy and too funny for a horror film, AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON defied generic definition when it was initially released. The confusion was understandable as the cleverness and intelligence of Landis’ script is matched by the influential and brilliant makeup effects of Rick Baker. The combination of genuine laughs and scares makes this lycanthropic tale one of the pioneering films in the horror-comedy genre.