When David Kessler (David Naughton) is attacked by a werewolf while backpacking through Yorkshire, it's only a matter of time before his painful transformation begins and he is sent on a murderous rampage through London. This thrilling scene earned the film (and makeup artist Rick Baker) the very first Academy Award for Best Makeup and inspired the look of Michael Jackson's "Thriller," watch it now!
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David Kessler and Jack Goodman arrive in Northern England for a walking tour. One night, a beast attacks them, killing Jack. Weeks later Jack returns to warn David that a werewolf was their assailant, and that he is now the last of the werewolves!
© 1981 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Cast: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne, John Woodvine, Joe Belcher
Produced by: George Folsey Jr.
Written & Directed by: John Landis
I like the little details before David's transformation, like the dog barking and the cat hissing showing that the animal can sense the evil beast within David that's going to surface once the full moon appears and it also gives the audience clarity that Jack was right about the werewolf curse!
So that means that David transformed into a demon and became completely evil?
I didn't even notice that until now. Thank you
Animals can sense those emotions
The song bad moon rising too
I'm
What really makes this scene is the acting. You REALLY feel that he's in extreme pain because of this transformation.
Why does it hurt so much? I can almost feel it :-( 😱😱
@@amandaeklund8136 tbh if your bones and flesh were morphing and snapping into different places along with your teeth suddenly growing out to fangs it'd hurt like hell
Yeah he experienced every bone in his body breaking even his face
Yes he did! You imagine the pain.he felt
I felt it then and i felt it now 😂😂
David was such a likeable character. The director did a great job in making us believe in him, and the fact that he never would've hurt a soul if it weren't for the terrible curse that he did nothing to deserve. Brilliant film.
I heard that being a werewolf makes you angry easily so if David would have lived longer than he will probably start having anger issues.
@@desmondedwards8234 Depends on how powerful the curse is. Different variants and all.
I can't help but wonder either. In underworld the lycans can change at will as they get older. They also become aware as they get older. In other words they can control what they do as werewolves. I wonder if the werewolves in An American Werewolf In London become aware. They seemed to be aware in the sequel An American Werewolf In Paris
@@josephcasanova1975 American werewolf in Paris was awful though mate.
@@ramps2402 agreed
To this day, this is the cinema's most powerful metamorphosis sequence. David Naughton deserves great praise. Especially for his delivery of: "I didn't mean to call you 'meatloaf', Jack!"
Yeah, why did he say that in that moment specifically?
He was apologizing for not believing Jack, when he told him, he will change and kill people. David said to him, I'm not listening or being threatened by a walking meatloaf. It was an apology.
Yeah that bit always cracks me up
@@SerginhoPMoura it's simple he said it because he's in so much pain and he's calling out for help trying to get jack to help him hoping Jack will turn up and help just imagine if you're in that kind of pain you would be begging for someone to help 🙏 if you listen closely you can' hear him say please help me jack.
The absolute best! Hands down. Even with all the newer technology today, nothing comes close.
40 years later and still the BEST Werewolf Transformation scene ever! Happy 40th Anniversary to my all time favorite horror movie!
Check "the howling", it predates it.
I think the transformations in The Wolfman from 2010 were well done too. But it's crazy they were able to do so much then without the technology available now.
@@insanelook By a month 🤣 and it's still not on the level of this one
@@niconice2171 "the howling" was way scarier than "an american....", and the sfx astonishing for it's time, just saying.
@@insanelook The howling transformation was also very impressive and would say it's 2nd best, but I still think this transformation is still #1.
This is the perfect example of what a painful transformation is.
Makes sense. Landis once said in an interview that if you body changes from a 2 legged man into a 4 legged beast, then it’s going to really hurt.
This is a perfect imaging of transformation. This is my favourite horror film of all. The humour also makes everything feel more real. Beats any CGI rubbish
I was thinking that too. I felt the pain lol
He asking for help cuz so painful but if help came they would probably make it worse the him down and do experiments on him so I would just lock the doors and take it for what it is no stopping it anyhow
Super saiyan 3 transformation lol
Something I've always found unsettling is how *sudden* the transformation just hits. It's literally a split second change from perfectly calm, no pain at all to the most head splitting, horrible sensations David can feel as his body literally changes on probably a DNA Level, his flesh and bones reform into new shapes, etc. It just made it all the more horrifying when he's relaxed, calm and suddenly the pain just slams into him. It's truly horrifying.
This and his acting is fantastic. I believe he’s in experiencing the most agonizing pain he’s ever felt. The horror of having no control over it too.
It's not just a curse for the people he kills but also the person who changes into the wolf.
This happens to me every Friday.
Why would a kid say the word no like that?
It's Hollywood ok? Lol
"An American Werewolf In London"(1981) is the best Werewolf horror movie of all time! This transformation is the most inspiring, well made, and scary ever made!
The Howling is even more scary. Because you have no empathy with the characters.
@@PauloPereira-jj4jv eh personally I feel American werewolf was wayyyy better than the Howling but to each their own lol
Maybe the best Horrorfilm of all time.
@@alexm4610 agree with you totally, this film had everything special effects, cast, story and a banging soundtrack
Those who enjoyed "The Howling" would like to give you a piece of their mind.
Happy 40th anniversary to the cast and crew of _An American Werewolf in London._ Special thanks to the legendary Rick Baker for the special makeup effects.
And youtube still doesn't have it in free movies
I agree w/ u, and there should b an anniversary for 2 alien movies
@@pieluvr7362 it’s free on peacock
I don't know if this movie won any awards but it deserved an Oscar in the special effects category.
@@robertmasina4610 It did won the Oscar for Best Makeup.
The sounds of his bones changing shape make it great as well and the fact that his voice becomes more of a howl as the transformation goes on
40 years later and Rick Baker's makeup effects still hold up. No werewolf transformation that has come since this film has ever topped it. Nor will it ever.
Fosho
The transformation scene in the howling was also pretty good
Michael jackson thriller werecat transformation comes prity close
6:06 it's a shame the budget would only stretch to one fake hand.
@@lukez9721 Yes it was
Honestly, THE GREATEST TRANSFORMATION IN THE HISTORY OF FILM. THANK YOU RICK BAKER AND LONG LIVE THE FOUR LEGGED HOUND FROM HELL.
The Howling.
The Howling reaches the same level.
The Howling for sure.
The Fly (1986) would like a word with you
@@RevoltOfAges That happened gradually. Not like this.
Saw this in '81 when it came out. Couldn't believe the transformation sequence. Great makeup and stop action. It still holds up to this day. Also great : the Slaughted Lamb scene, English pub with stereotype locals, but hilarious. Also the comic relief of Griffin Dunne. And the complete hotness of Jenny Agutter. A classic horror movie on every level....
I have always had my doubts about the North of England and since then I have avoided places marked with pentangles called the slaughtered anything...especially at night .I stick to the path as well
I like the foreshadowing with the dog and cat being scared of him. Almost like they could sense that there was a monster inside him waiting to be awakened
Yes the beast
Even the most advanced CGI isn't a patch on these old special effects. Greatest transformation scene ever made, this Werewolf has been burned into my imagination my entire life.
The so-called sequel to this 'An American Werewolf in Paris' was one such example of CGI gone terribly wrong! The effects in AWIL are amazing to this day!
That's because even the most advanced CG animation looks crap.
@@admiralackbar9307 Never been a single good example of CGI. Glad I stopped watching movies many years ago. Now it's only CGI, super heroes and female heroes. What utter crap and indoctrination younger generations have to go through!
David literally turning into a horrific werewolf monster. 7:18 “Mickey Mouse”
Ironic huh
Rick Baker was a genius with this full-lit transformation. No hiding it in the shadows. He was told by John Landis that he wanted the transformation to occur in a fully-lit apartment, and Baker - despite his worries - stepped up and made it happen. Truly amazing!
My favorite part of the whole transformation it's when David looks directing at camera with his arm up directing up Indicating we the audience know that he needs help. 7:03
Maybe
Not a bad way to think of it. But I always saw it as David looking at his hand because it was still changing.
@@darknessofcumber4147 its a homage to the 1930s slapstick comedies where the comedic foil looks into the camera while they are falling or get hurt same as the looney toons cartoons the director said he grew up on and idolized
Quisiera saber cómo salió del edificio sin hacer desastre😂😱
Most brainlet comment i have ever read
what makes it complete and perfect is the HOWL of the creature at the end. THIS is one iconic sound i´ll recognize every time anywhere.
40 years of terror 40 years of comedy 40 years of being an endless classic
1 year behind Jason but both are great classics
40 years of hotness… 😍
, ⁿ9
5:20 me when im relaxing and all of a sudden thousands of emberassing memories flash before my eyes
Do You like transform intro a Werewolf?
@darkshaman9 what the f- no. I was referring to the part where he said "JESUS CHRIST!!!"
@@TheDemonicChaotic Yes, but it is very strange that you said it in this transformation video, that's why I asked you if you would like that to happen to you.
@@darkshaman9 if i would like it?! hell nah! keep your kentucky fried fetishes away from me!
The finest werewolf transformation ever filmed and the genius rick baker did it with all the lights on..
Anyone back in the eighties will remember how terrifying it was………… that British TV only had 3 channels to pick from.
And it was a better selection of viewing
A far better situation than the present reality.
American tv was the same. Cable came later.
Nowadays it's 300 but only 3 have something interesting.
I remember going to theater to see this and laughing and having the crap scared out of me....and I believe Rick Baker received an Academy Award for these special effects/makeup....also think about this movie every time I hear "Bad Moon" by CCR🖤
Shit your old, no offense
It was the first year the Academy acknowledged Best Makeup. It was occasionally given as a "Special Achievement Award" before it was an actual category in the Awards ceremony. In 1980, when Christopher Tucker's makeup for "The Elephant Man" went completely unacknowledged by the Academy, people were very upset. The Academy almost immediately the next year started the Best Makeup and Hairstyling Category and "American Werewolf" was the first winner. Now, if only the Academy started giving out statues for Stuntwork. That also has gone on completely unacknowledged for far too long.
I thought it was great camp horror fun
Thriller too
So Rick Baker didn't receive that Oscar 28 years later for The Wolfman (2010)? It was for this werewolf film?
This has got to be the greatest werewolf transformation put on screen. This one and the one in The Howling are two of my favorites. Both of these are why I love practical effects more than CGI.
I agree, but An American Werewolf in London is on a different level to the Howling, which is still good I might add.
@@posniknelb6114 exactly
yup. this is true movie magic compare this to the wolfman remake and it isnt even close they need to only use cgi when absolutely needed and not simply to save money
The Howling - transformation is also very good. This one is the best, still after 41 years. CGI just can't quite match this...
This was incredibly well done, considering the time when it was filmed. Way more believable than modern CGI.
there's a reason many people consider this the greatest werewolf transformation in movie history. dude's just chillin when his body turns into sudden agony, screaming as his entire body is broken and warped into that of a beast, all the while blue moon soundtracks the background. a perfect scene
The editing in this scene is so incredibly brilliant. Seen it a hundred times and my jaw still drops like the first time I ever saw it.
No matter how many times I've seen it, that is the most painful looking transformation I've ever seen! Nothing since, in my opinion, has come close to it, nor surpassed it.
Saw it when I was 13. Totally agree.
Lol. I saw it when I was around 9. Scary as hell!
Those screams and wailing in pain, then at the very end just 1 lone howl after he is fully transformed, a really gripping and unsettling scene
I feel so sorry for both David and Jack. Two such sweet guys. They didn't deserve this curse. 😢❤🐺🐉🦅
Agreed. They should have listened about the moors though. 😑
I love how he looks straight into the camera and reaches for the audience..works real well and a far departure from filming norms.
It was like he was looking at us to run away or else you're done for.
It's like he's looking at the audience to help him.
i always loved that scene. it was a fourth wall break that felt like it was telling the viewers to run for their lives, which im pretty sure david himself would actually do so, as he did tell someone to run away whilst he was transforming
Top 3 favorite horror movies of all time. The transformation scarred me as a kid. As an adult, I get excited when someone says they haven’t seen this movie so I can show it to them
Having been totally blind since birth, I have to say this still scares the crap out of me anyway! The sound effects alone are enough to make one feel sick to the stomach, yet unable to stop the movie. Seems like most transformation scenes these days use stock sound effects. This one sounds like nothing I've heard before, and ya gotta give it to folks in the 80s. They always killed it in sound as well as visuals. My kingdom for a descriptive audio narration track that could be turned on or off though. I'd love to get a better look, so to speak.
I really love the transformation, David Naughton deserves respect, I really love how realistic it is. The first part where he rips his shirt off and go nude because he feels hot is really good, and then hair started to grow on his body and the spine in his back is superb. The hair that running upto his butt us such a great detail.
By far the greatest werewolf transformation scene ever
I think its clear that practical effects will always win over our senses in the end. I miss this era of life. Everything was just more human, more real. We're smartphone drones now....we avoid each other and walk around trusting nothing and no-one. This is a masterpiece for werewolf movies.
How is it possible after all these years this is still the best werewolf transformation and the best werewolf film ever ????
A true masterpiece classic
For me the best thing about this sequence is not the transformation itself but david's routine through the day, waiting for the night without knowing if it would really happen
The greatest werewolf transformation scene ever. And Sam Cooke’s Blue Moon playing in the background makes it perfect.
To this day, the facial transformation is incredible. If you're curious, Rick Baker made molds of David Naughton's face, cut them into sections, then put pneumatic actuators on sliding joints between them. He then stretched rubber latex skin re-creations over the molds to get that incredible face-changing sequence. IIRC, to get each "phase" of the transformation done, he created a total of eight or nine of the heads. The camera cutaways allowed the substitution of each head in sequence. But it was the movement underneath the latex skin that totally sold the transformation sequence to the audience.
Filmmakers today are in general simply too lazy to go through such a process. And it’s not even about the money because they throw away loads of it for crappy, fake looking CGI. They lack the ingenuity and improvisational abilities of the filmmakers of old. You will never see special effects on the level of AAWIL or The Thing ever again
@tustari I heard someone point out before, that before CG, you needed quality film makers to pull off special effects well. With CG tho, you don't need that. So the overall quality just drops, and people became reliant on CG. Watch some film reactors watch any movie from 90s or earlier, and you'll see how shocked they are at how amazing all these practical effects look. Quality film making and craft can't be substituted for CG, but it is.
The screams are painful! really demonic and on point. loved it in a wierd way haha
Can’t believe it’s been 40 years since this film came out. That’s 13 years before I was born.
Yep. 1981 A whole different time
Same here!!! Great film
Jeez, 1994
@@Voxemblem yes
this movie wouldn't be half as spectacular as it is without david naughtons incredible performance
All the modern CGI cannot compete with the sheer brilliance and power of this transformation.
And still the greatest werewolf movie ever, and let's face it, probably always will be.
There’s a wolf man reboot on the way its gonna be the first big budget werewolf movie in a while, hopefully they don’t go down the CGI path and use modern practical effects for the transformation scene.
One of the scariest masterpieces of all-time. I started to like werewolves more because they are refer as drug addicts or alcoholics that can't control their impulses.
I always thought that werewolf transformations symbolized sexual arousal, your body heat increases and slowly instincts take over, you want to strip down your clothing and the beast within takes over.
I kind of imagined him transforming and can't remember anything like having a seizure.
Werewolves are representation of the monster inside all of us. Normal people most of the time, but under the right conditions (a full moon), the monster on the inside comes out.
When the dog was barking at him, I was totally expecting the two girls to look like the twins from The Shining when the camera panned up.
My favorite werewolf film. Classic transformation!
Indeed
DJ Mexicano de TX • 6mo ago
My favorite werewolf film. Classic transformation!
@@jvsarcamo fbb dekbed.kjnbbvfkkhg
@@jvsarcamo hvn uurjoojyf,,9ifss
That's gotta be the worst anxiety attack i've ever seen
I will love this movie to the day I die. First saw it in a drive-in back in '82 on a double bill with Cat People. Just a SFX masterpiece from the early 80s! Love how the "feeling" just hits David without any warning at all. Just BOOM! He transforms then goes on his first killing spree in London. A genius and one of a kind werewolf movie we all know and love.
The caption of this video should be "NYU student has a mental breakdown while studying for his midterm" lmao
I remember watching this as a kid, that shot where it pans up to show the full moon and the music starts playing, I panicked, stopped the tape and went outside in the daylight to calm down and prepare myself
Still the best werewolf transformation scene ever done, modern CGI based transformations really cannot compare to the old school special effects used here. What's always impressive is the contrast between the calm background music and the contrast between David's screams of absolute agony as he transforms into the werewolf plus you can hear his bones breaking and shifting as it happens. Finally at the end there is the wolf's unnatural howl which is meant to be a combination of a wolf howl and a human scream of pain.
Best werewolf transformation ever filmed in my opinion!
This still holds up as one of the best transformation scenes ever. Some of the effects in "The Thing" can rival it and an argument could be made for "The Fly", But I still think this one's better.
Always wondered how did the werewolf get out of that building? Then go back to when David went outside for a sec and left both the main door and apartment door opened....! Its little thing's like these that keep you in suspense!
I was thinking the exact same thing...how'd he get out of that building? Surely he didn't leave the doors open all day? Even if he did...the other tenants would have closed them. They would hear him screaming. Somebody would see a 200lb monster in a area that populated.
He left the doors open
But also when he was changing the lights were on then when the Dr calls Alex's flat, the lights are off 🤔
Either way......ITS A MOVIE 🤣🤣🤣🤣
he let the doors open.
That was a mind-blowing scene in it's day, and still amazing to watch even today. We've all been spoiled by CGI morphing software.
Without a doubt easily the best morph scene in cinema history and on top of that my personal favorite film of all time.
What works is that it just comes over him without any warning. There's no telling what time exactly the curse kicks in. It just hits him like a freight train and continues to build in pain and agony and madness. Plus you don't know whether or not the amnesia happens for the moment the transformation starts the next day. He says he can't remember how he got to the zoo or anything before that.
5:37 when you’ve been holding a shit all day
That howl is so chilling! Never been duplicated.
The transformation trascends as the most important aspect of this scene. But there is more. This scene made the movie inmortal because it is a perfect horror scene. It builds the tension up gradually, starting with the dog, the cat and the window. It constructs David's boredom so that we get distracted, and then, all of the sudden, it explodes and it does not stop until it is so horrific that it is difficult to watch. Oh and dont forget Creedence to make it sarcastic and almost joyful!
Watched this when it first came out, I was 9. Still scared of the dark. Lol
3 years older than me lol
The best and blood curling of a howling..!
You can just feel his nerve endings being stretched, bones breaking, skull squeezing his brain and his organs rearranging. This is the most painful transformation in a werewolf movie.
A transformation that puts any CGI effect to shame!
Was at hospital today for small procedure. In the procedure room they had that first‘moon rising’ song playing in the background. When he’s mopping around the house. That triggered me, cause first, I couldn’t figure out where i heard it. But I knew subconsciously it was followed by a violent scene. Props to the director for putting ironically upbeat songs in inappropriate scenes.
42 years old, and you'd *still* rate this over and above anything that modern CGI can do!! A truly phenomenal piece of work!
One of the most dramatic werewolf transformations you're likely to see.
I mean that’s how imagine a real werewolf transformation
HALLOWEEN IS IN TWO MONTHS!🎃 I can’t wait to get scared!😱😂 P.S. HERE’S MICKEY MOUSE 6:34
That was done so well in the movie... it was and still is one of the best Werewolves and how David turned into the Werewolf scene was and is still one of the best scenes of someone turning into a Werewolf... My all time favorite "Werewolf" movie.... Loved the humor in it... I was 13 years old when it came out in the movies. I saw it in the movies....and loved it!!! Still do...
I remember watching this movie as a kid and I still love it to this day! One of the best werewolf transformations ever!👍🏼🤩❤️
That was one of the best transformation into a werewolf. I’ve seen. I saw this movie in the drive In movie theater when it came out I was 12 years old scared the living day light out of me lol
7:23 When you realize he just opened his eyes to show off his yellow eyes only to close them back immediately lol
This is the one and only werewolf movie. A, work of pure genius and the human to werewolf is the best there has ever been and the best there will ever be.
Las señales pre-transformación; pesadillas, las reacciones del perro y el gato mostrando aversión, ansiedad.....LA MEJOR PELÍCULA SOBRE HOMBRES LOBO!!!!
Arguably one of the gnarliest transformations ever
Greatest werewolf movie of all time. An absolute blast of a movie 👍
You know what the scariest thing about all this is. Not the transformation, not the werewolf but that the movie wants us to believe that one nurse alone can pay the rent for such an apartment in London.
I don’t know that most people would know whether that is believable or not. Did nurses there make so very little at the time or is it that tiny apartments were insanely expensive back then?
I thought the initial reaction should have been a little more gradual. Like maybe wiping the sweat off his face while reading, then slowly but surely starting to feel the pain of what was going to happen. The way he reacts from reading to transformation is almost funny.
Agreed, but this movie was designed as a horror-comedy
the Werewolf transformation scene from Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban cannot beat this and The Howling
man i remember going to see this at the theatre as a kid i was visually traumatized & i liked it man the effects was so cutting edge to be done in the 1980 - 81
5:13 The Greatest special effects scene in Movie History. It will never be equaled or surpassed. Period!
The best werewolf transformations in movie history to me
One of the best creature effects of all time. Cool how you can see the wolf wanting to come out.
7:05 This was David's last desperate attempt in asking the audience for help just before the Beast took over
He was trying to ask jack for help. Every time he says "help me" he's begging jack. But jack is nowhere to be found. He even says "help meee,jack at 6:17
At 6:17 he screams "help meee, jackk" dammn
Yeah he's screaming for Jack to help him from the Transformation
A true masterclass in practical Werewolfery...In my opinion bettered only by Rob Bottin's incredible outside-of-the-box creations for John Carpenter's version of 'The Thing'
This movie is a masterpiece, best werewolf movie, hands down!
Happy Belated 40th Anniversary to American Werewolf in London!! I truly love the scene of greatest werewolf transformation in history. Thank you so much, Rick Baker for making the awesome special/makeup effects of this film and live the howling of the moon!
Best transformation ever .. right.... Kudos to everyone in the movie... To David and Rick Baker... Especially.
I understand from a friend of mine, who is a werewolf, that the first time is very very painful indeed.
7:00...the way he looks to the audience, pleading with them to help....
My favorite horror movie ever!
Of all the werewolf movies, there are no equals to this classic.
Absolutely!
They say that the 1981 classic The Howling is an equal.
I am amazed of the practical effects on this movie
The best werewolf transformation ever still the King No. one hands-down!
He was waiting for something to change all day and when it happened there was no confusion about what was going on.
I just rewatched this after years. It was pretty good 👍🏽
Watching this again, I am realizing how great the sound effects were in this film.
Best Man To Werwolf Transformation Ever, This scares The Hell Of Me, Best Werewolf Movie