8) An American Werewolf in London
It might now be 35 years old, but John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London still remains the most iconic werewolf film around. Partly, this is to do with the depiction of the werewolves themselves – the tremendous work from costume designer Rick Baker, first seen in that breath-taking transformation scene, remains the king of monster makeup. Yet, its longevity is also because of the film’s verbal and visual wit.
American Werewolf follows David Naughton as, er, David, a young American backpacker on vacation in a spooky English village with his friend Jack. Unfortunately, and you can probably see where we’re going with this, a wolf attack leaves him suffering from a bad case of hairy back.
On the back of this basic premise, the movie works so well because – rather than having a scare here and a laugh there – the horror and comedy are perfectly intertwined. For instance, the scene where the horrific, undead Jack visits David’s bedside is so tongue in cheek you’ll be caught between being grossed out and giggling.