I loved this movie when I saw it as a kid. I loved it as a teenager when I watched it with my friends. But there are a lot of horror movies I loved when I was younger (or that just really scared me) that I watch now and think “Meh…why did this scare me again?”. I was a little concerned that would be the case with An American Werewolf in London but I gave it another shot anyway.
It’s really amazing to me that a film made in 1981 could stand the test of time the way this one has. The 80s are well-known for their dated material be it films, books or movies and I worried this would be in that category – but it really wasn’t. Decaying Griffin Dunne was still gross to watch (but funny!) and David Naughton’s performance was sincere and believable and helped make the ending quite sad. If anything, I think I liked this film more watching it as an adult than I did watching it back when it originally came out.
Definitely on the “will watch again” list. When the film was over, I felt like the time I spent on it was time well spent (entertainment-wise).