An American Werewolf in London
American tourists David and Jack are savagely attacked by an unidentified animal while hiking on the Yorkshire Moors. After retiring to the home of a beautiful nurse to recuperate, David soon begins experiencing disturbing changes to his body and mind.
Despite its small-scale budget of $10.0M, An American Werewolf in London became a financial success, earning $32.0M worldwide—a 220% return. The film's innovative storytelling connected with viewers, proving that strong storytelling can transcend budget limitations.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
An American Werewolf in London (1981) showcases strategically placed dramatic framework, characteristic of John Landis's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 37 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.1, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
David Kessler
Alex Price
Jack Goodman
Dr. J.S. Hirsch
Main Cast & Characters
David Kessler
Played by David Naughton
An American college student backpacking through England who is bitten by a werewolf and struggles with his horrifying transformation while haunted by his victims.
Alex Price
Played by Jenny Agutter
A compassionate nurse who falls for David and tries to help him through his psychological trauma, unaware of the supernatural truth.
Jack Goodman
Played by Griffin Dunne
David's best friend and traveling companion who is killed in the werewolf attack, then returns as a decaying corpse to warn David he must die.
Dr. J.S. Hirsch
Played by John Woodvine
A skeptical doctor at the hospital who treats David and investigates his claims about werewolves with clinical detachment.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes David and Jack backpacking across the Yorkshire moors, carefree American tourists abroad, joking and singing as they hitchhike through the countryside.. Structural examination shows that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when The werewolf attacks on the moors. Jack is killed brutally, and David is mauled before the creature is shot. David's carefree life is shattered in moments of horror.. At 13% through the film, this Disruption is delayed, allowing extended setup of the story world. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 25 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 26% of the runtime. This shows the protagonist's commitment to David is released from the hospital and chooses to stay in London with Alex rather than return to America, accepting her invitation despite his disturbing dreams and Jack's warnings., moving from reaction to action.
At 45 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 47% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat David transforms into a werewolf in the iconic, agonizing transformation sequence. False defeat: he's now fully become the monster, and there's no going back. The fun and games are over., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 69 minutes (71% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, David sees all his victims in the porn theater - their decaying corpses surrounding him. Jack and the others show him the carnage he's caused. David fully accepts he's a murderer and monster. His humanity and hope are dead., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 77 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. David transforms again in Piccadilly Circus. No new information saves him - instead, he accepts his fate and the transformation takes him. The synthesis is tragic: there is no solution., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
An American Werewolf in London's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping An American Werewolf in London against these established plot points, we can identify how John Landis utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish An American Werewolf in London within the comedy genre.
John Landis's Structural Approach
Among the 13 John Landis films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.1, reflecting strong command of classical structure. An American Werewolf in London represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete John Landis filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional comedy films include The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Bad Guys and Lake Placid. For more John Landis analyses, see Coming to America, The Blues Brothers and ¡Three Amigos!.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
David and Jack backpacking across the Yorkshire moors, carefree American tourists abroad, joking and singing as they hitchhike through the countryside.
Theme
The pub locals warn them to "beware the moon" and "stick to the road" - the theme of ignoring warnings and facing supernatural consequences beyond rational understanding.
Worldbuilding
Establishing the ordinary world: David and Jack's friendship, their tourist adventure, the eerie atmosphere of the Slaughtered Lamb pub, and the strange behavior of the locals who clearly know something they won't share.
Disruption
The werewolf attacks on the moors. Jack is killed brutally, and David is mauled before the creature is shot. David's carefree life is shattered in moments of horror.
Resistance
David recovers in the hospital, meets Nurse Alex Price, and is visited by Jack's decomposing ghost who warns him he'll transform at the next full moon. David resists this impossible reality, debating whether he's insane.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
David is released from the hospital and chooses to stay in London with Alex rather than return to America, accepting her invitation despite his disturbing dreams and Jack's warnings.
Mirror World
David and Alex begin their romantic relationship. She represents normalcy, love, and the human connection that could save him - the opposite of the beast he's becoming.
Premise
David tries to live normally with Alex in London, but experiences increasingly disturbing dreams and hallucinations. Jack appears repeatedly, more decayed each time, insisting David must kill himself. The horror-comedy blend delivers the film's unique premise.
Midpoint
David transforms into a werewolf in the iconic, agonizing transformation sequence. False defeat: he's now fully become the monster, and there's no going back. The fun and games are over.
Opposition
The werewolf kills six people in London. David wakes naked in the zoo with no memory. He realizes the truth but still resists. More victims appear as ghosts demanding he kill himself. Alex and the police close in on the truth.
Collapse
David sees all his victims in the porn theater - their decaying corpses surrounding him. Jack and the others show him the carnage he's caused. David fully accepts he's a murderer and monster. His humanity and hope are dead.
Crisis
David contemplates suicide in the theater, knowing he'll transform again that night. He debates his options, paralyzed by the horror of what he is and what he'll do. Alex searches for him desperately.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
David transforms again in Piccadilly Circus. No new information saves him - instead, he accepts his fate and the transformation takes him. The synthesis is tragic: there is no solution.
Synthesis
The werewolf rampages through Piccadilly Circus causing massive destruction. Alex arrives and tries to reach David's humanity. Police surround them in the alley. The finale resolves with the only possible ending.
Transformation
Alex's "I love you" reaches the werewolf for a moment, but David is shot dead by police. The final image shows David's human corpse in the alley, Alex crying over him - a tragic inversion of the carefree opening.