What really makes this scene is the acting. You REALLY feel that he's in extreme pain because of this transformation.

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!

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.

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!"

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.

40 years later and still the BEST Werewolf Transformation scene ever! Happy 40th Anniversary to my all time favorite horror movie!

This is the perfect example of what a painful transformation is.

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

"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!

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

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.

Honestly, THE GREATEST TRANSFORMATION IN THE HISTORY OF FILM. THANK YOU RICK BAKER AND LONG LIVE THE FOUR LEGGED HOUND FROM HELL.

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....

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

David literally turning into a horrific werewolf monster. 7:18 “Mickey Mouse”

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

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.

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.

40 years of terror 40 years of comedy 40 years of being an endless classic

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🖤

The shot of the Mickey Mouse figurine looking on was such a brilliant inclusion. This iconic figure of fun and laughter in the middle of absolute terror. The scene is incredible and I can't see it ever being surpassed. They'll probably do some stupid remake one day but cgi just couldn't replicate this. It was the incredible motion capture that made it so believable and the fact that David didn't turn into some ridiculous cliche 'Wolfman' but actually into a Werewolf. To pull off that complex transformation so convincingly back in the eighties is mind blowing.

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

This was incredibly well done, considering the time when it was filmed. Way more believable than modern CGI.

5:20 me when im relaxing and all of a sudden thousands of emberassing memories flash before my eyes

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.

I feel so sorry for both David and Jack. Two such sweet guys. They didn't deserve this curse. 😢❤🐺🐉🦅

I love how he looks straight into the camera and reaches for the audience..works real well and a far departure from filming norms.

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

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

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.

The greatest werewolf transformation scene ever. And Sam Cooke’s Blue Moon playing in the background makes it perfect.

How is it possible after all these years this is still the best werewolf transformation and the best werewolf film ever ????

You can tell he couldn't relax or do anything knowing that once that moon rises, he will transform

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.

By far the greatest werewolf transformation scene ever

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

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.

7:00...the way he looks to the audience, pleading with them to help....

No wonder it's a horror comedy it was so random how he just jumped out the chair and stared screaming 😂😂

Can’t believe it’s been 40 years since this film came out. That’s 13 years before I was born.

The screams are painful! really demonic and on point. loved it in a wierd way haha

That's gotta be the worst anxiety attack i've ever seen

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.

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.

At 6:17 he screams "help meee, jackk" dammn

All the modern CGI cannot compete with the sheer brilliance and power of this transformation.

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.

And still the greatest werewolf movie ever, and let's face it, probably always will be.

5:37 when you’ve been holding a shit all day

7:50 If you've played "Altered Beast", then you know where the howling came from, for the Wolfman.

this movie wouldn't be half as spectacular as it is without david naughtons incredible performance

7:23 When you realize he just opened his eyes to show off his yellow eyes only to close them back immediately lol

My favorite werewolf film. Classic transformation!

I was 11 years old when I watched this movie, and needless to say, have watched many horror movies after this, but this scene alone stands out. David was such a likable lead that I didn’t want to believe he was going to become a werewolf, and wanted to believe that Jack was just a figment of his imagination. When he finally transforms into the werewolf, not only were these scenes edited together flawlessly, but you could also see the fight that he was giving to not change over. It’s the only time ever in cinematic history where the viewer feels empathy for not only the victims, but for the antagonist as well. I just wanted to cry when he became the werewolf, because the film spent so much time giving David’s character emotional depth.

HALLOWEEN IS IN TWO MONTHS!🎃 I can’t wait to get scared!😱😂 P.S. HERE’S MICKEY MOUSE 6:34

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.

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

The caption of this video should be "NYU student has a mental breakdown while studying for his midterm" lmao

Not enough credit is given to David Naughton who’s acting and sounds of agony truly made it seem like his character was in TOTAL pain throughout the transformation!

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!

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.

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!

7:05 This was David's last desperate attempt in asking the audience for help just before the Beast took over

One of the most dramatic werewolf transformations you're likely to see.

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.

This is one movie that should never ever be remade, EVER!

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.

Las señales pre-transformación; pesadillas, las reacciones del perro y el gato mostrando aversión, ansiedad.....LA MEJOR PELÍCULA SOBRE HOMBRES LOBO!!!!

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.

Him begging and pleading really makes this scene powerful

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.

6:27 I didn't mean to call you a meatloaf, Jack.

Watched this when it first came out, I was 9. Still scared of the dark. Lol

Without a doubt easily the best morph scene in cinema history and on top of that my personal favorite film of all time.

Best werewolf transformation ever filmed in my opinion!

42 years old, and you'd *still* rate this over and above anything that modern CGI can do!! A truly phenomenal piece of work!

That howl is so chilling! Never been duplicated.

I remember watching this movie as a kid and I still love it to this day! One of the best werewolf transformations ever!👍🏼🤩❤️

It's not like an old man's birth scene.

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...

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.

Whenever someone tries to tell you that CGI is better than practical effects and makeup, show them this scene.

I understand from a friend of mine, who is a werewolf, that the first time is very very painful indeed.

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

Greatest werewolf movie of all time. An absolute blast of a movie 👍

Arguably one of the gnarliest transformations ever

This movie is a masterpiece, best werewolf movie, hands down!

the Werewolf transformation scene from Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban cannot beat this and The Howling

He was waiting for something to change all day and when it happened there was no confusion about what was going on.

Out of all the man-werewolf transformations, this one is by far the most painful, hard to watch, transformations ever. I mean, the makeup and the prosthetics created by Rick Baker and his team were incredible. But David’s transformation-like you see him in agonizing pain in transforming to a hideous beast werewolf is pretty gruesome and hard to watch out of the brilliance of the horror movie monsters we grew up with.

A transformation that puts any CGI effect to shame!

Of all the werewolf movies, there are no equals to this classic.

5:13 The Greatest special effects scene in Movie History. It will never be equaled or surpassed. Period!

One of the best creature effects of all time. Cool how you can see the wolf wanting to come out.

My favorite horror movie ever!