John Landis famously includes the fictional movie title See You Next Wednesday in almost all of his films. In An American Werewolf in London , it serves as the title of the pornographic movie playing in the erotic cinema where David meets his undead victims.
Unfortunately, the likelihood of a fully restored version is slim. In various interviews, John Landis has stated that he considers the theatrical release to be his definitive director's cut. Furthermore, much of the cut footage was physically trimmed from the negative, and the excised celluloid has either degraded or been lost in studio vaults over the last forty years.
The sequence where the wealthy commuter, Gerald Bringsley, is hunted by the werewolf in the sterile, echoing tunnels of the Tottenham Court Road tube station is a masterclass in suspense. In the final film, the werewolf traps Bringsley at the top of an escalator and lunges.
: John Landis felt the scene disrupted the mounting tension. He wanted the Piccadilly Circus sequence to feel like an unstoppable, claustrophobic nightmare. Dropping a slow-paced comedy sketch right before the climax slowed the momentum.
In the pantheon of horror-comedy, few films cast a longer shadow than John Landis’s 1981 masterpiece, An American Werewolf in London . Celebrated for its Oscar-winning practical effects (the first of its kind for Best Makeup), its perfect tonal balance of slapstick and dread, and its haunting use of a moon-themed soundtrack, the film is a sacred text for genre fans. Yet, like many great works of chaos, the final cut of Werewolf is only half the story.
Landis felt the joke disrupted the building dread. Removing it made the villagers seem instantly more hostile and secretive, heightening the audience's anxiety. 2. The Full "Blue Moon" Transformation Excess
David calls his sister Rachel to say goodbye before his suicide attempt. This scene is missing from some Region 2 DVD Special Editions due to a mastering error.
The Lost Horrors of Piccadilly Circus: The Definitive Guide to An American Werewolf in London’s Deleted Scenes
The mystery of these deleted scenes only adds to the mythical status of An American Werewolf in London . The cuts made for the MPAA forced Landis to rely more on suggestion and editing in certain sequences, which arguably heightened the suspense.
It was removed to help the film secure an "R" rating in the U.S.. David’s Phone Call Home
John Landis’s 1981 masterpiece is a tight, 97-minute fusion of horror, comedy, and tragedy. But like any great film, its path to the final cut was littered with excised moments, trimmed dialogue, and one infamous, expensive sequence left on the storyboard floor. While no "deleted scenes" have ever been officially released as bonus features (Landis has steadfastly refused to produce an extended cut), the original shooting script and contemporary production reports reveal several key omissions.
wasn't just about gore; it also featured a central romance between David and Nurse Alex Price.
The attack on commuters at the Tottenham Court Road tube station originally featured more visceral gore. The sequence where the werewolf stalks and kills the businessman, Gerald Bringsley, contained additional shots of the wolf actively tearing at its victim. The final film relies more on the echo of screams and suggestiveness, though the initial chase remains intact. 6. The Chaos in Piccadilly Circus
The intimate scene between David and Alex was originally longer and more explicit but was toned down to avoid an X rating.
The Anatomy of Lost Horror: Every Known Deleted Scene from 'An American Werewolf in London'
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