An American Werewolf in London

John Landis' An American Werewolf in London is the film that proved horror and comedy could coexist without either genre being diminished. The transformation sequence — achieved entirely with practical effects by Rick Baker — won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Makeup and remains the single greatest special effects scene in horror history. David Naughton's bones crack, stretch, and reform in agonizing real-time, and Baker's work is so convincing that four decades of CGI have not produced anything as visceral. The film's tonal shifts — from genuinely funny buddy comedy to brutal werewolf attacks on the moors — should not work, but Landis navigates them with a confidence that makes the horror hit harder because you were just laughing.