Keep off the moors and curl up with a good book about An American Werewolf In London

This August will mark the 35th anniversary of the release of An American Werewolf In London, John Landis’ tale of two young Americans who don’t heed the warning to “keep off the moors and stick to the roads” and are viciously attacked by a werewolf as a result. In the film, Landis seamlessly mixed horror and comedy—trumping Joe Dante’s The Howling at every turn, in this writer’s opinion—and curated a wonderful soundtrack of moon-related tunes, including songs by Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Marcels. To mark this occasion, Paul Davis has written a companion piece to his 2009 documentary on “The Monster Movie,” Beware The Moon: Remembering An American Werewolf In London.

The 200-page tome of the same name will be released in an all-color, hardback edition. According to Dread Central, that while the documentary contains footage that you can’t put in a book, “in terms of stories, images, and archive materials…this book blows [the movie] away on all fronts.”

Beware The Moon will feature interviews with the cast and crew of American Werewolf, cover art from Graham Humphries, and more than 300 behind-the-scenes photos, some of which have never been published. The book will also delve into how An American Werewolf In London inspired the making of Michael Jackson’s Thriller—Jackson was a terrific fan of the film’s mix of funny and scary and personally contacted Landis about directing the music video, something most studio directors were not interested in at the time. Jackson also insisted on American Werewolf special effects make-up artist Rick Baker coming on board, as well as composer Elmer Bernstein, cinematographer Robert Paynter, and costume designer Deborah Nadoolman.

The book will also feature a foreword by Mick Garris, who took on the concept of “were-cats” in 1992’s Stephen King-penned Sleepwalkers.

Pop Culture Shock is also getting in on the celebration, having previewed two new 12” figures of Jack and David. According to Bloody Disgusting, the company is still working on getting former “Pepper” David Naughton just right.

Beware The Moon will ship this August, and the first 1000 copies will be signed and numbered by the author. Once they’re gone, they’re gone, so pre-order the book right here and don’t let any naked American men steal your copy.