Teen Wolf is a 1985 American fantasycomedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Starring Michael J. Fox as Scott Howard, the film is about a high school student who discovers that his family has an unusual pedigree when he finds himself transforming into a werewolf.
Plot
Seventeen-year-old high school student Scott Howard (Michael J. Fox) is sick of being average and wishes he were special. His father, Harold (James Hampton), runs a local hardware store. Scott plays basketball for his high school's team, the Beavers, with a not-so-good win-loss record. The girl of his dreams, Pamela Wells (Lorie Griffin), is dating Mick McAllister (Mark Arnold), a jerk from an opposing high school team, the Dragons. After another of the team's losses, Scott begins to notice strange changes to his body. While at a party, Scott keeps undergoing changes and eventually he returns home, locks himself in the bathroom, and undergoes a complete change and becomes a werewolf, while his father demands that he open the door. He tries to refuse, only to finally give in and find his father has also transformed. Harold never told his son about the condition because "sometimes it skips a generation" and he was hoping it would not happen to Scott. Needing someone else to share his secret, Scott confides his best friend, Stiles Stilinski (Jerry Levine), who accepts Scott's werewolf status. However, Scott inadvertently reveals his transformation to the public at one of his basketball games. After shortly stunning the crowd with The Wolf, Scott goes on to amaze them with his newfound basketball skills.
Scott subsequently learns to use his family "curse" to gain popularity at school, becoming the team's star basketball player, and learns to transform at will between his normal self and The Wolf. His team goes from last to first, and Scott begins spending most of his time at school as The Wolf. He also wins the interest of Pamela while ignoring the affections of his other best friend, Boof (Susan Ursitti), who has loved him since childhood. However, it is later revealed that Pamela is only interested in having sex with Scott, and wants to remain with Mick. Scott ultimately reciprocates Boof's affections after discovering what kind of person Pamela truly is. One night at a school dance with Boof, however, he gets into a confrontation with Mick for his affair with Pamela, causing Scott to become The Wolf and claw Mick. Though Mick is not seriously injured, the crowd starts looking at Scott as a monster rather than the cool basketball star he had become, and Scott himself is starting to be afraid of his alter ego.
The conclusion of the film finds Scott playing in the championship basketball game as himself against Mick's team. During the game, Mick constantly fouls Scott leading Scott to remind him if he keeps fouling, he will be benched. Mick fouls him one last time, allowing Scott to shoot two free throws. He makes both baskets, thus putting the Beavers ahead and winning the game. While the crowd is carrying Scott, Pamela walks over to him, but he rebuffs her and runs over to Boof where they kiss. Mick goes to get Pamela, who now has lost interest in the former basketball hero, and she is heartbroken over losing her chance with Scott. The last scene shows Scott, Boof, and Harold embracing as the whole school celebrates.
Cast
2
Production
Teen Wolf was one of the first scripts written by Jeph Loeb.[4] Loeb was hired to write it because the studio, after the surprising success of the film Valley Girl, wanted to make a comedy that would cost almost nothing (the production costs amounted to about $1 million) and take very little time to film. The project came together when Michael J. Fox accepted the lead role and his Family Ties co-star Meredith Baxter-Birney became pregnant, which created a delay in the show's filming that allowed Fox time to complete filming and then return to his TV show.[5]
Released on August 23, 1985, Teen Wolf debuted at No. 2 in its opening weekend, behind Back to the Future (also starring Michael J. Fox).[7] After its initial run, the film grossed $33,086,661 domestically,[8][9] with a worldwide gross of about $80 million.[10]
Critical response
Despite its commercial success, the film's critical reception was at best mixed.[11] Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 47% of 19 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 4.8 out of 10.[12] On Metacritic, the film has a 25 out of 100 rating based on 5 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[13]
Vincent Canby of The New York Times gave the film a negative review calling it "aggressively boring". He went on to say that "the film is overacted by everybody except Mr. Fox, who is seen to far better advantage in Back to the Future."[14]
Home media
Teen Wolf was first released on DVD via MGM in a "Double Feature" pack with its sequel Teen Wolf Too on August 27, 2002. The film was later released on Blu-ray on March 29, 2011.[15] The only special feature available on any of the releases is the film's theatrical trailer.
The film was followed by a cartoon spin-off in 1986, and a sequel in 1987 titled Teen Wolf Too, with Jason Bateman starring as Todd Howard, Scott's cousin. A second sequel starring Alyssa Milano was planned, but never filmed.[16] Another female version of Teen Wolf was in the works that later developed into 1989's Teen Witch.
Television adaptation
In June 2009, MTV announced that they would be adapting Teen Wolf into a television series "with a greater emphasis on romance, horror and werewolf mythology". It was created by Jeff Davis.[17] Australian director Russell Mulcahy (Highlander) directed the pilot (and several succeeding episodes) of the television series.[18] The first episode for the new MTV series aired on June 5, 2011.
