User Reviews

I first saw Teen Wolf when it came out in 1985 / 86 and thoroughly enjoyed it. If I can remember correctly it flowed on from the phenomenal success of Back to the Future and Fox's star was shining bright at that time. Nonetheless - for a cheap, budget flick of questionable storyline - this film actually comes across well.

I recently bought the DVD (with Teen Wolf Too on it also) to see if my rose coloured memories stood the test of time. They did. The first hour of Teen Wolf (if you ignore some basic editing mistakes and clumsy cutting) is superb. The story deteriorates a tad from the school dance to it's inevitable ending - but it is still good enough for its time.

Fox is brilliant in this - funny, natural and a star in the making. The beach boys music is good too. And my boyhood crush on Boof hasn't abated one little bit through the years.

My two sons picked up the DVD about a week ago and loved it just as much as I did (even though they are only half the age of when I saw it - kids are just more advanced these days). They already know scenes off by heart.

Nice, feel-good film - 7/10.

Teen Wolf starts as average high school teenager Scott Howard (Michael J. Fox) is having problems, he can't get Pamela Wells (Lorie Griffin) to notice him, the school vice President is giving him a hard time & the school basketball team he plays for suck. However Scott starts to undergo changes, he grows long strands of hair, has claw like fingernails & hears dog whistles as Scott discovers that he in fact a Werewolf & that his dad Harold (James Hampton) is also one as it runs in the family. Soon Scott's secret is exposed & the whole town loves the wolf, under pressure to remain popular & the center of attention Scott lets the Wolf get out of control & uses his animal like strength & agility to get the basketball team to the state finals but Scott soon realises that the Werewolf inside him is as much a curse as a blessing...

Directed by Rod Daniel this light hearted fantasy isn't exactly great but it is hard to dislike thanks to a nice performance by Fox & a fairly likable story. Sharing a lot in common with I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) the similarities are obvious but the metaphors & parallels are updated to the 80's as the script deals with teen problems like puberty, school bullies, girls, parent trouble & pins it all on the fairly standard plot of the sporting underdog who comes good rather than the 50's which featured teens rebelling against authority & being singled out as trouble makers. Although very much of different time periods & eras Teen Wolf & I Was a Teenage Werewolf are more or less the same film. At 90 odd minutes Teen Wolf moves along at a nice pace & the story although a bit predictable & cheesy at times is fun to sit down & watch, I don't know because while it's a comedy & I didn't really laugh or anything I did smile & you do sort of root for Scott. As Scott makes decisions like having to choose between being himself or the Wolf, whether to alienate is friends or the girl who has always had a crush on him you can sort of see where he's coming from. Maybe one of the few Werewolf films that completely does away with full moons (although one is briefly seen it has no purpose), transformations & silver bullets.

The film looks OK, it's not some visual masterpiece but it's OK to look at. The Werewolf effects are really poor, once Fox becomes one he looks like a mutant dog or something with long hair & a long beard as his facial features are kept. The basketball matches are alright but there's only three & don't feature in the film as much as I thought they would. There are lots of musical montages which look a little dated now as the Werewolf does a handstand on a moving van & there's an amusing Saturday Night Fever (1977) homage.

Filmed in 1984 this wasn't released until after Back to the Future (1985) which made Fox a star & as such did very well off the back of it, shot in California the production values are decent enough. The acting is good & one of the films best aspects as everyone gives a likable performance.

Teen Wolf is a likable film more than a really good one, it sets a standard tale of teen angst & anxieties against the backdrop of a Werewolf film & is quite fun if a little dated & predictable. Followed by a cartoon series Teen Wolf (1986) which ran for twenty one episodes & a live action sequel Teen Wolf Too (1987) while the makers of Teen Witch (1987) might have took inspiration from Teen Wolf...

(Flash Review)

Typical high school guy becomes atypically quickly as he learns he and his father are werewolves. Once his new appears is no longer able to remain concealed, people who first see it are overly quick to come to grips with it and he becomes really popular as well as of course the star basketball player. Yet his girlfriend likes his normal guy better. Will he learn who he truly is and be able to manage his howling alter ego? Will anyone call for a doctor or scientist? Nope. This is lightly entertaining, predictable and often corny. It is 80s to its core; for better and worse. After finally seeing this popular 80s....classic...?....I have zero interest in seeing Teen Wolf Too.

I remember first seeing this movie on TV, about a year or two after it hit the theaters. At the time, I thought it was a really cool movie, but I was only 8 or 9 then. Having recently watched a tape of it that I borrowed from the library, my opinion has changed. I think the premise was a really good idea, but the writers/producers don't seem to have done much with it. The entire plot can be summed up like this: "High school student turns into werewolf, becomes popular, then discovers that his true friends are the ones who liked him for himself." There's really no "meat" to the story. Scott's father tells him that he'll have "great powers" but we only see two of them: the ability to play basketball really well, and the ability to find a stash of marijuana by smelling it. I think they should have shown some of Scott's other powers, or how his day-to-day life had changed (aside from his popularity). To me, concentrating on the wolf aspect of the story would have been more interesting than Scott's pursuit of the snobby blonde girl. I also agree with the other reviewers about the wolf costume/makeup. Scott looks more like a gorilla than a wolf - the makeup artist should have concentrated on making him look more like a wolf, rather than just throwing on a lot of hair.

This was one of those movies that I remember watching a few times back when I was a kid and back when Michael J Fox was still acting and I must say it is one of those eighties movies that I still have a fondness for, even though now I would probably not watch it again because despite all of the fondness that I have for the film, there is nothing really all that much about it that makes it stand out all that much. It's not as if it is The Terminator with a classic Arnold Schwartzenegger one liner, or any number of other classic eighties movies that I remember with fondness because, well, there isn't all that much about it that would make it a classic.

Basically it is about a boy in highschool who suddenly discovers that he is a werewolf, and that it is something that runs in the family. After the initial shock, he suddenly becomes really popular, and is able to take on an opposing basketball team all by himself. In fact at the beginning of the film it is very clear that the schools basketball team basically blows, and it is not until one game when he finds himself at the bottom of a stacks on that he becomes the wolf, and then goes on to win the game – single handedly.

Some have suggested that this is a subtle exploration of the nature of High School in your average American town (or suburb, or what not – it is not really made all that clear, but you could suggest that this could occur in any high school in any part of America – except for the fact that werewolves are creatures of myths and legend). Some have also suggested that it is about how, unless we are sporting heroes, or there is something important about us, that we are damned to spend our lives in obscurity. Yeah, I can see that in this film, and I can also see it as some form of subtle criticism of the American way of life (not that there is much that you can criticise), and that one is defined based not only upon how many people know who you are, but also how many people like and look up to you.

It could also be considered some form of morality tale, in that we don't need magical powers to be able to win, all we need to do is to work as a team and believe in ourselves. Well, that is all well and good, but it suggests that by doing that then we can go from being a basketball team that blows to a basketball team that can win a championship – the problem is that it never actually works out that way. Still, this is a Hollywood movie, and in the end, the hero gets the girl – the right girl, not the snivelling bitch that leads you on because you are a famous person, and she can only define herself based upon what that famous person thinks of her, and that they win the basketball game, and the evil vice-principle (it is always the vice-principle that is evil, isn't it) is put into his place, and then the movie ends. I guess that suggests that everything is sorted and everybody lives happily ever after – until the make a sequel, that is.

I had heard about this film so many of television shows, including spoofs on Bo' Selecta! and Celebrity Juice, I assumed it was going to be a naff horror film, I didn't realise it was a comedy, and before the leading young actor became an instant star in the first of what would be a trilogy for Back to the Future, I looked forward to watching this very much. Basically seventeen year old Scott Howard (Michael J. Fox) seems just an ordinary teenage high school student wishing he was something more but hopeless at playing basketball for the Beavers and failing to get the attention of Pamela Wells (Lorie Griffin), the prettiest girl in school, who already boyfriend Mick McAllister (Mark Arnold). He is hitting puberty, but the changes he experiences are more than he expected as he grows more hair than he expected, his teeth become sharp, and his nails become longer, and eventually he locks himself in the bathroom to be a full werewolf. Scott's father Harold (James Hampton) demands for him to open the bathroom door, and he when he does to freak him out he is surprised to see that he is a werewolf as well, his father explains that the werewolf gene is in the family, only sometimes it skips a generation, he was hoping it wouldn't happen to Scott. He tries whatever to keep his newfound werewolf side inside, but during a basketball game he cannot but let it out and reveal it, the people on the court and watching are freaked for a little bit, but he continues to play and proves a hit with newfound skills and wins the game, so after this he continues to play superbly. Becoming the star play for the Beavers team and learning to control of his other side Scott uses his persona as The Wolf to gain to popularity he had always longed for, and he finally gets the attention of Pamela, but he is neglecting best friend Lisa 'Boof' Marconi (Susan Ursitti) who has had feelings for him since they children. Party animal and Scott's other best friend Stiles (Jerry Levine) takes advantage of the popularity for The Wolf by becoming entrepreneurial, he starts selling goods and merchandise for Teen Wolf, in "wolfmania" he even trades in his old car for a van he calls the "Wolfmobile". The Spring Dance approaches and everyone expects The Wolf to be there, Scott obviously doesn't want to disappoint them, but Boof is against the idea, and it is after a near violent encounter with Mick that he starts wishing he was just simply himself, he even contemplates this before the final basketball game with the Beavers against the Dragons. Scott refuses to become The Wolf, Coach Finstock (Jay Tarses) is sure that the team will fail without the star player, but he proves him wrong, and with penalties by Mick he gets the dramatic ending where he scores the all-important final two baskets to win the game by one point, Pamela expects his attention, but Scott puts arms around Boof and they passionately kiss. Also starring Matt Adler as Lewis and Jim MacKrell as Mr. Thorne. Fox is pretty good as loser turned hero from his alter ego, I slightly agree he is similar to the character of Marty McFly, but obviously the werewolf aspect sways you away from that thought, the makeup effects are very good, and even though it does feel slightly cheesy at times it has some light hearted funny moments, a fun comedy. Worth watching!