Teen Wolf

This article is about the film. For the TV series that premiered in 2011, see Teen Wolf (2011 TV series). For other uses, see Teen Wolf (disambiguation).
Teen Wolf

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Rod Daniel
Produced by
  • Thomas Coleman
  • Mark Levinson
  • George W. Perkins
  • Michael Rosenblatt
  • Scott M. Rosenfelt
Written by
Starring
Music by Miles Goodman
Cinematography Tim Suhrstedt
Edited by Lois Freeman-Fox
Distributed by Atlantic Releasing Corporation
Release dates
  • August 23, 1985 (1985-08-23)
Running time
 92 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $1.2 million[2]
Box office $80 million[3]

Teen Wolf is a 1985 American fantasy comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. The film stars Michael J. Fox as a high school student who discovers that his family has an unusual pedigree when he finds himself transforming into a werewolf.

Plot

Scott Howard is a seventeen-year-old high school student who is sick of being average. Living in a small town, his only claim to popularity is playing on the Beavers; his school's basketball team and fawning after his crush Pamela Wells, who is dating his rival Mick. Mick plays for the Dragons, an opposing team who tends to bully Scott on the court. Completely oblivious to his best friend Boof's affections, he constantly rebuffs her advances due to their history together. After a series of startling changes such as long hair suddenly sprouting, hands suddenly getting hairy, he decides to quit the team, but his coach changes his mind. Scoring a keg with his best friend Stiles for a party, Scott and Boof end up alone in a closet and Scott gets rough when they begin making out, accidentally clawing Boof's back. When he returns home, he undergoes a strange transformation and discovers he is a werewolf. His father Harold confronts him and reveals he too is a werewolf, and that he'd hoped Scott wouldn't inherit the curse because "sometimes it skips a generation". Scott reveals his secret to Stiles, who agrees to keep it a secret, but when Scott becomes stressed on the court at the next basketball game, he becomes the wolf and helps win their first game in three years. This has an unexpected result of fame and popularity as the High School is overwhelmed with "Wolf Fever", which quickly alienates Scott from Boof and from his teammates as everyone relies on him to win their games for them.

Stiles merchandises "Teen Wolf" paraphernalia and Pamela finally begins paying attention to Scott. After he gets a role as a 'werewolf cavalryman' in the school play alongside her, she comes onto him in the dressing room and the two have sex. Later, after a date set up to intentionally make Mick jealous, Pamela tells Scott that she's still seeing him and is not interested in Scott as a boyfriend, much to his disappointment. Harold tells Scott he is responsible for vice principal Rusty Thorne breathing down his neck, due to a scare he'd given him when he was in high school, and advises him to be himself and not the wolf. With the upcoming spring dance, Boof agrees to go with Scott if he remains himself. Scott goes by himself as the wolf though, due to the popularity and dances with Boof, who convinces him to dance with her as himself. Mick takes advantage of this and punches Scott, taunting him until the wolf comes out and shreds Mick's clothes and making him the target of ridicule instead. He tries to leave, but is confronted by Thorne, who threatens to expel Scott from school. Harold appears and tells Thorne to back off, growling and causing the man to lose control of his bodily functions.

Scott renounces using the wolf all the time, quitting the play and the basketball team, who have come to expect it. During the championship game, Scott arrives and rallies his teammates to play without the wolf in order to win the game. Despite the odds, the team begins to play together and they make ground against the Dragons. During the final quarter, behind by one point, Scott is fouled by Mick at the buzzer. He makes both shots, winning the game and the championship to everyone's delight. Brushing past Pamela, Scott kisses Boof as his father comes down and hugs the two of them. Mick tells Pamela that they should leave, but she tells him to "drop dead" and storms off while everyone else celebrates their victory.

Cast

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]

The beaver mascot logo used in the film was the Oregon State University Beavers's logo, in use by the university at that time.[6]

Release

Box office

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.

Soundtrack

Teen Wolf: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Various
Released January 1st, 1985
Length 29:05
Label Jackal Records
Teen Wolf: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
No. TitleContributing artists Length
1. "Flesh on Fire"  James House 4:05
2. "Big Bad Wolf"  The Wolf Sisters 2:36
3. "Win in the End"  Mark Safan 4:41
4. "Shootin' for the Moon"  Amy Holland 2:45
5. "Silhouette"  David Palmer 3:54
6. "Way to Go"  Mark Vieha 3:45
7. "Good News"  David Morgan 2:56
8. "Transformation (Instrumental)"  Miles Goodman 2:29
9. "Boof (Instrumental)"  Miles Goodman 1:54
Total length:
 29:05

Legacy

Sequels

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. It is currently in its fifth season and a great success.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "TEEN WOLF (PG) (!)". British Board of Film Classification. November 15, 1985. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  2. ↑ http://www.amc.com/talk/2014/06/story-notes-for-teen-wolf
  3. ↑ Borrelli, Christopher (September 27, 2011). "'Teen Wolf' director's brutally honest commentary". Chicago Tribune. p. 2. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  4. ↑ R.J. Carter (January 1, 2002) Interview: Jeph Loeb: Look! Up In The Sky! The-Trades.com. Retrieved 2009-10-31.
  5. ↑ http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/44054/we-attend-the-teen-wolf-reunion-screening
  6. ↑ "Mascot Monday: Benny Beaver". KCcollegegameday. July 27, 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Michael Fox Stays on Top With 'Future,' `wolf'". Sun-Sentinel. August 28, 1985. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  8. ↑ "Teen Wolf (1985)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
  9. ↑ "Movie Teen Wolf - Box Office Data, News, Cast Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
  10. ↑ Borrelli, Christopher (September 27, 2011). "'Teen Wolf' director's brutally honest commentary". Chicago Tribune. p. 2. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  11. ↑ Variety Staff (1985-01-01). "Teen Wolf Review - Read Variety's Analysis of the Movie Teen Wolf". Variety.com. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
  12. ↑ "Teen Wolf - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Teen Wolf". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  14. ↑ Canby, Vincent (August 23, 1985). "Movie Review - Teen Wolf - SCREEN: 'TEEN WOLD,' WITH MICHAEL J. FOX - NYTimes.com". New York Times. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  15. ↑ Liebman, Martin (April 3, 2011). "Teen Wolf Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  16. ↑ "The Teen Wolf You Never Saw, Sadly". Io9.com. 2009-07-23. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
  17. ↑ Weisman, Jon (2009-06-23). "MTV greenlights eight projects". Variety. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
  18. ↑ "Russell Mulcahy Piloting MTV's Teen Wolf to Twilight Glory". Dreadcentral.com. Retrieved 2010-10-14.

External links

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