6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Teen discovers that puberty for him means he turns into a werewolf. One of the beneficial side effects is that it also turns him into a top-notch basketball player. But will his notoriety cost him his friends and can he find true love?
Starring: Michael J. Fox, James Hampton, Susan Ursitti, Jerry Levine, Matt AdlerComedy | 100% |
Teen | 75% |
Sport | 48% |
Supernatural | 46% |
Coming of age | 43% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
At the time of its theatrical release in August 1985, Teen Wolf was the eighth werewolf picture of the eighties, joining a crowded list that includes Full Moon High (1981), Wolfen (1981), The Howling (1981), An American Werewolf in London (1981), The Beast Within (1982), The Company of Wolves (1984), and Fright Night (1985). Teen Wolf is itself a loose re-imagining of I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) starring Michael Landon, but this first feature film from television director Rod Daniel (K-9, Beethoven's 2nd) contains a lot more levity and comedy than it does fright and horror. In his fourth big screen appearance, Michael J. Fox stars as Scott Howard, the teenage son of his hardware store manager father, Harold (James Hampton). Scott is tired of just being average in everything and has lofty dreams of transcending his humbling middle-class suburban life in Fremont, Nebraska. He is a five-foot four-inch point guard for the Beacon Town Beavers, a dreadful high school basketball team that got trounced by a score of 77-12 at the hands of an intramural team. Besides leaning on his dad for advice, Scott also seeks counsel from his basketball leader, the atypically easy-going Coach Finstock (Jay Tarses). Scott's smart and spunky friend, Boof (Susan Ursitti), isn't afraid to tell him what she thinks but he's less interested romantically in her than vice versa. He would much rather date the school's blonde bombshell, Pamela (Lorie Griffin), but she's been seeing Scott's nemesis, the supercilious jock Mick (Mark Arnold).
At his school locker, Scott begins noticing bodily changes such as the long hairs growing on his chest. He also sports long fingernails and hair tufts around his hands. Upon inspecting himself in the bathroom mirror, Scott's developed elongated teeth and before he knows it, he's transformed into a werewolf. Scott's locked himself in but Harold Howard assures his son that it's okay to reveal himself. Scott sees in plain sight that his dad's also a werewolf and lycanthropy is part of the Howard ancestral lineage. Howard encourages Scott to not be afraid of using his newfound powers. In the middle of a basketball game, Scott turns lupine and while this gives momentary shock to the players and spectators, they come to embrace the kid's gift. Scott can jump and score at freewill, single-handedly lifting the Beavers to victory after victory. He wins Pamela over and becomes the big man on campus. Yet through all this adulation, Scott realizes that he already was different and doesn't need to activate his alternate wolf-self in order to express his individuality. He can still achieve things as a perfectly flawed human.
Mirror Stage: Scott can't believe the drastic makeover his face has undergone.
This Collector's Edition of Teen Wolf courtesy of Shout! Factory marks the movie's second release on Blu-ray, six years after MGM's bare-bones edition. Shout! advertises this as a "new 2017 high-definition film transfer taken from the interpositive." Appearing in the film's original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, the 2K scan differs remarkably from the 2011 transfer that my colleague Marty Liebman reviewed. I have analyzed frame grabs side by side and conclude that the MGM picture is cropped on all four sides. It also has definite brightness boosting in many spots with a tan/orange tinge. Skin tones are lighter and more natural looking on the Shout! As Marty noted in his review, the MGM transfer appears "soft and hazy, not to mention littered with a large number of black splotches, white speckles, random vertical lines, several jagged edges, and a few slight halos." Shout! has largely cleaned up these visual anomalies, with only a couple of blotches creeping into the frame. Black levels are especially deep (see Screenshot #s 3, 9, and particularly 10). Film critic Andrew Adler of the Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) noticed a boom microphone at the top of the frame in one of the theatrical release prints but there are no mics visible on this transfer. Colors are better defined on the Shout! along with a sharper image. Shout! delivers an MPEG-4 AVC encode for the main feature, which carries an average bitrate of 31000 kbps.
Twelve scene selections are accessible from the main menu or via remote. (The MGM disc had no menu at all.)
Shout! has given Teen Wolf's sound track a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo mix (1869 kbps, 24-bit). The new lossless audio represents both a boost and an improvement over MGM's DTS-HD MA Dual Mono mix (668 kbps, 24-bit). Brandon A. Duhamel of TheaterByte complained that MGM's monaural "sounds a bit boxy and the dialogue sometimes falls a bit too low. There is also some audible crackle than can be heard here and there." Depth and range is much better on Shout!'s track. Dialogue is clearly audible with no big dips. The electronic keyboard strokes emanating from Miles Goodman's original score are reproduced with crystal clarity. The treble particularly stands out and bass beats are occasionally thunderous. Goodman also reportedly wrote seven of the ballads that are heard in the film. They're spread nicely over the center and front speakers. The Beach Boys' "Surfin' USA" is a standout.
Shout! provides the option for English SDH for the main attraction.
On the television version of Teen Wolf, four deleted scenes were aired that were not in the theatrical cut. Unfortunately, those are not included on this BD. In addition, the family of Rod Daniel recorded an audio commentary with the director before his untimely death. Shout! did not port it over but it can be accessed here. For its extras, Shout! produced a feature-length documentary on the film, the movie's original theatrical trailer (MGM's lone extra), and a photographic slide show.
Teen Wolf is a good solid '80s teen comedy that has been given a substantial upgrade by Shout! Factory. The new transfer looks sparkling and clean, easily eclipsing MGM's dated transfer. The uncompressed stereo also demonstrates noticeable improvements over the MGM mono. Shout!'s 143-minute documentary is by far the most in-depth piece produced about Teen Wolf. Owners of the MGM BD will want to replace their no-frills disc with this Collector's Edition. RECOMMENDED to genre aficionados and fans of Michael J. Fox.
1981
Caught with their Pants Down
1976
Porky's 3: Revenge
1985
45th Anniversary Edition
1979
The 18 Year Old Schoolgirls / Limited to 1,020 Copies
1973
Collector's Edition
1987
1984
1985
1992
Theatrical & Extended 4K / TV Cut SD
1985
1991
1984
1985
2011
2000
1976
1985
Special Edition
1984
2006
1983