Teen Wolf
Blu-ray (Collector’s Edition)
Director: Rod Daniel
Screenwriter: Jeph Loeb, Matthew Weisman
Cast: Michael J. Fox, James Hampton, Scott Paulin, Susan Ursitti, Jerry Levine, Jay Tarses, Mark Holton, Matt Adler, Lorie Griffin
Distributor: Scream Factory
Rated PG | 92 Minutes
Release Date: August 8, 2017

“There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Now you stick to that, and everything else is cream cheese.”

Looking back, 1985 was a pretty incredible year for movies. The Breakfast Club, The Goonies, The Color Purple, Brazil, Fright Night, Clue, Weird Science, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Rocky IV, the list goes on and on. As great of a year it was for movies, it was an even better year for Michael J. Fox, who starred in two of 1985’s hits: Robert Zemeckis’ Back to the Future and Rod Daniel‘s Teen Wolf.

Back to the future opened on July 3, 1985, almost two months before Teen Wolf‘s August 23rd release. The sci-fi adventure comedy spent 11 weeks at the top of the box office, meaning that, when Teen Wolf debuted at number two, Fox had the top two movies at the North American box office. Thanks to Fox’s iconic turn as Marty McFly, Teen Wolf was a surprise hit, over-performing to the tune of $30m domestic and $80m worldwide. While the film was received somewhat poorly at the time, it has since become another cult classic from a decade filled with pop culture touchstones. And now Teen Wolf is getting a Blu-ray release worth howling about.

In stores on August 8, 2017, Scream Factory’s Teen Wolf (Collector’s Edition) includes a new high-definition 2K film transfer taken from the interpositive, meaning this is the best Daniel’s film has ever looked. If you’ve somehow never seen this ’80s spin on I Was a Teenage Werewolf, Teen Wolf stars Fox as Scott Howard, a 17-year-old high school student whose only hope for popularity is playing on the Beavers, his school’s failing basketball team. That all changes when Scott learns from his father (James Hampton) that he’s a werewolf, from a long line of werewolves. Scott embraces the animal within and transforms into a van-surfing, slam-dunking wolf, becoming the coolest kid in school, much to the surprise of best friends Boof (Susan Ursitti) and Stiles (Jerry Levine).

Co-written by Jeph Loeb (Commando, Netflix’s Marvel Cinematic Universe series) and Matthew Weisman (Commando, Teen Wolf Too), there’s a ton of memorable moments in Teen Wolf. From Scott’s red-eyed “Give me. A keg. Of beer” line to Stiles’ “What are you looking at dicknose” t-shirt to Wolf-Scott’s van gymnastics set to the Beach Boys’ “Surfin’ USA,” this film is more than a guilty pleasure, it’s a bona fide guilty treasure. Hell, the scene in which coach Bobby Finstock (Jay Tarses) doles out life advice to Scott (quoted at the top of this review) is worth the price of admission alone.

In addition to the gorgeous 1080p high-definition transfer (1.85:1 aspect ratio), DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and illustrated cover art by Paul Shipper, the Teen Wolf Collector’s Edition includes a newly produced making-of documentary titled “Never. Say. Die. The Story of Teen Wolf.” This comprehensive doc includes new interviews with Loeb and Weisman; producers Mark Levinson and Scott Rosenfelt; stars Susan Ursitti-Sheinberg, Jerry Levine, Matt Adler, Jim MacKrell, and Troy Evans; basketball double Jeff Glosser; casting director Paul Ventura; production designer Chester Kaczenski; special effects make-up artist Jeff Dawn; and editor Lois Freeman-Fox. With a runtime of 2 hours and 23 minutes, the documentary also delves into the controversial urban legend regarding the final scenes of the film.

I love this movie, and I’m beyond thrilled with Scream Factory’s Collector’s Edition Blu-ray – a definitive release of a classic ’80s comedy that remains relevant today, having spawned a sequel (Teen Wolf Too, also available on Blu-ray from Scream Factory – read that review here), a 1986 animated series, and MTV’s 2011 television series, which is currently wrapping up its final season. If you’re a fan of this kitschy werewolf flick (and how could you not be?) then this is a must-own release.

Teen Wolf (Collector’s Edition) is now available on Blu-ray at Amazon.

Trailer

Clip: The Basketball Game

Cover Art

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