Reviews: Teen Wolf (1985) Movie Review
Genres: Fantasy, Comedy, Romance, Werewolves
Subgenres:
Horror fans will enjoy our review of Teen Wolf (1985), where we cover its story, scares, and how it ranks among modern horror classics.
Teen Wolf (1985) is an American independent fantasy werewolf cult film with a PG rating and had an estimated budget of $1.2 million and grossed over $80 million worldwide. Director Rod Daniel (Beethoven’s 2nd (1993), K-9 (1989), Home Alone 4 (2002)) did an okay job filming this cult classic corny/cheesy movies. Teen Wolf contains thrills, s**ual innuendo, suspense, comedy, werewolf, full moon, breakdance, lycanthrope, supernatural power, howling, puberty, spontaneous choreography, drug abuse, shapeshifter, marijuana and cannabis.
Teen Wolf revolves around 17-year-old high school student, Scott (Michael J. Fox - Back to the Future (1985), Back to the Future Part II (1989), Back to the Future Part III (1990), Family Ties (1982)) who discovers his family’s secret after he transformed into a werewolf. Scott is tired of being an average kid who is part of the basketball team at his school while his crush Pamela (Lorie Griffin - Bloody Pom Poms (1988), Aloha Summer (1988), Sandman (1993)) is dating Mick, who is on another high school basketball team. Scott first notices his body feeling different and saw strange changes to his body.
Before we know it, Scott is in his bathroom at home when he first transforms into a werewolf while his father repeatedly tells him to open the door which he eventually did and saw that his father is also a werewolf. His father Harold (James Hampton - Sling Blade (1996), F Troop (1965), The China Syndrome (1979)) did not tell Scott about being a werewolf because he was hoping that it skipped Scott’s generation. I was amazed when I saw Scott at one of his basketball games and was in disbelief, could not believe my eyes. He is now the popular guy at school and not an average student anymore. He did not only transform into a wolf at will but also is losing interest in his close friends as he gets closer to Pamela. Will Scott lose himself with all of the fame he is receiving or will he go back to his usual self with his friends?
Teen Wolf is one of the cheesiest horror comedies out there, but it works well with great acting, awesomely shot scenes, beautiful music, good sound, and fine directing skills. It is a beautiful movie that you can relax and enjoy without reading too much into it because it was meant to be viewed with an open mind while enjoying it for what it is, a mindless comedy. I will show my kids Teen Wolf when they are at the appropriate age, and I hope they like it as much as they like some of my childhood movies they have seen.
A few locations that movie was filmed at:
South Pasadena, California, USA
1727 Bushnell Avenue, South Pasadena, California, USA
John Burroughs Middle School - 600 S. McCaddon Place, Los Angeles, California, USA
Montrose Bowl - 2334 Honolulu Avenue, Montrose, California, USA
Tujunga, Los Angeles, California, USA
Similar films like Teen Wolf can be found in werewolf movies sub-genre(s), check them out for more movies like Teen Wolf.
Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- Teen Wolf Rating Scores
- Our Score: 5/10
- Overall Score: 4.61/10
- IMDB: 6.1/10
- MetaCritic: 2.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 4.6/10
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