189) Teen Wolf (1985)

"Well, dad, it didn't pass me by. It landed on my face."

Director

Rod Daniel

Cast
Michael J. Fox - Scott Howard
James Hampton - Harold Howard
Susan Ursitti - Boof
Jerry Levine - Stiles

Mark Holton - Chubby
Matt Adler - Lewis
Lorie Griffin - Pamela
Jim McKrell - Mr. Thorne
Mark Arnold as Mick
Jay Tarses - Coach Finstock

I'm really pulling the meaning of "horror movie" rather far with 1985's "Teen Wolf." It's not really a "horror" movie as the genre is commonly understood. That is, a horror movie is usually a film intended to frighten its audience. 

Aside from the fact that the main character turns into a werewolf, which are a common horror trope, "Teen Wolf" is not really a horror movie as it's clearly not trying to scare its audience.

Unlike other werewolf movies, this werewolf isn't a ravenous bloodthirsty monster. He maintains his typical teenage personality, and he suddenly becomes really good at basketball. So, I'd categorize "Teen Wolf" as a horror comedy although it's really tame as far as frightening scenes and general horror elements go. 

In fact, "Teen Wolf" even got its own Saturday morning cartoon which ran for two seasons in 1986 and 1987. For some reason, I remember the cartoon airing in the early 1990s. 

Growing up, my family had a VHS copy of "Teen Wolf" which somebody recorded off of television. 

Last week, I stumbled upon a copy of at my local library. I haven't seen the movie since the early to mid 1990s. I watched it a lot in my youth and remember constantly rewinding the werewolf transition scene to really soak in the effects. So now, I was a bit excited to watch it again after about 30 years. 

In this movie, Michael J. Fox plays high school teenager Scott Howard who lives with his dad, Harold (James Hampton). It's implied that his mother has since passed away. 

He lives in a small Nebraska town and... wait! I also live in a small Nebraska town! 

Anyways, Scott plays on the high school basketball team, the Beavers. He's also going through the usual teenage stuff. 

He has a major crush on the popular girl, Pamela Wells (Lorie Griffin). However, she's dating Mick (Mark Arnold) who plays on the rival basketball team, the Dragons. Pamela could care less about Scott. 

His long-time friend, Boof (Susan Ursitti) likes Scott but he's clueless about how she clearly feels. 

Michael J. Fox as 'Teen Wolf' Scott Howard.

Scott is also noticing some odd changes taking place with himself. Hair is suddenly growing on his hands. His ears changing shape in certain moments. His finger nails will suddenly turn into claws. Long hairs are suddenly appearing on his chest. Spooky stuff!

Finally, he can't control these changes and one night he transforms into a werewolf. That same night, his dad reveals he's also a werewolf. 

"An explanation is probably long overdue," his dad says.

Scott doesn't know how to deal with this. 

He first reveals his secret to his oddball friend, Stiles (Jerry Levine) who is shocked at first but promises to keep it a secret.

Finally, when being pummeled on the basketball court during a game, the wolf suddenly comes out in front of everyone. 

As the entire school now knows about Scott being a werewolf, they take a liking to him. He becomes not only Mr. Popular around campus, he's also suddenly good at basketball. And he finally gets the attention he wanted from Pamela Wells, much to Boof's chagrin. Though Pamela goes out with Scott, much to the jealousy of her boyfriend, she declines to actually be his girlfriend as she is still Mick's girlfriend. 

While Scott maintains his school popularity, one person still has it in for him - the Vice Principal, Mr. Thorne (James McKrell). 

He has a vendetta against Scott, which ultimately stems from an incident Thorne had with Scott's dad.

Disappointed with Pamela, Scott asks Boof to the Spring Dance. Boof agrees under the condition that she goes with Scott Howard, not "the wolf." 

Scott declines. People like the wolf. That's who they want to see. So, he goes alone. 

At the dance, he and Boof meet in the school hallway, and kiss. This turns Scott back into his normal self. 

When they return to the dancefloor, an angry and jealous Mick punches Scott in the face. He also starts mocking Boof. Angry, Scott turns back into the wolf and tries to attack him. 

Scott gets a grip on himself and runs into the hallway instead where he meets an all-too-happy Vice Principal Thorne who has Scott right where he wants him, He's about to kick him out of school but Scott's dad comes to his son's aide against Thorne. 

For Scott, he faces a choice to continue on from there as himself or as "the wolf." Despite all the benefits the wolf paved the way for, Scott of course realizes it's better to be who he really is... although he is actually a werewolf so, it's not like he'd be lying to himself or anyone if he chose to be the wolf. 

"Teen Wolf" is as formulaic a coming-of-age movie as it gets. 

Nothing much happens after Scott realizes he's a wolf. He becomes popular and wins the big basketball championship. Outside of Michael J. Fox playing a werewolf, this movie is bland. It carries on in pop culture simply because of Fox. The only dilemma is whether Scott keeps up being the wolf or not. Other than Michael J. Fox playing a werewolf teen, and a few still funny moments. the movie is just boring.

Scott's coach, Mr. Finstock (Jay Tarses) is my favorite character in all this. Perhaps the premise that the coach is rather disinterested in the team has not aged well, the joke that he can't offer any sensical motivational advice to his players to save his life is pretty funny. 

"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," he tells Scott in one scene. 

In another scene, when Scott is noticing the odd occurrences taking place, unaware it's his inner werewolf coming out, he goes to his coach in the hopes of receiving some advice. 

"Look Scotty, I know what you're going through," the coach says. "Couple years back, a kid came to me much the same way you're coming to me now, saying the same thing that you're saying. He wanted to
drop off the team. His mother was a widow, all crippled up. She was scrubbing floors. She had this pin in her hip. So, he wanted to drop basketball and get a job. Now these were poor people, these were hungry people with real problems. Understand what I'm saying?"

"What happened to the kid?" Scott asks. 
"I don't know. He quit. He was a third stringer; I didn't need him."

I see this movie as a bit of a spoof of teenage horror movies such as "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" from 1957. In one scene, Scott uses his wolf abilities to scare a liquor store clerk into selling him a keg of beer. 

A few years before its release, an actual horror comedy with the same general premise was released called "Full Moon High" (1981). I've heard it come up in content and conversations about "Teen Wolf", but I have yet to watch it. 

The whole teenage werewolf motif has stuck around for a lot of years. Yeah, yeah... "Twilight." We all know about that. 

The marketing for "Teen Wolf" was heavy with the fact that not only is Michael J. Fox in this but that Michael J. Fox, the star of "Back to the Future," is in this. 

Time has been good to Fox. If it wasn't for him, "Teen Wolf" would surely have fallen into the deep, dark recesses of obscure 80s movies where titles like "Invaders From Mars" (1986), "Hell Comes to Frogtown" (1988) and "Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann" (1982) dwell. 

It's a bit of a nutty professor kind of scenario in that the main character becomes much more popular and liked when he becomes a monster than he is when he's his normal self. 

While Scott Howard isn't so popular at school, when he becomes a werewolf, the students love what he becomes and the success he brings to the Beavers. 

Scott the werewolf is rather novel, but not who he "actually is" personality wise, I guess. He's always been there, but the werewolf side of him was always a secret. At the advice of his dad, Scott has to choose to either be himself regardless of what others think of him or be the superficial wolf and enjoy this newfound popularity for as long as it lasts. 

What's odd is that Scott doesn't start changing until his teenage years. Did he not go through this during his childhood days? And he doesn't learn that his dad also becomes a werewolf until the night when Scott fully changes into the wolf. 

I don't get why his inner werewolf suddenly decides to show itself now at random in his teenage years. It's vaguely implied that it's tied to his hormone changes common with puberty. Later, Scott tells Stiles he can bring out the werewolf whenever he wants. And evidently being a werewolf is a genetic thing, passed down through generations.    

"Teen Wolf" is an alright update to the teenage horror subgenre, though again, it's a real stretch calling it "horror." 

The story line is cut and dry. Once the werewolf shows up, it's a matter of waiting for something else to happen. Though it does still have some funny moments, outside of the novelty of Michael J. Fox being a wolf, the rest is a complete lull. Not to mention the fact it's the only other movie that I know Mark Holton from other than "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure." That is, until I saw him in "Leprechaun." 

Also, is "Boof" a real name? Has anyone out there had a child and declared, "And I shall name her, 'Boof'?"