Teen Wolf

"He always wanted to be special... but he never expected this!"

1985 1h 32m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 1,312

ComedyFantasyRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When a shy teenager's new-found powers help him score at basketball - and with the popular girls - he has some pretty hairy decisions to make.

“He always wanted to be special... but he never expected this!”

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Cast

Michael J. Fox
Scott Howard
James Hampton
Harold Howard
Susan Ursitti
Boof
Jerry Levine
Stiles
Matt Adler
Lewis
Lorie Griffin
Pamela
Jim McKrell
Mr. Thorne
Mark Arnold
Mick

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Rod Daniel
Writers: Matthew Weisman, Jeph Loeb
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $80M — a 66.7× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

41 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Teen Wolf Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Rod Daniel, shot by Tim Suhrstedt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Miles Goodman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Lois Freeman-Fox shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Michael J. Fox and James Hampton and Susan Ursitti carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Rod Daniel directs. Tim Suhrstedt behind the camera. Miles Goodman scores. Lois Freeman-Fox cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $80M — a 66.7× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
341 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Part of the "Teen Wolf Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Rod Daniel, shot by Tim Suhrstedt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Miles Goodman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Lois Freeman-Fox shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Michael J. Fox and James Hampton and Susan Ursitti carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "He always wanted to be special... but he never expected this!".
10IMDB entry: tt0090142 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11The top-rated still from this film on TMDB has multiple community votes — a signal the frame composition stuck with viewers.
12Classified under 8 themes, including "high school", "trainer", "training", "basketball".
13Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Tim Suhrstedt
Original score: Miles Goodman
Editing: Lois Freeman-Fox
Production design: Chester Kaczenski
Costume design: Nancy G. Fox
Runtime: 92 min · 1h 32m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,200,000
Box office: $80,000,000
Return: 6667% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Teen Wolf (1985)

Part of

Teen Wolf Collection

Teen Wolf is a flip-flop of the horrorific I Was a Teenage Werewolf story: this time, lycanthropy makes the afflicted high-schooler a big man on campus. An otherwise routine teen comedy, this one works because of the customary bounce of Michael J. Fox, in one of his first leading roles (it was shot before Back to the Future but released in that blockbuster's wake, and cashed in nicely). Although his werewolf makeup makes him look more like Bigfoot than Lon Chaney, Jr., Fox manages to convey his peppy personality even under all that hair. Teen Wolf Too, however, is not even bearable. Here Fox is replaced by Jason Bateman, who finds that his wolfish inclination helps him become the big dog on the college boxing team. The sole bright spot is veteran actor Paul Sand as the boxing coach. The rest is howlingly unfunny.

Also by

Rod Daniel

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2018-02-26
★ 6/10
RELEASED IN 1985 and directed by Rod Daniel, “Teen Wolf” stars Michael J. Fox as a teen in Beacontown, Nebraska, who works at his Dad’s shop in town (James Hampton), plays basketball for his lousy school team and enjoys a friendship with a neighborhood girl (Susan Ursitti) while desiring the popular blonde (Lorie Griffin). Complications result when he starts turning into a werewolf. This was actually Fox’s first theatrical film, made BEFORE the mega-successful “Back to the Future” but released afterward. By comparison it’s a decidedly small movie, but enjoyable for what it is (an 80’s teen flick). The second act takes a turn that I wasn’t expecting. No spoilers, but the movie poster tells all. I liked the closing moral: Don’t lose yourself in your special talent to the point that you lose your family/friends. If people just love you for your extraordinary gift are they truly your friends? A good real-life example is Bobby Knieval who became world famous as ‘Evel’ Knieval, the radical motorcycle daredevil: Family members said they “lost Bobby to Evel” and the negative repercussions of fame (e.g. booze, babes, bucks and pomposity). Thankfully, in his later years he realized this and tried to make amends. Griffin has one notable scene as the “hottie” without falling into tasteless sleaze. THE FILM RUNS 1 hour & 31 minutes and was shot entirely in Southern California: South Pasadena (neighborhood & town), Los Angeles (school), Montrose (bowling alley) & Tujunga (liquor store). The credits acknowledge “Friends in Fremont, Nebraska” because the director traveled there and spent 3 hours talking to seniors for research. WRITERS: Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. ADDITIONAL CAST: Matt Adler plays the protagonist’s bud and Mark Arnold his rival. Jay Tarses plays the coach while James MacKrell appears as Mr. Thorne. GRADE: B-

Production companies