Teen Wolf (1985/MGM
Blu-ray)
Picture: C+ Sound: C+ Extras: D Film: B-
Usually
when teens start growing hair in all new places we see that as part of growing
up, but for Michael J. Fox in the 80’s it meant something very different. The Back
to the Future star plays Scott Howard, a teen who quickly discovers puberty
is not what he expected. As the story
goes, Scott’s family has a genetic predisposition that doesn’t rear its furry,
pointy eared head until puberty.
Apparently the Howards have a deep, long lineage of werewolves in their
family; a secret that his parents never bothered to share with poor Scott.
The film
is a light hearted look into the trials and tribulations of being a teen, with
a Horror/Sci-Fi twist. Riding on the
coattails of the popularity that Fox gained from Back to the Future, Teen
Wolf quickly capitalized on Fox’s stardom.
Though not as well made or memorable as BTTF it does have its charm and Fox fits the role perfectly;
somehow managing to make a relatable, humorous situation out of something quite
bizarre and foreign.
What most
people remember from the film is the basketball playing werewolf, as it was
both exciting and concurrently ridiculous. Fox’s endearing attitude coupled
with an entertaining comedy made the film a modest success, but forever in the
hearts of the children of the 80’s.
On a
similar note of ridiculousness, some genius at MTV thought it would be a great
idea to turn Teen Wolf into a new
series; one problem, they stripped away all the fun and comedy and replaced it
with Twilight-esc teen angst and
melodrama. I can’t wait for all this
werewolf, vampire drama to end…it is really sucking the life out of me.
The Blu-ray
technical features are far from good, which is probably half due to bad source
material and half due to lack of care with the transfer. The picture is a 1.85 X 1 1080p Widescreen
that is grainy, demonstrates flat colors, poor textures, and an overall soft
quality. The sound is just as subpar
with a simple DTS-HD Master Audio doing little to bring the fast paced film to
life, dialogue is mostly clear but when you have moments where lips don’t even
line up with words you know you are in trouble.
The
extras are essentially none as the disc offers viewers a chance to watch the
film’s trailer and a sneak peak at the new MTV series, neither of which are at
all entertaining.
Perhaps
it will take a full moon, but something around here has got to change.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
