Fabulous Films/Fremantle Media Enterprises releases the 1980s cult comedy horror Teen Wolf (starring Michael J Fox), and its sequel Teen Wolf Too (starring Jason Bateman) on Blu-ray as a double feature boxset with bonus extras. In the classic original, a teenage nerd with no status suddenly discovers he originates from a long line of werewolves. His awkwardness, confrontation with the school bully, and his lack of friends is turned on its head when he transforms in the middle of a basketball match. After the initial shock of his fellow students, he becomes an ultra-cool icon: he has more friends than he can handle, all the girls want him (apart from the one closest to him), and his basketball skills improve tenfold – to the point his teammates begin to resent him. But Scott has lost touch with his original identity and wants it back. However, his basketball team are the underdogs in the championship final and everyone expects the wolf...

Teen Wolf (1985) was a low budget sensation which cost less than a million dollars but grossed $33 million upon its cinematic release. It’s simple but thoroughly entertaining fun. The script, which incorporated all of the essential ingredients for its format, was written at very short notice by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. They had pitched several ideas and were astounded when Teen Wolf was selected for immediate production. By this time Michael J Fox was hot property with the huge success of Back to the Future and decided not to do the sequel – citing the time spent in the make-up artist’s chair as the problem. Jason Bateman took over the central role in Teen Wolf Too (1987) as Scott’s cousin Todd, in what is essentially the same movie almost scene-for-scene. The main difference here is that Todd is in the high school boxing team and is obliged to fight the resident tough guy. This plays-out like a scene from Rocky! The sequel is a perfectly fine film, just not in the same league as Teen Wolf. Also, the make-up doesn’t look as natural on Bateman as it does on Fox.

There is a comprehensive documentary of Teen Wolf, which includes interviews with many of the cast and crew – including the writers. The extras on Teen Wolf Too include an interview with the director Christopher Leitch, interviews with co-stars Stuart Fratkin and Estee Chandler, and a look at the wardrobe of Teen Wolf Too with costume designer Heidi Kaczenski.

A final word about Mark Holton who played Chubby in both films with great aplomb. The films wouldn’t have been the same without him.

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Ty Power