PLOT SUMMARY
Screw Michael J. Fox – we’ll just do this sequel with Jason Bateman as Scott’s cousin going to college and finding out that he’s a late werewolf bloomer. Todd is just as average as his cousin Scott, but he’s also been signed up for a sports scholarship on the boxing team without knowing anything about boxing. Basically, Teen Wolf Too is exactly like the original Teen Wolf except it changes up the sport, the dancing, and and the actors playing the same characters from the first film.
Director: Christopher Leitch
Actors: Jason Bateman, Kim Darby, John Astin, Estee Chandler
Genre: Horror/Comedy
Year of Release: 1987/2017 (Blu-Ray)
Film review
The follow-up to Teen Wolf was fraught with issues, most notably that almost no one from the original wanted to be a part of Teen Wolf Too. Michael J. Fox refused to return, the film got a new director, and most of the original characters were thrown into the sequel despite production being forced to replace their actors with new ones. By all regards, the film must have seemed to be an absolute trainwreck in pre-production, and that certainly translated to the final product.
Jason Bateman does his best with the material that he has, and basically he turns in a lukewarm performance as a nerdy college freshman attempting to figure out how to juggle life and his newfound werewolf abilities. Teen Wolf Too‘s plot is ripped straight from the original with only a couple of added differences: instead of basketball, there’s boxing, and instead of an unrequited love interest for Todd, there’s a regular Jane that he could date (Estee Chandler) but he instead goes for a threesome while he’s a wolfboy (tough decisions there).
The biggest problem with Teen Wolf Too is not that returning characters have transformed into altogether different individuals (like the wacky Stiles, played coolly in the first film but ultimately a much different person thanks to Stuart Fratkin in this installment), but that Christopher Leitch’s film is unfunny, uninspired, and ultimately unexciting. There’s certainly a formula that tends to work for sequels, but Leitch follows far too closely to the original, more even-toned Teen Wolf – this film doesn’t do much to make its themes different from the first movie, and it feels more like a remake than a full-blown sequel. It doesn’t help that the writing is much blunter, either.
Teen Wolf Too‘s many production woes should have been a clue that a sequel probably wasn’t worth pursuing, but box office greed helped to create this travesty of a sequel, one that I’m sure Bateman doesn’t look back on fondly. There’s not much to howl about in this movie, and it’s probably best to forget this one ever got made and return to the ‘8os cheese of the original Teen Wolf instead.
Violence
Not too much here besides some boxing fights and a poorer representation of werewolf transformations.
sex/nudity
While Teen Wolf Too gets spicy, there’s no actual nudity in the film. However, there is an implied threesome and Rachel Sharp does show off some sexy lingerie.
interesting elements
- Most of the original cast didn’t return, except for Mark Holton and James Hampton, those troopers.
- Jason Bateman performs an excellently cheesy “Do You Love Me?”
- There’s nothing else interesting about this film.
Blu-Ray specs
- Working with the Wolf– An interview with director Christopher Leitch
- Otherworldly– An interview with co-star Kim Darby
- A Man of Great ‘Stiles’– An interview with co-star Stuart Fratkin
- Nerdy Girl Saves the Day– An interview with co-star Estee Chandler
- A Wolf in ‘80s Clothing – A look at the wardrobe of Teen Wolf Toowith costume designer Heidi Kaczenski
- Still Gallery
Blu-Ray Review
Video
Scream Factory’s Collector’s Edition Blu-Ray has not received the same new transfer treatment as their Teen Wolf Blu-Ray (reviewed here) but it still looks good thanks to whatever print the label used to release this disc. While it’s not as punchy as Teen Wolf‘s 2k scan, the image still looks excellent and features a very similar look and feel to the original. Color contrast is good although some darker scenes lose clarity. Overall, this is still an impressive transfer even if it’s not new.
Audio
The audio featured on this disc is the original DTS-HD Maste Audio 2.0, and for all intents and purposes it sounds quite good. There are no flaws in the sound, no issues with dialogue, and musical tracks – although not as important as the original Teen Wolf film – are well-documented.
Extra features
This disc does not feature a 2+ hour making-of documentary like Teen Wolf, but it does contain a surprising number of extra interviews all the same. Director Christopher Leitch gives a 16-minute interview, Kim Darby returns to talk about her memories for nearly seven minutes, new Stiles actor Stuart Fratkin gives almost a 17-minute interview about his attempts to take over Jerry Levine’s performance, and Estee Chandler talks about her portrayal of Bateman’s love interest Nicki for about seven minutes. There’s also an interview with costume designer Heidi Kaczenski, about ten minutes long, that incorporates some of the other actors and their wardrobes. Finally, a still gallery closes out the extras on the disc, and there’s also reversible cover artwork.
All told, a surprising collection of interviews from some actors who shockingly returned to give their take on Teen Wolf Too, and a solid HD transfer, make this release worth a grab for those who are definitely picking up the Collector’s Edition of Teen Wolf and would like to complete their collection. Others who have never seen the film may want to pick this up as well, but I can understand those who don’t like the film not going out of their way to get a new release of it.
