TEEN WOLF (1985)

In this 'tail', Scott Howard finds a time-traveling machine and goes back to...wait, wrong movie. Michael J. Fox plays that "other" quirky kid in the same year time travel came out and in this one, he discovers a family trait has been passed on down to him which allows him to transform into a wolf...a teen wolf. Now, if that isn't horror fare, I don't know what is. What can be worse than both going through puberty AND discovering wolf hair...everywhere? While this is indeed a more comic tone, we also get the high school tropes of bullies, sports, feel-good outcomes, relationships, teen angst, and somehow it all comes together and is wrapped up nicely by the end. And it's the 80s, so we know there will be some message attached to take back with you for those times you're feeling uncertain about yourself. But in this wild romp about a teenager who discovers special powers when turned into a wolf, he then discovers who he really is and who he wants to be, as well as other folks at school, and in the end isn't that what it's all about? Speaking of in the end, if you aren't familiar with 'Win in the End' on the soundtrack, it's one of the more underrated 80s tunes out there. But just speaking about the movie itself, it's also a classic. Watch it with the lights out and try to get a few decent semi-scares in...but ultimately you'll just enjoy the 80s sentiment.

SLASH SCENE: Transforming

SLASH SCORE: 4.5/5