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Parents' Guide to

Teen Wolf (1985)

By Charles Cassady Jr., Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Cheesy '80s comedy still works thanks to Fox-y star.

Movie PG 1985 84 minutes
Teen Wolf (1985) Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 9 parent reviews

Accurate P.
Accurate P. Parent of 15-year-old
February 23, 2023
age 12+
A 12-year-old could watch this movie and be fine. There is a very brief sex scene, but nothing is shown. It's just implied. They also use the word "f*g" 3 times, but just explain to your kid that they shouldn't use that word and they'll be fine.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
1 person found this helpful.
Michele G.
Michele G. Parent of 7, 7 and 8-year-old
March 3, 2017
age 16+

Not PG, drugs, alcohol, sex, and homosexual slurs

Should have come here first to red reviews. Had to turn off mid movie due to inappropriate content. Must have been rated PG prior to rating changes. Definitely not PG.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 9 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In TEEN WOLF, Scott Howard (Michael J. Fox), teen son of a widowed hardware-store owner in a small town, tries hard to excel on his high school's basketball team; he strives to obtain liquor so he can join the "cool kids" at their parties; he attempts to attract a pretty drama-club blonde (Scott overlooks that the dark-haired classmate he hangs out with is the right girl for him, a common situation in these sorts of movies). When he doesn't succeed, he wonders if he's too average. Then an inherited family curse strikes, and Scott becomes…a werewolf (though, in rudimentary long-hair makeup, actor Fox could easily be Teen Sasquatch or Teen Wookiee), transforming at will, any time of day or night, but not undergoing any violent personality changes, just some lupine superpowers. Surprisingly, being a werewolf makes Scott the most popular dude in school and the star of the basketball team -- but the honor comes with its own unexpected dilemmas.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (9 ):
Kids say (10 ):

This is a good-natured spoof of adolescent insecurities and image-consciousness in school, not Gothic shocks. Some horror-movie reference books don't even list Teen Wolf, and no wonder; Michael J. Fox makes one of the least menacing monsters ever. True, the comedy verges on a being a one-joke situation; people are intrigued by "the Wolf," try to profit off "the Wolf," want to be pals with "the Wolf" -- anything but be frightened of him. And the less-than-conclusive ending leaves something to be desired.

But the filmmakers draw solid laughs out of the situation, and even a bit of thoughtfulness about Scott's predicament in going from being thoroughly mediocre to an unexpected Leader of the Pack. It wouldn't be half the movie it is without Michael J. Fox in the lead. The young actor, right off his hit performance in Back to the Future (though this was shot earlier) is tremendously appealing. Fox was not only the unpretentious sort any kid would want as a friend, he was also the type any parent would be proud to call a son, and that was a rare combo for young screen characters in the post-Porky's 1980s.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how filmmakers have used the idea of a youth becoming a werewolf, like in Teen Wolf, or monster as a metaphor for puberty, raging hormones, and tumultuous maturation, classic depictions being I Was a Teenage Werewolf, Ginger Snaps, and The Company of Wolves. Ask teens if they relate to the idea.

  • Instead of all the students fearing/hating "the Wolf," they like him even better than ordinary Scott Howard. Ask kids if they think this is really how their world works. Who are the most popular kids, and why?

Movie Details

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