TEEN WOLF TOO (1987) Blu-ray Collector's Edition
Director: Christopher Leitch
Scream Factory/Shout! Factory

Things get hairy when TEEN WOLF TOO goes to college in Scream Factory's collector's edition Blu-ray.

Despite the warnings of his Uncle Harold (James Hampton, F-TROOP), college-bound Todd Howard (Jason Bateman, THE HOGAN FAMILY) firmly believes that the werewolf curse has skipped his generation. A science fair champ with an interest in veterinary medicine, Todd is bewildered that he has been admitted to Hamilton College on an athletic scholarship organized by Coach Finstock (Paul Sand, CAN'T STOP THE MUSIC) who high school basketball team was taken to the championship by Todd's cousin Scott, and the coach is hoping that Todd can bring out the wolf to breathe some new life into the college's basketball team. Scott's best friend Stiles (Stuart Fratkin, THEY CAME FROM OUTER SPACE) has also transferred to Hamilton and is hoping to cash in on "Teen Wolf Too" merchandising. Todd just wants to be a scientist, and he finds support from faculty advisor Professor Brooks (Kim Darby, DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK) and nerdy girl Nicki (Estee Chandler, THE EMERALD FOREST) who finds him "biologically fascinating" when he sprouts fur and claws while the rest of the jaded student body literally regard him as a "dog" until he starts winning boxing matches. Todd is soon the big dawg on campus, coasting through his classes and gifted with a sports car by Dean Dunn (John Astin, THE ADDAMS FAMILY) and trades fame for friendship. It is ultimately up to Nicki and Uncle Harold to bring Todd back down to Earth before he ruins his own future.

In spite of the hopes of Stiles, Finstock, and Atlantic Releasing, lighting doesn't strike twice in TEEN WOLF TOO, which basically transposes the first film's script to a college setting in a paint-by-the-numbers fashion. Bateman, Chandler, Fratkin and a returning Mark Holton (LEPRECHAUN) as Chubby – ably supported by Hampton, Darby, and Astin – get by on their fresh-faced charisma but the story is so sketchily rendered and other required characters for the conflict barely etched (particularly Beth Miller's Southern belle vying with Nicki for Todd's attention and Robert Neary's jerky jock rival). Stiles and Chubby seem not to have learned their lesson as they are once again alienated by Todd's rise to stardom, come to resent it, and then miss the wolf when Todd decides to fight the final match as a human. The proceedings are padded out by more montages and a cringe-inducing musical number in which Bateman's double lip-syncs to a cover of "Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance)". Bateman's father Kent (THE HEADLESS EYES) served as producer, and would also produce the TV movies MOVING TARGET with his son in the lead, and CAN YOU FEEL ME DANCING? with son and daughter Justine (FAMILY TIES) as onscreen siblings.

Whereas Scream's Blu-ray of the first film was derived from a new 2K scan, TEEN WOLF TOO comes to Blu-ray utilizing an existing HD master that is crisp and colorful, more so because it is a slightly higher budget film with a more evenly-lit eighties look courtesy of Jules Brenner (RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD) over the first film. The Burman Studio prosthetics hold up better here in high definition than they did in the first film, possibly as much due to the improvements in the methods and materials (allowing Bateman to be more expressive than Fox under the prosthetics). The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 rending of the Dolby Stereo soundtrack is stronger on music and some directional effects (as well as dubbed-in growls) but not very active apart from the fight scenes and montages. Optional English SDH subtitles are included.

The Blu-ray of TEEN WOLF came with a two-and-a-half hour retrospective documentary while TEEN WOLF TOO includes what appear to be five brand new video interviews; however, the input of the other interviewees as well as the first film's writer Matthew Weisman (BURGLAR) and critic Rob Galuzzo suggest across each of the interviews suggests that they were intended for another shorter documentary. In "Working with the Wolf" (16:08), director Christopher Leitch (the SATAN'S SCHOOL FOR GIRLS remake) recalls getting involved in the production after it was developed, the challenge of transposing the first film's theme of teamwork to boxing, and explaining the reason for four credited editors in that he brought in Harvey Rosenstock (FLUBBER) to punch up the boxing scenes. He notes that Bateman spent more days in make-up than Fox did in the first film, and Fratkin laments about the obviousness of Bateman's double in several shots (including close-ups and non-stunt scenes). In "A Man of Great 'Stiles'" (16:26), actor Fratkin recalls not wanting to see the first film before the audition and to develop his own version of Stiles for the sequel. He also recalls having to audition three times with the director, then the producer, and then Bateman, as well as a tense meeting with executive in charge of production William Tennant (Darby's ex-husband) who he likens to a Bond villain. He also recalls that Leitch encouraged improvisation at first until the producers saw the dailies and made them reshoot some scenes.

In "Nerdy Girl Saves the Day" (6:30), actress Chandler has nice things to say about her co-stars but mainly reflects on how the internet and Facebook have brought awareness to fans of her past work on the film and STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION. In "Otherworldly" (6:32), Darby recalls the tension on the set whenever her ex-husband visited, Bateman's professionalism, and the embarrassment over having to wear a tail during the film's climax (Galuzzo notes that it appears that only female werewolves in the film's universe have tails). Finally, in "A Wolf in 80's Clothing" (9:48), costume designer Heidi Kaczenski (HOUSE II: THE SECOND STORY) focuses less on the film itself than on the job of a costume designer, helping the director and actors develop character through wardrobe (and how that changes with the character arc including Chandler's change from matronly clothing to more colorful and trendy outfits), and integrating the actors' own clothing choices into their wardrobe (Fratkin and Darby wore a lot of their own clothing). A still gallery (0:55) is also included. The cover is reversible with the new art included as a slipcover as well, and the original more eye-catching artwork on the inside cover. (Eric Cotenas)

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