Movie Review: 'Teen Wolf The Movie' is Fun for Fans and Non-Fans of the Series

Teen Wolf The Movie (2023)

Directed by Russell Mulcahy

Written by Jeff Davis

Starring Tyler Posey, Crystal Reed, Tyler Hoechlin

Release Date January 26th, 2023

Published January 26th, 2023

I did not watch Teen Wolf when the series arrived on MTV in the mid-2000s. I wasn't opposed to the series, it just wasn't for me. It's a series engineered to excite a fanbase of teenaged girls and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The series had a very successful run and seemed to end on a high note with fans. Now, the series is back for a one off Teen Wolf movie which starts streaming on January 26th, 2023, on Paramount Plus, the streaming home of MTV products.

Having not watched a single episode of Teen Wolf I expected the film to be dense with lore and incomprehensible. What a surprise then to find that the makers of Teen Wolf The Movie appear eager to welcome new fans. Yes, the movie is certainly for the faithful fans of the series, but as an outsider, I found the action and the story easy to follow and the movie as a whole, very entertaining. There is a particular lack of pretense, a certain understated charm that permeates Teen Wolf The Movie, giving it a welcoming quality that doesn't squander the love of the long time fan.

Teen Wolf The Movie kicks into gear with an intriguing opening scene. A man enters a restaurant where two of the series stars are living and working. This mysterious, hooded man is there to take a particular mystical MacGuffin that will play a role in the plot. This leads to a fight scene that sets the stakes and allows stars Amy Workman as Hikari, and Dylan Spayberry as Liam, to show off their powers for people who might not be familiar with the role they play in the series.

The opening heist scene sets up a plot in which the father of Werewolf Hunter Allison Argent (Crystal Reed), who died in series canon, will attempt to bring his daughter back to life. Returning to where she died, he recruits Allison's Werewolf boyfriend, Scott McCall (Tyler Posey), along with Dr. Alan Deaton (Seth Gilliam) to help him. Secretly, Allison's dad is the vessel for an ancient evil who hopes to use the reborn Allison to kill Scott and all other Werewolves and magical beings that stand with him.

Meanwhile, a subplot is unfolding involving Scott's friend, and fellow werewolf, Derek Hale (Tyler Hoechlin). Derek's son, Eli (Vince Mattis), can't bring out his werewolf powers. It's theorized that because he saw his father in a frightening transformation as a child, that he's developed a mental block that prevents him from using his powers. Eli will need to get his powers working soon as the whole of humanity may be at stake in the battle that is coming between good and evil.

I have barely scratched the surface of Teen Wolf The Movie in terms of characters and the amount of lore that is laid out. That said, I didn't find this lore overly dense or hard to follow. Director Russell Mulcahy does a great job of simplifying his exposition and letting action tell us who these characters are, what side they are on, and what they are capable of. It's an efficient and effective way to direct a movie that is striking a balance between honoring long time fans and inviting new ones.

I enjoyed the Werewolf lore, the various different powers in play, and the melodramatic love and family stories at the heart of Teen Wolf The Movie. The story has a charmingly earnest quality that is leavened by actors who understand what movie they are making. They take what they do seriously but they also know that playing a sexy werewolf is inherently silly. There is a playfulness to the overall style and approach of Teen Wolf The Movie that I really enjoyed.

I am not a Teen Wolf fan, I won't ever fully understand the lore or the characters involved. That said, Teen Wolf The Movie doesn't require a lot of homework. It's a terrific monster movie populated by likable characters with clear motivation and more than enough goofy, cheesy fun to carry you past the dreaded melodrama inherent in a product that once existed as a marketing tool to reach teenage girls. Teen Wolf The Movie is mostly just for fans but it's also a pretty fun monster movie for fans of Werewolves and other sorts of supernatural creatures. Teen Wolf The Movie is Streaming on Paramount Plus as of January 26th, 2023.

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