Prime Adds A Cult Classic ‘80s Fantasy Movie That Inspired One of the Best Supernatural Shows of the 2010s

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When it comes to supernatural shows, MTV’s Teen Wolf remains a defining, top-tier drama of the 2010s, and fans of the series can now stream the original 1985 movie that it’s based on. Rod Daniel’s iconic Teen Wolf movie started streaming on Prime Video on March 1st. The movie stars Michael J. Fox as Scott Howard, the character Tyler Posey’s Scott McCall is based on. Scott is a socially awkward high school student whose life is upended when he discovers that he is a werewolf.

Teen Wolf Is a Coming-Of-Age Story Filled With Supernatural Absurdity

In a decade where coming-of-age movies were a defining genre on the big screen, Teen Wolf cleverly combined the era’s obsession with high school, popularity, and teen angst with a supernatural twist. The central plot point of lycanthropy is used as a perfectly hilarious metaphor for puberty and the challenges of adolescence, allowing the movie to explore the relatable theme of embracing one’s unique, “hairy” self to overcome everyday high school pressures. That coming-of-age theme plays out amid some truly funny supernatural moments, like Scott using his newfound werewolf abilities to gain popularity and basketball success. More than just perfectly combining a defining ‘80s genre with a supernatural twist and nailing a so-bad-its-good vibe, the movie has a great ‘80s soundtrack and a great performance from Fox.

Although Teen Wolf only holds rotten 46% and 52% critic and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes, it earned a status as an ‘80s cult classic that ultimately led to a 1987 sequel, Teen Wolf Too, a 1986 animated series, and most notably, the 2011–2017 MTV live-action reimagining, which is available to stream on Netflix. That later and most recent adaptation proved to be a much darker take than those earlier iterations, the show fully leaning into the horror and supernatural elements of the original and delivering one of the best and most addictive supernatural teen dramas in recent memory, even if it does have plenty of flaws. In comparison to the film, the Teen Wolf show holds pretty high ratings of 81% and 86%.

What’s New on Prime Video?

Teen Wolf joined Prime Video on March 1st amid a wave of dozens of new streaming titles on the platform. Prime Video subscribers can now also stream movies like Airport, both the 1976 and 2013 versions of Carrie, Resident Evil, all four Shrek movies, Super 8, and Twelve Monkeys, with even more titles set to arrive throughout the month.

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