‘Teen Wolf: The Movie’ and ‘Wolf Pack’ are a two-for-one punch that is rather toothless.
There aren’t many teen wolves in “Teen Wolf: The Movie,” but there are a pack of them in “Wolf Pack,” the series premiering the same day, from the same producer, and on the same streaming service that isn’t a spinoff of “Teen Wolf,” but rather an adaptation of a book series. Get in line if that sounds confusing, but in any case, these two Paramount+ projects ultimately feel toothless.
The series “Teen Wolf” took a more ambitious leap into a soap-opera-flavored world filled with assorted supernatural creatures – including werewolves, banshees, hellhounds, and shapeshifters – running for six seasons on MTV, concluding in 2017.
Most of the characters return, including now-adult Tyler Posey, Crystal Reed, and Tyler Hoechlin, who graduated from the supernatural to superhero as the star of “Superman & Lois” on the CW.
“Teen Wolf,” directed by Russell Mulcahy and produced by Jeff Davis, delves back into the show’s mythology, including the fate of Allison (Reed), who died earlier in the series.
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Davis compared the film to a seventh season of the show in an interview with SFX magazine, and at well over two hours, it feels like it. However, the expanded format hasn’t significantly improved the production values, which rely too heavily on stylized slow motion (and lots of glowing yellow eyes) to deaden the action.
Fans of the show who have been clamoring for an encore will most likely welcome the “Fangs for the memories” nostalgia, as the characters reunite to face a new and mysterious threat. Even so, the executive falls flat, and the timing seems mostly calculated to help launch Davis’ new venture, “Wolf Pack,” which awkwardly combines a young-adult sensibility with more explicit sex, language, and violence.
A raging California wildfire snarls traffic, cutting off motorists including a bus full of high-school students. During the ensuing chaos, something feral and lethal emerges from the surrounding smoke, killing some of those unfortunate enough to be trapped by the disaster and biting two of the teens.
Everett (Armani Jackson) and Blake (Bella Shepard) begin to experience unexpected side effects as a result of their encounter, ranging from newfound vitality to six-pack abs and a cure for acne. But they’re slow (very, very slow) to understand what’s happening to them, which also involves a pair of siblings (Chloe Rose Robertson, Tyler Lawrence Gray) who hear the same call of the wild and understand it far better than Everett and Blake.
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The show also includes a small supporting role for Sarah Michelle Gellar, who is well-versed in supernatural teen dramas, as a means of gaining media attention while also making “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fans feel middle-aged. Gellar (who also serves as an executive producer) plays an arson investigator investigating the cause of the fire, convinced that Everett knows more than he’s letting on about who (or what) is to blame.
It’s difficult to tell whether Paramount has blessed or cursed “Wolf Pack” by pairing it with “Teen Wolf,” but the mystery built into the new series doesn’t do much to suggest a similarly long run awaits it. Because, despite a lot of fire, the show doesn’t generate much heat in the first few episodes.