Never. Say. Die. The Story Of Teen Wolf (2017)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
If you're a fan of 1985's TEEN WOLF then you're going to have plenty to munch on with this documentary that clocks in at an astounding 143-minutes. Yes, TEEN WOLF has been given a documentary that lasts longer than any documentary on CITIZEN KANE or any Chaplin picture.
Actors Susan Ursitti, Jerry Levine, Matt Adler, James MacKrell and Troy Evans are joined by production designer Chester Kaczenski, writers Matthew Weisman and Jeph Loeb as well as makeup artist Jeff Dawn, editor Lois Freeman-Fox, producers Scott Rosenfelt and Mark Levinson as well as several others.
This documentary pretty much covers everything you'd want it to ranging from how the film got made, how the casting went as well as how the film eventually became a hit. Pretty much every story is told here and we get some very interesting things including countless kind stories about Michael J. Fox who was not only filming this film but also BACK TO THE FUTURE as well as his television show. Just about every main cast member is discussed and we also get to see some archival clips with director Rod Daniel who sadly passed away a year before this was made.
Is 143-minutes too much? Not really if you're a fan. I think the filmmakers tried to be fair to everyone as all the cast members interviewed are pretty much given equal time and that's the same with the writers and producers. There are some very funny stories told about the production and it's quite clear that everyone is happy with their work on the picture. The infamous "penis" ending is also discussed and debunked. The documentary is broken down into chapters, which covers the casting, the writing, the music, the release and much more.
Sadly, there are several key cast members who aren't interviewed including Fox who apparently doesn't want anything to do with the picture. Lorie Griffin, Mark Arnold and Mark Holton aren't interviewed either and it's too bad that some of the bigger cast members aren't here. With that said, it really doesn't take away from the overall entertainment that the documentary is and there's no question that fans are going to love this.
