5 Plot Point Breakdown: Teen Wolf (1985)

Screenplay Genre: Fantasy/Comedy

Movie Time: 92 minutes

1. INCITING INCIDENT

After a grueling and humiliating defeat in a high school basketball game, teenager Scott Howard notices an uncommonly long strand of hair on his chest. He plucks it in disbelief. (00:06:07)

2. LOCK IN (End of Act One)

Scott stumbles home from a wild party. He is suffering from symptoms of an unexplained phenomenon. His chest hair has grown bushy, his voice has turned into a beastly growl, and his hearing has become highly sensitive. Disoriented, Scott runs upstairs to the bathroom. 

After opening the medicine cabinet, he closes it and is shocked at what he sees in the reflection of the mirror. He has turned into a werewolf. His father bangs on the door, demanding to see Scott, who obliges, only to discover his father is a werewolf too.  (00:32:06)

3. FIRST CULMINATION (Midpoint)

As the wolf, Scott becomes enormously popular at school when he discovers that he is extraordinarily talented at basketball and is able to win games entirely on his own. He is on top of the world and attracts the attention of Pamela, a beautiful classmate who acts in the school theatre. (00:53:58)

4. MAIN CULMINATION (End of Act Two)

Scott attacks Pamela’s boyfriend at the school dance after he insults Scott’s girlfriend. Scott leaves the dance, disgusted and angry. After the vice principal threatens to expel him, Scott’s father appears and tells the principal to back down. (01:14:28)

5. THIRD ACT TWIST

Scott decides to play the championship basketball game as himself. While everyone pleads for the wolf, Scott stands firm. He pulls his team together and stages a remarkable comeback, culminating in two clutch free throws to seal the victory. (01:18:00)

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