Teenage Caveman

Made during the "I was a teenage..." cycle, this is more thoughtful than those other teen exploitation films. The story is told simply and yet with a serious purpose that makes us look at our technology as the mixed blessing which it is.

Don't let the title put you off. This is better than average and has some surprises.

Strangely, I liked this movie. Okay: low budget, bad acting, cheesy spliced-in scenes from other "dinosaur" movies. Yet there is something innocent and compelling about it -- Roger Corman in his naive and earnest phase. It reminds me very much of the old Twilight Zone series (because of the ending). Just imagine Rod Serling saying, "For your consideration, a group of prehistoric cave dwellers ..." and you will truly enjoy this odd little film.

This is not meant to be high art, so don't get your hopes up. The costuming and animal special effects are minimal, maybe even very bad. But The twist ending makes it worthwhile though. The conflict between tribal leadership rivals and the use by one of the boy as a pawn is interesting- But the boy is a visionary who seeks to discover and know, and maybe overthrow his clans gods in the process. The Robert Vaughn character is a deep thinking revolutionary- too bad this film could not have gotten a more generous budget. In any event watch it and be forewarned of todays real military conflicts that could turn this movie into our reality. 4 +

Teenage Caveman is an enjoyable Prehistoric adventure from Roger Corman and I taped this when BBC2 screened it during the early hours some years ago.

A young caveman goes against warnings and decides to explore the land beyond the river where his tribe live. There are plenty of dangers our there, including stock footage dinosaurs from One Million BC and Unknown Island, a pack of wild dogs and, best of all, a very strange looking "monster" that turns out to be a man in a radiation suit. We then learn that after a nuclear war, this part of the World went back to Prehistoric times.

Being made in the Atomic Age, this movie show was yet another theory what people thought could have happened in the event of any nuclear war. At the end, we also get to briefly see clips from other AIP movies including The She Creature.

The cast includes a young Robert Vaughn (The Man From UNCLE, The Magnificent Severn, Hustle) and sci-fi B movie regulars Jonathan Haze (Little Shop of Horrors, It Conquered the World), Ed Nelson (The Brain Eaters) and Robert Shayne (The Neanderthal Man, The Giant Claw).

Teenage Caveman is a good way to spend just over an hour one afternoon or evening. Low budget fun.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

'Teenage Cave Man' is officially declared as 'one of the worst movies ever made'. Even Roger Corman himself has famously said, "I never directed a film called Teenage Cave Man". And Teenage Cave Man Robert Vaughn himself stated that he considers it worst film ever made. But that ending - even 'The King of All Twist Endings' Mr. M. Night Shyamalan himself couldn't come up with such a devilish one.

Well, don't let yourself fooled by all the criticism and bad publicity. The film is silly and it looks cheap (fake fins on the back of baby alligator to make it look like prehistoric monster). Cavemen are hunky young dudes with haircuts by the latest '50s trends. Drawn out dialogue and overacting that sometimes hilariously falls into (pseudo)Shakespearian territories, make the film somewhat unwatchable at parts, but bare to the end - you will be rewarded. I wonder how this film would have come out with proper budget and with more work on the screenplay. The themes Corman played with 'Teenage Cave Man' are actually pretty intriguing (following some abstract rule with no explanation, standing by the dogmas, hunger for power, should father be punished for the crimes of his son - yes, it sounds like quite messy soap opera, but like I said - well developed screenplay). In 2002, Larry Clarke directed a film with same title and loosely based its premise on Corman's film, but never fully used the potential of the material in hand, but the original 'Teenage Cave Man' is worthy enough to give it a shot. You might be pleasantly surprised. Or, if you won't then you have witnessed one of the most awful pieces of cinema ever made. 3/10