Search - Teenage Monster/Teenagers From Outer Space on DVD

A treat for bad movies fans only

A. Gammill | West Point, MS United States | 02/18/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Well, it's nice of the folks at Image to re-release a lot of its genre films in these very affordable 2-packs. If you don't already own either of these films, it's a good deal. If you already have TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE, don't bother with this...because TEENAGE MONSTER is simply awful, even by "bad movies" standards.But let's take the good first. TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE is one of those rare drive-in sci-fi flicks that thrives on its low budget and wooden cast. A space-faring bunch of alien teens plots to take over the earth, but one of them falls for an earth gal. There's plenty of surprisingly effective ray-gun action and campy dialogue along the way. If you know the film's reputation, you might enjoy analyzing all the reportedly homosexual subtext that openly-gay director Tom Graff threw in. Really, if you like this kind of film, you could do much worse.Like, you could willingly give away 65 minutes of your life to TEENAGE MONSTER. The movie starts off promisingly enough--in an Ed Wood sort of way--as a sparkler on a wire stands in for a meteor crashing to earth, exposing a kid to radiation and killing his father. Seven years later, that kid is like a 50 year old man with a Grizzly Addams beard who grunts and kills people. Oh, there's an attempt at a plot involving his protective mother and a blackmailing local woman...but trust me, you won't care.It's a shame to see talented folks like the lovely Anne Gwynne and one of the final makeup jobs by the legendary Jack Pierce wasted in this mess.Recommended ONLY for Teenagers From Outer Space."