Teenage Caveman

Larry Clark

Creature Feature Series

Sony

R1 DVD

Teenage Caveman is a strange amalgam of Teen angst, sex and drugs, Sci Fi and apocalyptical fiction. It is set in an undetermined future date when society has collapsed and most live in small underground settlements. The “outside” is unsafe due to violent and corrosive storms. The focus is a community living in a series of caves dominated by a rather perverse religious figure. With lots of anti-clerical relish, he is portrayed as a lustful pervert who rapes for pleasure and then teaches the community to avoid sex to keep the population down. When he attempts to rape once too often, his son kills him and is left to die. The portrayal of the tribe here is saturated with motifs, teen angst, the decay of a civilization (the cave being Plato’s Cave ?), the anti sex bias of the old etc etc.

A small group decide to escape and go to the city. In the city they are saved by a strange couple (Neil and Judith), who are very hip and very sexual ! They are introduced to all manner of sexual excess as well as drugs, alcohol and so on. The rampant sexuality is very akin to 1960’s Sci Fi exploitation films and is portrayed with some relish. We learn that this strange couple were genetically engineered and are immortal. They cannot feel pain and hence are addicted to sensations (drugs, alcohol, sex etc). They want to pass on their transformed genetic code (which they can only do via sex) but find that normal humans (i.e. cavemen) cannot stand the transition. In most cases the recipients explode !!

The story continues as some of our caveman are transformed (Judith discovers a vaccine which helps some of them transition) and must battle against Neil who has gone mad with the years of immortality and hedonistic excess.

This venture by Larry Clark into Sci Fi will impress some and offend many. Clark has always had a liking for the portrayal of the young and beautiful and the emphasis on wild sex, drugs and excess makes this a rather unusual offering. At the same time there are a lot of interesting ideas in this film, ranging from Teen angst to the decay of culture, the power of science and the limits of pleasure. While puritans may complain about the overabundance of nudity and language, in 2006 that really shouldn’t be an issue and this film should be judged on its merits.

It is not a great film, the special effects are okay, but nowhere near as good as in the other Creature Features, however, Clark’s idiosyncratic view of the future is weird enough to make this a rather neat little cult film.

The best extra on this disc is an extensive stills and photo gallery, with over 80 pictures and monster concept drawings. There is a short a "behind the scenes", some trailers and a filmography.