Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

LouHomey From my favorite movies..

SpecialsTarget Disturbing yet enthralling

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

Scott LeBrun 20 years before "Track of the Moon Beast", another classic, we got this wonderfully idiotic piece of junk about a characters' exposure to a falling meteor. That person is a child named Charles Cannon, who seven years later has become a hilarious anthropological throwback (complete with makeup by Jack Pierce). His mom Ruth (Anne Gwynne) never tries very hard to keep him hidden from the world, as he's always out and about maiming and killing people. Their fortunes would be seem to be improving when they finally strike it rich in the old family gold mine, but of course just keep getting worse and worse.You can't feel too sorry for Ruth; she leaves the poor creature (played as a teenager by 50 year old Australian Gil Perkins) to his own devices far too often.The actors, also including studly Stuart Wade as the local sheriff, Norman Leavitt as his brave deputy, and stuntman / actor Chuck Courtney as the slimy Marv, give admirably straight faced performances, but the movie belongs to Gloria Castillo as Kathy, an abduction victim turned conniving charmer. She's a pleasure to watch. And God bless her, Ms. Gwynne emotes for everything that she's worth.Charles' appearance is amusing, if not Pierces' best work, and his vocalizations (which occasionally become coherent) are damn funny for a while.This is another "good" one for watching with beers and buddies.Five out of 10.

KuRt-33 Surprise, surprise... "Teenage Monster" isn't all that bad a sci-fi movie. Sure, the teenage monster is laughable: he doesn't look scary at all (just hairy) and you're left wondering if Gil Perkins decided to play a monster with a speech impediment or if he's trying to speak normally and the make-up is making him mumble. Anyway, the result is pretty hilarious. (I meant to say "scary", but the only word I could think of was "hilarious".)But "Teenage Monster" is pretty educational: did you know what happens when a meteor strikes a father and his son? Well, I didn't! Apparently such a meteor strike kills a grown man, but not a child. However, the child will grow up with an exceptional amount of facial hair. Okay, so the plot seems to be ludicrous to non-existing at first, but give it a few minutes (not too many, the movie is only just over 60 minutes long) and see how scriptwriter Ray Buffum (also the man who penned "Teen-Age Crime Wave", "Brain from Planet Arous" and "Island of Lost Women") adds a few interesting touches to the script: see how the monster's mother tries to hide her son from the villagers (it doesn't help that the sheriff is in love with her) and how the monster is abused by another character. This may not sound too spectacular (and indeed it isn't), but do remember that most 50s sci-fi films offered you a cheesy monster and a dull story: "Teenage Monster", directed by Jacques R. Marquette (famous for directing "Teenage Monster" and ... oh, that's it?), at least tries to offer the viewer a compelling story. Compelling it isn't, but at least it keeps you from being bored and waiting for the next scene with the unconvincing monster.

CatTales A frightening bore, that is. Jack Pierce's make-up and above-mediocre acting can't save this poorly directed, implausible story. Yet another cliche, mumbling child-minded monster is on the loose, aided by his normal mother. The worst of this movie is the misleading title: while cashing in on the teenage monster fad (we all know "teenage monster" is a redundancy) the monster here looks like an old hermit or prehistoric caveman. And the big plot question never gets resolved - will mom marry her son's murderer? The best of this movie (at least it's on the DVD) is the original movie trailer shown at the end - classically and hilariously repaints the film you just saw into a riveting drama.

JHC3 In June of 1880, the Cannon family is mining for gold. A meteor explodes nearby, killing the father, Jim (McCullough), and injuring his young son, Charles (Parker). Now a widow, Ruth Cannon (Gwynne) vows to continue working the mine. Seven years later, Charles (now played by Gilbert Perkins) is nearly an adult, but has mutated into a terrifying wildman. Ruth controls him most of the time, but occasionally he leaves the mine to kill people and livestock. When they finally strike it rich, the secret becomes even harder to keep."Teenage Monster" is one of a number of films of the 1950s and 1960s that combined the classic western with the horror genre. Make-up artist Jack P. Pierce (better known for work for Universal on such films as "Frankenstein" (1931) and its sequels) provided the make-up for the grown-up Charles. Okay, so the budget was low and the cast wasn't particularly good. I try to make allowances for such factors and give a lot of leeway to films of this vintage. Unfortunately, this one has little to commend it. Viewers who survived films like "Billy the Kid versus Dracula" (1966) with their sanity intact might want to check this one out. Most others should not subject their VCRs to the taint.