| Teenage Caveman | |
| Director: | Larry Clark |
| Starring: |
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| Cinematography: | Steve Gainer |
| Editing: | Daniel T. Cahn |
| Music: | Zoë Poledouris |
| Studio: | Creature Features |
| Distributor: | Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment |
Teenage Caveman is a 2002 science fiction-horror-teen film directed by controversial filmmaker Larry Clark.[1] It was made as part of a series of low-budget made-for-television movies loosely inspired by B movies that Samuel Z. Arkoff had produced for AIP. The film reused the title and basic premise from the original 1958 film Teenage Caveman, but it is not a remake of the earlier film.[2]
The film is set in a post-apocalyptic future, where the vast majority of humanity has died due to a viral epidemic. The remaining humans have reverted to primitive tribalism.
After killing his father for sexually assaulting his girlfriend, the son of a tribal leader is banished from the tribe, along with his friends. They eventually stumble upon a solar-powered city whose only two inhabitants are genetically modified to survive the plague. They view themselves as superhuman mutants who intend to recreate humanity in their own image.
The film received mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 43% based on 7 reviews, with an average score of 4.50/10.[3]
Scott Thill of PopMatters suggested to "grab some popcorn" and "kick back and laugh".[4]
Kim Newman of Empire gave the film a score of 3 out of 5 stars.[5]
When the DVD version of Teenage Caveman was released on June 10, 2016, Bill Chambers of Film Freak Central wrote: "Unfortunately, while [the film] is a testament to Clark's auteurist position, it establishes him as a filmmaker of limited range".[6]