Teenage Caveman (2002 film)

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]

Teenage Caveman
Directed by	Larry Clark
Starring	Andrew Keegan Tara Subkoff Richard Hillman Tiffany Limos Stephen Jasso Crystal Celeste Grant Shan Elliot Hayley Keenan Paul Hipp
Music by	Zoë Poledouris
Production
Cinematography	Steve Gainer
Editor	Daniel T. Cahn
Production company	Creature Features
Original release
Release	July 2, 2002 (2002-7-2)

Plot

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.

Cast

• Andrew Keegan as David
• Tara Subkoff as Sarah
• Richard Hillman as Neil
• Tiffany Limos as Judith
• Stephen Jasso as Vincent
• Crystal Celeste Grant as Elizabeth
• Shan Elliot as Joshua
• Hayley Keenan as Heather
• Paul Hipp as Shaman

Reception

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]