Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Teenagers from Outer Space was not a movie I particularly wanted to see, but I got it in a rather eccentric box set of DVDs that included some classic Roger Corman cheapies, the original The Lost World and Reefer Madness amongst other, unrelated flicks made in the good ole days of cinema, most of the time in Black and White. I was only really spurred into watching it for the purpose of reviewing it here, seeing as nobody else had done, but I had no idea what to expect of it really, I just slapped the disk in the DVD player and sat back, expecting to be entertained in some way.

This is a real low-budget number, released in 1959, that was only picked up for Warner Brothers for distribution under the grounds that they needed a Sci Fi picture to double bill with the second Godzilla movie, which they bizarrely retitled Gigantis the Fire Monster, and it seems to have attained a very minor cult following in recent years, probably because of the complete lack of budget on display. In all honesty, Teenagers from Outer Space doesn't look any more professional than the average video my college class churned out, but it did hit just in time to retain that certain 1950s charm that makes it impossible to truly hate.

The movie revolves around the journey to Earth made by a group of aliens named Derek(David Love), Thor(Bryan Grant), Moreal(Ralph Lowe), Saul(Bill DeLand - Going Under) and the unnamed Captain(King Moody - Terror at Black Falls). As they emerge, Thor kills a small dog for no reason, which disgusts Derek, who finds it's name tag, and says that this is proof their is intelligent life on the planet, and they cannot carry out their mission. The rest of the crew dismiss him, and carry on with their plan, which is to test if the Earth's atmosphere is suitable for raising a herd of Gargon livestock. Gargons are silly, black lobster things that grow at a rapid rate, so the aliens want to grow them on Earth so nothing on their planet gets damaged.
He runs away from them before they tie him up to take him home for punishment, and the Captain learns that he is actually the son of their leader(Gene Sterling - Half Way to Hell), so he would be exempt from punishment anyway. The Captain sends the incredibly angry Thor to catch him, with the orders that he is only to attack him if it is in self-defence, while the rest of the crew leave one Gargon chained in a cave, and go to retrieve the rest.

Following the address on the Dog-tag, Derek finds himself at the home of a beautiful young girl named Betty(Dawn Bender - Island in the Sky) and her Gramps(Harvey B. Dunn - Bride of the Monster). They take him in, and he and Betty become friendly right off the bat, and she basically chucks her boyfriend Joe(director Tom Graeff) for him. It soon becomes clear that Thor is tailing him, as the pile of skeleton's left by his 'Focusing Disintegrator Ray' piles up, and it isn't long before the two meet, and Thor is shot by local cops, only to kidnap Betty and Derek at gunpoint and force them to take him to a Doctor.

They do this, and it's here that Thor reveals the entire situation to Derek, who ran off before it was decided to raise Gargons here, and ignorant to the fact he is the leader's son, and that smart ol' Doc tricks Thor, who passes out due to lack of dressing of his wounds and those three escape, and it isn't long before Thor, who tries to pursue them in a car, crashes and ends up in hospital, surrounded by cops.

To make matters worse, a cop wandered into the cave where the chained up Gargon was, and it ate him, giving it the strength to snap the chains, and it's now swaggering about the countryside at a size just short of Godzilla, screaming at people. Will Derek be able to stop the Gargon, as well as the oncoming fleet, and save his new home on Earth?

Trying to seriously assess Teenagers from Outer Space is basically impossible, it falls into the category people normally associate with Ed Wood, where it really is best just to laugh at the movie for it's shortcomings than actually be put off by them. You could start with the fact that the movie doesn't seem to feature a single teenager, the plot that sees Thor ask utterly pointless questions, Derek and Betty do utterly pointless things, the migraine-inducing dialogue ("you make me angry, but I like you very much") and the absolute abomination that is the Gargon, but citing these as complaints is actually almost missing the entire point of watching the movie. If it weren't for the fact it was made during the 1950s, this could easily pass as the best 50's Sci Fi spoof ever, and in fact, the sheer unintentional humour the film oozes out leaves most attempts at such a thing in the dust.

While it's simple to just tell you it's a bomb in every way and be done with it, several key things need highlighted. The Gargon. A big lobster monster, cool huh? well, maybe it is, all we see is are really badly matte shots of a black, vaguely lobster-shaped...thing flailing around and screaming. This is at least 50 times as funny as it is on paper, and truly has to be witnessed to be believed. My only genuine complaint is that the entire movie wasn't about this.
Speaking of it's hilarious scream, which is blatantly a man making a noise, Sparky the dog also barks in a way that sounds a hell of a lot like a man trying to sound like a dog. The entire process actually reminds me of a video we once made in Art at school, where a giant lobster fought a giant crab, and their battle cries were accomplished by myself and another guy trying to make menacing animal sounds, but at the same time laughing at one another.

Another hilarious budget-caused gaffe involves Thor's gun. Not only is it blatantly a child's toy, but the skeleton's it leaves behind are all clearly lab-display skeletons, with bolts at the joints and a hook for hanging it up coming from the skull. That truly is a horrible weapon, one than turns you into a horrible thing often displayed in High School Biology classes.

Easily the funniest part of the movie is when, for some unexplained reason, it takes Gramps about half an hour to cross the road, and the characters actually highlight this as if it's something of great importance. I defy anyone not to laugh at this scene.

One utterly bizarre fact I noticed, is that all the eliens seem to have based their appearances on present day celebrities. The Captain resembles a really bad videogame representation of John Goodman, and Thor and Derek bear an uncanny resemblance to two European footballers. Seriously, look up a picture of Derek from this movie, and then find one of a chap named Chris Sutton. Separated at Birth. Do the same for Thor and Andy Van Der Meyde. Frightening.

Acting in the movie can be broken into two categories, the good and the dreadful, first we will tackle the good:

...
uh,...

ok so Dawn Bender actually wasn't that bad, for a 50's Sci Fi damsel anyway. She was a hottie, and while over-acting did creep into her performance, out of all the other players, she was the only one who could probably have pulled off a 'proper' Sci Fi movie.

The bad, Jesus, this could take a while. Derek(what kind of name is that for an alien anyway? one gets named after the Norse God of Thunder cum Marvel Super-Hero, and one gets called Derek, short end of the stick or what?) is possibly the most hilariously emotion-less creation ever put to cinema, the aforementioned "you make me angry..." line actually destroying any form of concentration I had and forcing me to almost pass out with laughter.
Thor is brought to life in easily the most comical fashion, a homicidal alien with a slick back haircut who drives an old car. Grant's performance is the polar opposite of Love's,yet it brings about much the same results. Thor is angry at everything, seriously, it's brilliant.

I've already touched upon the special effects which, if you didn't gather, are abysmal. Admittedly, the UFO looks pretty cool, but the death ray which appears to be a torch, coupled with all the stuff I brought up earlier, should give you an idea of the budget this was composed with.

The music actually isn't that bad, but that's probably because it's stock music. Standard 50's Sci Fi, overly dramatic stuff, but it adds to the kitschy aura that this flick emits.

When it comes down to it, a viewer's appreciation of Teenagers from Outer Space really does rely on them being able to appreciate the humour of watching a Grade-Z movie. If you enjoy really silly, old Sci Fi and Horror flicks, then there is no doubt that you will have a howl at this movie's expense. This isn't scraping the bottom of the barrell, it's going right through it.

Year: 1959
Titles: Teenagers from Outer Space
The Gargon Terror

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups