FountainPen This is rubbish in the extreme; there's nothing positive that can be said about this disgusting effort at movie-making. It is truly moronic.

MARIO GAUCI To begin with, I was surprised to learn that controversial director Clark (of whose work I had previously only watched KIDS [1995] and ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE [1998]) had lended his services to a series of made-for-TV remakes of schlocky Grade-Z movies from the 1950s entitled “Creature Features”. Actually, not only was this the first of these revamps that I’ve watched but I haven’t checked out any of the originals either!; for the record, the first version of this one was made by none other than B-movie guru Roger Corman (though it’s not considered one of his better titles).Anyway, while the film displays Clark’s typical fixation with the promiscuous (and vapid) lifestyle of teenagers – though hardly to the graphic extent that he’s used to – it also serves up the expected sci-fi/apocalyptic trappings of the plot. In the future, the world – devastated by man-made nuclear warfare – has virtually reverted to a prehistoric era, with humans newly reduced to caveman status; the youngsters are forbidden knowledge of their ancestors (though they still retain the ability to speak and read, which is the basis of evolution in the first place!) and, disgusted by the attitude of their elders – a mix of religious fanaticism and hypocrisy – a small group of teenagers set out into desert. Eventually caught in a storm, they’re saved by another young couple but who seem more advanced (they even live in a hi-tech building amid the ruins of a big city and own a car!); at first, the former cave-dwellers find the liberty offered by the others intoxicating – cue a lengthy sequence (occupying practically the film’s entire mid-section!) detailing the former’s initiation by the latter into sexuality and drug abuse.However, two of the kids – the son of the raving and lecherous leader of the cavemen, and his intended ‘bride’ – mistrust the couple and isolate themselves for the night; the trouble is that the city-dwellers have some form of disease (a clear reference to AIDS) which ravages – indeed obliterates – the infected kids in extremely gory fashion and, apparently, in no time at all! Incidentally, the former (who are actually quite old but have retained a youthful appearance – in fact, when wounded, their scars heal instantly) seem to be able to metamorphose themselves into other people: for instance, when the heroine determines to see one of her companions (who is really dead but is told that she’s only been taken sick), the female host takes over the deceased girl’s semblance!; similarly, when the couple want to infect the hero, she presents herself to him as his girl (and seduces the boy into making love to her)! Actually, having by this time done some work on the virus, it doesn’t destroy the hero – rather, he acquires the same level of knowledge and brutish strength as his male host; however, the former caveman won’t join his ranks and the film culminates in a duel between the two (for which they take monstrous shape – a condition which had turned up intermittently throughout for the city-dweller but which he was previously able to control). At the end, the survivors return to the caves – but the hero has basically taken the role of a more benevolent version of his former host (complete with stupid coiffure)! The film is perhaps less interesting – certainly far less entertaining or titillating – than this synopsis might suggest; for one thing, most of the characters are obnoxious – especially the ‘superior’ young man – even if the girls do look good. Of course, I can’t compare this to the Corman flick – which had starred, of all people, Robert Vaughn! – but I’m sure that version, while definitely a cheesier prospect (after all, the characters there get to grips with prehistoric creatures!!), must be worthier to sit through in the long run…

jamyskis Larry Clark is a genius. He's probably the only director I have ever seen who can create a frank and understanding portrayal of modern teenage promiscuity and the issues of youth today without turning his films into a porn orgy. Kids was a commendable effort, and Bully was a superb film. Which led me to pick this up, having never heard of it, for the cheap rate of 5€. Clark had, until now, focused on teenage melodrama, and this little foray into sci-fi/horror looked interesting.At least it was until I realised what had happened. The concept itself is interesting - Clark, fond of examining the behaviour of teenagers without the rule of law, has attempted to create a society that forms an ideal background to test the behaviour of a number of teenagers who live in a society where there is literally are no laws. And for the first half an hour, it looks promising.Even the ensuing bathtub and sofa orgies didn't reduce my curiosity. These scenes are lifeless and directionless, and seem to serve no purpose than to allow the actors to show as much bare flesh as possible. But I was hoping that this was going to take us somewhere. Teenagers from a society where sex is banned, launched into one where sex is free.Sadly, after around half an hour, you realise that in fact, it isn't going anywhere. The film turns into a pointless gore and fleshfest which revels in killing off characters in the most disgusting and tasteless ways possible, interspersed with sex scenes that are only vaguely explained away in the plot. None of the characters are developed into anything worth considering.The film feels like Larry Clark's work for the first half an hour or so, before the gorefest begins and you don't recognise it anymore - perhaps a case of studio interference. In any case, it's a blemish on Clark's record that won't be easy to remove.

falconxb This movie was Awesome!. Everything I like, in one futuristic movie. I think its the second best movie i ever saw. It's nice to see diversity too, in the cast. There's one guy (Neil) who's hairdo really bothers me, but other than that... I don't want to ruin the movie, but it gets better and better, toward the end. I cannot believe they got the actors to do this stuff! It definitely has that B movie feel to it, but I was entranced. I can't believe this passed the US censors!There is one scene where Neil drinks a whole bottle of whiskey, and the camera doesn't cut away, he must have really drunk it all!Rent this DVD as you probably wont see it on HBOZ too often.