Teen-Age Strangler (1964)

Mikey - What a guy!, 13 July 2007

A series of young women are strangled leaving the local police baffled. They catch a break when one young woman witnesses the killer in action. But she's unsure of what she's seen. And she's conflicted about telling the police that the attacker wore a jacket that looked just like her boyfriend's gang jacket. There's no way that her boyfriend could be a murderer, is there?

Of the 17 cast and crew-members listed on IMDb for Teen-Age Strangler, 13 have no other credits listed under their name. And two others have only two credits. Unfortunately, this lack of experience shows. During the Mystery Science Theater 3000 commentary, someone compares Teen-Age Strangler to a community theater production. It's a very apt comparison. Calling Teen-Age Strangler "amateurish" doesn't even begin to describe it. The acting is shoddy with stilted delivery; the lighting, sound, editing, and other production values are poor; the script is filled with unnatural dialogue; and the sets and set design are what you might expect from using existing locations in Huntington, WV, circa 1964. In short, it's not a very good movie and probably not even worthy of the 3/10 rating I've given it.

But despite its many flaws, there is a bit of entertainment to be had with Teen-Age Strangler. Granted, much of it is akin to watching a car crash, but the movie is not without its moments. First, while the production is amateurish, it does appear that everyone is giving it their best. There's a lot of that "let's pull together to put on a show" feeling to it. And surely that counts for something – not much, but something. Second, the film features at least one surreal moment involving a barefoot girl singing and dancing on the counter at the local malt shop. And as utterly ridiculous as the song she sings may be, there's no denying it's an unforgettable scene – Yipes! Stripes! Finally, there's Mikey. What a guy! He raises the bar for whiny characters to new heights. His meltdown at the police station is classic! So while it may not be much, I've come up with at least three things I "enjoyed" about Teen-Age Strangler.

As I indicated, I watched the MST3K version of the film. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience and one of the really good episodes of the show I've seen. Funny stuff! I'll give Teen-Age Strangler a 4/5 on my MST3K rating scale.

3/10