One from the Vaults: Teenage Strangler

One from the Vaults: Teenage Strangler

It's been awhile since I've been to the theaters, so I thought I'd shake it up and review some of my favorite b-movies, exploitation flix, and MST3K-worthy films. Fittingly, the first one actually was the subject of an MST3K episode and was filmed in my hometown. May I present for your consideration 1964's Teenage Strangler.

A serial killer is loose in West Virginia, targeting teenager women and strangling them with a nylon stocking (hence the name). A witness to a recent murder sees the killer wearing a local Hot Rod gang's jacket, and soon the police are hounding that gang, including the witness's secret boyfriend. Everyone suspects the boyfriend because of his murky past, but the movie throws out red herrings left and right. Is it the boyfriend? The gang's tough leader? The creepy janitor? Local folk-rock act the Huntington Astronauts? Adorable Mikey?

This movie was the vision of Ben Parker, who made the movie entirely in his hometown and filled the cast with friends and relatives, few of whom had set foot in front of a camera before. Like any small town film project, there's more than a few out of focus shots and hilariously bad actors, but that's part of the fun. And true, the movie doesn't quite deliver on the "defilement and death!!" (definitely not the "dismemberment" promised in some ads... seriously, how do you dismember someone with pantyhose?), but really, what drive-in movie from that era did?

The good moments really surprise you. There's some absolutely gorgeous cinematography, like when two characters are running down a street weaving in and out of the light. Being a low/no-budget moviemaker myself, I can spot happy accidents, as purposely lighting that shot with anything other than streetlights would have taken HOURS.

What you end up getting is a charming time capsule of 60s West Virginia that happens to take place in a proto-slasher flick. I have a soft spot in my heart for this era of horror, and it's only a bonus that I can recognize the locations (hey, I almost rented an apartment next to that murder spot!) And if you don't walk away forever scarred by the unexpected musical number "Yipes Strikes," you are a machine.

Buy Teenage Strangler on Something Weird Videos from Amazon