Ooooh, That Smell!

Somewhere in the 1950’s

Every once in awhile I watch a film knowing that it’s going to be bad.  Everything about the film, from the title to the plot description, screams “bad movie” but I watch it anyway.  Why?  Because sometimes you just have to watch a bad movie for the fun of it.  I Was A Teenage Wereskunk is one such movie, but it is intentionally bad in a good way.

Neal McLaughlin wrote and directed this cheesy B-movie that makes fun of and pays homage to classic horror films from the 1950’s that featured primarily at drive-in theaters.  Obviously one of the films that inspired this movie is I Was A Teenage Werewolf, which featured a young Michael Landon (Little House on the Prairie, Highway to Heaven) and Guy Williams (Lost In Space, Zorro).  From the transformation sequence to the use of a trigger to start the transformation, there are a few nice nods to that classic film.

In the film, Curtis Albright (Scott Monahan) struggles with his relationship with Mary Beth (Shey Lyn Zanotti).  He’s not sure if he should ask her to be his “steady” despite tons of pressure from his friend, Jerry (Jonathan Rosetti), who has plans of his own with Sally (Christian Drerup).  He also gets involved with a local beatnik and bad seed named Finn (Sean Cork), who encourages Curtis to drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, and trespass on another person’s property in order to enjoy some time at the pool with some tragically hirsute lady friends.

As the film rolls along, Curtis comes into contact with a skunk that sprays him while he’s in a state of “excitement” while peeking into the window of the local veterinarian, Dr. Nancy (Dawn Brodey).  He soon finds himself transforming into a wereskunk any time that he becomes aroused and he goes on a killing spree.

His father, Sheriff Albright (Charlie Farrell), teams up with officers Maggie (Amy Heidt) and Gary (Melanie Minichino in one of two roles in the film) in order to track down the savage murderer terrorizing their town.  When he learns that it’s his son, things get very complicated.  Can the sheriff stop the beast?  Will Mary Beth go all the way with Curtis?  What’s up with Curtis’ mom and dad and circus clowns????  You’ll have to watch every terrifying moment of I Was A Teenage Wereskunk to find out!

The film is very fun to watch.  The cast and crew are in on the joke the entire time and have plenty of fun letting the viewer know this fact.  The cast channels stereotypical characters from 1950’s cinema and deliver dialogue in a similar tone as well.  A couple of the characters appear to be trapped in different films or even different times.  Officer Gary is portrayed as a bungling cop reminiscent of Barney Fife (but with a lot more attitude) or any of a number of comic relief officers featured heavily in comedies throughout cinematic history.  Officer Maggie uses texts and references Google and Harry Potter in the film, drawing strange looks from the other characters.  She’s actually one of my favorite characters in the film.

I also enjoyed the chemistry between Sheriff Albright and Mrs. Albright (the second character portrayed by Minichino in the film).  Their relationship is intentionally adult and out of place in this otherwise wholesome film.  It pokes fun at the idea of relationships between parents in the 50’s as being spent in separate beds and with absolutely no “dirty talk” or amorous actions.  Minichino’s look was hilarious every single time that the sheriff made an off color remark.  There’s also another moment in the film featuring some very strong and very out of place dialogue by Mary Beth.  It comes out of nowhere and makes for a hilarious moment in the film.

This movie is fun.  It’s cheesy, full of innocently disguised adult humor, and worth a watch.  It’s definitely not one of the greatest films that you’ll ever see, but it’s perfect for a rainy afternoon, especially if you’re a fan of cheesy horror films like Tarantula! and Robot Monster.

As always, thank you for checking out my blog.  Let me know if you’ve watched this film and if you enjoyed it.  It’s not for everyone, but for those of us that “get it,” it’s a fun flick.

All photos taken from the I Was A Teenage Wereskunk Facebook page except for the header image, which I found using Google.  Visit their page and give them a little love.