Yes, it's crap, and the cult of witless MSTies has kept it sniggeringly unforgotten, but it's also probably the best of Jerry Warren's films. That's not saying much, as Warren is probably the worst director of all time (yes, even worse than Ed Wood and Coleman Francis), but as Fred Beldin of AllMovie points out, its "innocent veneer, period charm, and forced wackiness" are endearing to those who like these sort of scrapings from the bottom of the cinematic barrel.

Some of the footage (especially the alley mugging that turns to murder) is from the 1959 film No Time To Kill, which was also released in the US by Warren. I believe much of the musical score is also lifted from this film, which explains both its highter quality (some nice jazz licks), as well as the presence of a track by the great Swedish surf band The Spotnicks during the climatic "wacky" chase. And of course Neon's beloved cave monsters are actually The Mole People.

Poor Katherine Victor deserved better, but to her credit she maintains her dignity throughout, though in the silly seance scene, she is quite obviously straining to avoid breaking up (and Bruno VeSota comes close, too). Most of the acting, even by the "name" actors, are meh, though Oshins and Mitchell look like they are having fun. The less said about Lloyd Nelson's "performance," the better. The fact the government wants the McGuffin (the atomic-powered hearing aid) destroyed because it can potentially listen to any conversation gives the film a sort of piquant relevance today.

-Dave W.