For all of you out there who have wondered what would happen if you crossed the superhero genre with the teenage message films from the fifties and sixties your prayers have been answered. Low on budget but high on imagination Steven Tsapelas’ “Teenage Superhero Pregnancy Scare” chronicles the downward spiral of teenage Wonder Woman (Meghan McCaig) after she finds out that she has been knocked up by the Man of Steel himself (Jeff Schine) who is more interested in a scholarship to Metropolis University than being a father. What gives the film it’s strength is how surprisingly subtle the melding of genres is handled. Aside from the outfits or the occasional use of a superpower (Wonder Woman using her powers to get ready for school) the plot of “Teenage Superhero Pregnancy Scare” follows the template of the classic exploitation films to the letter. Whether it’s having Batman (Chris Carvalho) as the drug dealing high school loner (Chris Carvalno), Plastic Man (Adam Hamway) as Wonder Woman’s gay best friend or Skeletor (Kevin Collins) as the cackling back alley abortionist , Tsapelas’ and companies straight treatment of the ridiculous material is what makes it so funny.
Using plastic masks, retro superhero themes and a firm grasp of what makes the “scare” genre so amusing to us today, Tsapelas’ has crafted a quirky yet oddly endearing short film.
