If you're expecting this to be just a cheap, ugly exploitation film, you may actually be surprised. Although it does border on the offensive, and Paul L. Smith plays (convincingly) one of the most repugnant characters you'll ever see, the film has enough originality and audacity to be preferable to many other formula horror outings. The script develops into a variation on the "Frankenstein" myth, and the terrific music score gives a poetic dimension to some scenes. Outstanding performance by the actor who plays Sonny Boy. (**)

Pretty sick movie. Small time crook Slue (Paul L. Smith) and his girlfriend Pearl (David Carradine in drag--seriously!) inadvertently get a stolen car with a baby in the back. Pearl wants to keep the kid against the objections of Slue. Slue treats the boy named Sonny Boy like an animal. He cuts off his tongue when he is still a child, drags him around with a chain, forces him to live in a steel shack. By the time Sonny Boy is 17 (played by Michael Boston under the name Michael Griffin) he's little more than an animal and does anything his father asks...even murder. But Sonny Boy realizes there has to be something more than this life.

Sick, disturbing, no budget film. When it has David Carradine playing a woman in drag you KNOW this isn't a normal film! This was made on a VERY low budget and it shows. The sets are tacky and the sound is frequently inaudible. The story doesn't have much of a plot--just seeing how Sonny Boy was bought up and seeing the poor man trying to cope with his environment. To make it worse Boston's performance as Sonny is just fantastic. You can see the confusion, hurt and anger in the poor man's face. You really FEEL for him so when he's attacked or forced to kill it's just heart-breaking. Also Carradine in drag is--interesting. He's in drag the entire movie and there isn't any real point to it that I could see. Still he WAS very good. Also Brad Dourif plays another psycho role and Alexander Powers is very good in the small part of Rose. It would be easy for me to dismiss this film as a piece of utter repulsive garbage--but the acting by Boston and some nice directing makes it too hard to just ignore. I'm sure the filmmakers HAD a point--I'm just not sure what it was! A 5.

It's 1970 in a small New Mexico town. Dressed for the 1980s, a young couple checks into a motel room and squirrelly Brad Dourif (as Weasel) steals their reddish orange Lincoln Continental and some other stuff. He brings the booty to aggressive Paul L. Smith (as Slue) and his transvestite lover David Carradine (as Pearl). They don't like the black-and-white TV much, but discover a baby in the back seat of the car. After beating up the delivery man, Mr. Smith decides to feed the baby to his hogs. Threatening to leave him if he does, Ms. Carradine wants to keep the baby. They raise him as a son, but cut out his tongue as a precaution against too much crying, whining and backtalk. The kid grows up to be handsome Michael Griffin aka Michael Boston (as Sonny Boy)...

Mainly, the story involves Mr. Griffin's problems adjusting. Given his upbringing, it's not surprising Griffin has issues. We get skylines, ceilings and lingering close-ups from director Robert Martin Carroll and his crew. One of Mr. Carroll's more interesting and effective segments has Griffin symbolically accepting Jesus Christ, "the blood of a good man," as his savior. Shortly after this, he starts acting like a doggie chimp. The dog-play is short-lived and the story proceeds as if no religious meaning was intended. Occasional narration and old TV movie-type soundtrack does not enlighten. The characters are memorable, but they don't tell us anything we don't already know. With time taking away this film's power to shock, there isn't much left.

**** Sonny Boy (3/22/89) Robert Martin Carroll ~ Michael Boston, Paul L. Smith, David Carradine, Brad Dourif