Les demi-sel

"Die Halbstarken" ("Teenage Wolfpack") is a German film that was dubbed long ago for foreign sales. And, if you watch, it's likely the only cast member you will recognize is Horst Buchholz...a few years before he became a famous international star.

Freddy (Buchholz) is a young sociopath who has little regard for others, lies incessantly and has a taste for violence. The film makes it clear that Freddy learned this sort of violence from his nasty father and through the course of the film, Freddy tries his best to turn his younger brother into a creep just like him. Additionally, Freddy has a pathological need to control his young friends and insist they join him in a life of crime. Eventually, naturally, this results in nasty consequences...not a career in politics (the other field in which budding sociopaths excel).

I noticed one reviewer compared this to "Rebel Without a Cause" and to me this is not a fair comparison. In "Rebel", James Dean's character and the rest WANT to fit in and be good but just don't fit. In "Teenage Wolfpack" the emphasis is on NOT fitting in and being evil....not a rowdy teen but evil. Because of this, the film lacks the depth of "Rebel", though it is enjoyable in a simple and less complicated way.

Is this a film you should rush out to see? No. It's reasonably well made but also a bit tedious after a while. I found myself just wanting to see Freddy get his just due and end it all.