pyscho goreman (2021) review
There’s a notable demon-monster-thing popping up in the third act of Psycho Goreman that looks suspiciously like a white-walker from Game of Thrones. I’m fairly sure the producers of the film were aware of the similarity but changed the design just enough to avoid a lawsuit. Therein lies the joke. Just about every five minutes Psycho Goreman hits the viewer with a moment that’ll make your internal monologue say “this is equal parts totally nuts and totally awesome.” The Canadian film, written and directed by Steven Kostanski, is a micro-budget science-fiction fantasy horror comedy both bitingly sincere and firmly tongue-in-cheek. It spoofs the aforementioned genres while also penning a thoughtfully written love letter to each. Horror and comedy are hard to mash-up but PG (the nickname for the titular Goreman) strikes a nearly perfect balance between the conflicting elements. That being said, a sense of humor that appreciates and understands broad comedy is required to enjoy the film. Do you like to have fun and not take yourself too seriously? Does the idea of a firmly R-rated mashup of Power Rangers, Wishmaster, The Toxic Avenger and Stranger Things sound appealing to you? If the answer is yes to either than you’ll have an absolute blast with the gleefully wicked PG (especially across the final two acts). Nita-Josee Hanna, our protagonist, is a scene stealer. She gives a hilariously heartfelt depiction of a well-meaning but angry ten-year-old bully commanding a Terminator with the powers of a magical wizard. How’s that for a film premise? If the QC accomplishes one thing in 2021, I hope it’s to help this film find the audience it deserves.
Psycho Goreman receives a 8/10 for general audiences and a 9/10 for being a movie that does so much with so little. Aspiring filmmakers with limited resources, take notice.