Psycho Goreman is the latest film from Steven Kostanski, a Canadian director who made some noise a few years ago with his Lovecraftian The Void. I can’t say that I was a fan of The Void, but I certainly preferred it to the obnoxious fiasco that Psycho Goreman is. Kostanski is the perfect example of a director who strives to make a cult movie—but anybody knows you don’t go out to make a cult film, your film gets anointed as a cult film gradually.
The result of his efforts is a ’90s throwback… we’ve gotten past the ’80s throwbacks now! Siblings Mimi (Nita-Josee Hanna) and Luke (Owen Myre) discover a magically glowing gem, and when the kids are asleep, an interdimensional alien monster emerges from the hole where they found the gem. They soon find out that the gem controls the alien, and they make him obey their every whim, dubbing him “Psycho Goreman.” But there are intergalactic assassins who want the alien monster dead, and they are in suburbia!
The one thing the film has in its favour is some cool practical effects, but that’s it. The story and script are just awful, and the whole affair really meanders for no reason, Kostanski even has an embarrassing homage to the all the political gibberish sprinkled in the Star Wars prequels. The CGI is terrible, which is a shame, because the monster is very cool and recalls the more out-there monsters that the Power Rangers faced during their ’90s heyday.
The acting is also awful, especially the kids, I haven’t wanted to a strangle an annoying child actor in some time, but Nita-Josee Hanna really drove me insane (this seems to be a common criticism, even by people who liked the film), and rest of the cast are equally bad—with the possible exception of Adam Brooks, who is mildly amusing at their slacker/loser dad.
Psycho Goreman is bound to have some fans, but Troma has done this type of schlocky, gory sci-fi horror stuff already, and with better, edgier jokes. It falls into a weird middle ground of being far too childish for adults, but probably too violent for parents of little kids to let them watch it. Maybe if you have some huge nostalgia for Power Rangers, which I really don’t (Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog, on the other hand…), and you were always desperate for a gory movie featuring of its monsters, you might get a kick out of it. Shudder released it, so maybe get a free trial and watch the film on there before you shell out on the Blu-Ray release.
The disc includes a director’s commentary along with a bunch of interviews and featurettes, so fans should be very satisfied with the Blu-Ray release.
★½
Ian Schultz
psychotroniccinema.com 