PG: Psycho Goreman
Pint sized Mimi (Nita-Josee Hanna) is no kid to mess with, as her brother Luke (Owen Myre) knows after losing countless games of Crazy Ball in their backyard. But when they dig up the Gem of Praxidike, Mimi suddenly has control of the planet Gigax’s Archduke of Nightmares, the ultimate evil whose release promises the doom of all existence. Mimi fails to be intimidated though, giving him the nickname “PG: Psycho Goreman.”
Laura's Review: C
Inspired by monster movies of the 1980’s and 90’s, writer/director Steven Kostanski ("The Void")has come up with a very clever concept, but although it’s amusing for a while, “Psycho Goreman” spins off in too many directions, plot overtaking its simpler pleasures. At its best, “Psycho Goreman” doesn’t pull its punches, the towering evil (which looks like a cross between a spiked demon and the Creature from the Black Lagoon) doling out some real nastiness, countered, of course, with serious dollops of absurd humor. But although the Gigax Council led by Pandora (Kristen MacCulloch), the Templar Crusader who had imprisoned PG on Earth, is an amusingly cheesy combination of Star Wars cantina rejects and Burtonesque eye-balled brains, their renewed battle with PG (Matthew Ninaber) is far less interesting than PG’s consternation with Mimi’s control over him. Kostanski also feels the need to throw in a subplot about Hallenbeck mom Susan’s (Alexis Kara Hancey) dissatisfaction with ‘lazy’ husband Greg (Adam Brooks), a bit that goes nowhere. Perhaps most disappointing is that, as the film’s true evil genius, Mimi, young Hanna’s mix of precociousness and self consciousness quickly grows annoying, Kostanski failing to rein in her propensity for mugging.
Still, there is something to be said for a guy in a monster suit boiling a cop alive inside his own skin, a case of being careful of what one wishes for that results in Robert Homer’s physically amusing rebirth as a ‘Zombie Cop’ continually trying to off himself. And Kostanski’s sprinkled his script with such gems as the ‘The Paladins Obsidian” and ‘the Warrior’s Death,’ an unwanted honor doled out by PG like Guy Fieri tackling an oversized sandwich. “PG: Psycho Goreman” works in fits and starts, but it suffers from diminishing returns.
Robin's Review: C+
"PG: Psycho Goreman" begins a virtual run at the Brattle and Coolidge Corner Theaters on 1/22/2021.
