Studio: RLJ Entertainment
Release Date: 3/16/2021 and steelbook version 11/14/2023
Rating: R
Film Grade: C+
The Story: Millions of years ago a creature of unspeakable power and evil from the planet Gygax was entombed on earth.
Cut to an unspecified time in the early 1990s, and we find brother and sister Luke and Mimi playing a game of Crazy Ball in their backyard. The stakes are high – the loser will be buried alive. As Luke digs his own grave, he strikes something hard, discovering the device that has locked up the Arch-Duke of Nightmares safely, until now. Intuitively figuring out the correct pattern on the device, Mimi soon finds herself in control of the murderous creature.
What adventures will they have with the newly-renamed Psycho Goreman? What chaos will ensue?
My Take: This is a hard movie to categorize. Inspired by Star Wars, films featuring adventurous kids, monsters influenced by Japanese Sentai shows like the various Power Rangers series, all blended into a Troma-like production aesthetic.
But don’t let that background fool you. Even though the two main characters are young children, this is definitely not made for kids. There’s over-the-top gore and some of the violence is ruthless even if it’s mostly tempered with a dark sense of humor. There are surprising themes of power, corruption, and temptation mixed into the story that don’t weigh it down, but add some extra depth.
The acting is a step above what one might expect. Mr. Goreman is acted by Matthew Ninaber and voiced by Steven Vlahos. The two combine to create a straight man role for much of the comedy. Of the two kids, Owen Myre plays Luke as the reserved older brother that is often put in his place by sister Mimi, played by Nita-Josee Hanna. Her performance verges on grating at times, and you might pick up that she has a background with stage work based on how some of her lines are delivered. Still, she instills the character with tons of spunk and chutzpah, necessary attributes to control the monster. Other performances are good, with Adam Brooks playing a perfect beta dad. It looks like the cast had a blast filming this movie.
Writer/director Steven Kostanski, known for Manborg and The Void, has created an imaginative background for the movie. Flashbacks show PG’s origin and the story of those trying to control him. There’s a good amount of world-building included, blending both the serious and absurd into a rich tapestry, unusual for a low-budget film like this.
Speaking of budget, the movie is filled with tons of practical effects ranging from miniatures to prosthetics to puppetry. Most of these are obviously cheap, but still they’re loaded with tons of imagination. That doesn’t really harm the movie and may actually help evoke the charms of its inspiration.
Video: This is a very soft-looking movie. Not evident on every scene, but there are shots that just don’t look right. In fact, I paused the movie at one point to check if my projector was out of focus, but that wasn’t the problem. When the movie ended, I double checked to make sure I didn’t accidentally put the DVD into the player instead of the Blu-ray, but that wasn’t the problem either. It just has scenes that are not sharp at all. I didn’t see anything that suggested the new steelbook features a new transfer, so I’d expect the same video quality. It may have just been shot that way.
Looking past that, the movie features a rich and colorful palate that nicely shows off the intricate character designs along with the often-gratuitous use of gore. Dark scenes are filled with a good amount of contrast, and never obscure the action.
Audio: The 5.1 DTS mix is surprisingly good for a low-budget movie. Sound effects are used effectively, and PG’s voice has an extra bass boost that amplifies the character’s strength and villainy. Dialog is well-recorded and easily understandable.
Special Features: This is another disc that has an abundance of special features, with some good insight behind the origins and production of the film. If you enjoyed the movie, these are worth checking out.
- Director Commentary
- One-on-One: An Interview with the Director of PG: PSYCHO GOREMAN
- Interviews with the Cast
- Interview with Adam Brooks
- Kortex: A Konversation
- The Music of PG: PSYCHO GOREMAN
- Fight Choreography
- Fight Pre-Viz
- Filming the Paladin Fight
- PG vs Pandora
- Miniature Magic
- Inside the Creature Shop
- Concept Art Gallery
- PG: PSYCHO GOREMAN Trading Cards Gallery
- Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery
Final Verdict: While not as campy as most Troma films, Psycho Goreman offers a lot for anyone that enjoys watching low-budget, sci-fi, horror types of movies or who wants to see what a gritty version of the Power Rangers would look like. There isn’t a lot of substance here, just an attempt to make a fun, dopy movie accentuated with violence and some gore.
Still, the world-building is surprisingly deep, with more detail and thought than, say, the Disney Star Wars movies. Kostanski has and active imagination paired with a twisted sense of absurdist humor. It would be interesting to see what he could pull off with a bigger budget. If he could combine additional resources without heavy studio interference, there’s a good chance he could make a mainstream hit. This movie isn’t that, but it is a fun, irreverent spin on the genre.
For anyone curious, this is one of those movies where the trailer gives you a good idea of what to expect without spoiling too much. Worth a rental or watching it if it pops up on a streaming service, but not as a blind buy.
Fun Quote: “I do not care for hunky boys.”
My Review System:JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
Elite Screens Sable Frame B2 117” Width with Infinitely Variable Height
Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Processor with Dirac Live
Monolith by Monoprice 7x200 Watts Amp
Monolith by Monoprice 3x200 Watts + 6x100 Watts Amp
JBL Studio 590 for Left, Center, Right, Wides, and Rears
JBL Studio 580 for Side Surrounds
JBL Studio SCS 8 for Tops
JTR Captivator 1400 Subwoofer X 4
Panasonic DP-UB420 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
NVIDIA Shield Android TV - 4K
Xbox One X
HTPC Running madVR (work in progress)
Remote: URC MX-780
Mini DSP 2X4 HD controlling all subwoofers
APC S15 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup
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