Movie Review: 'Psycho Goreman'
For many fans the most anticipated film of 2021 has been the Canadian flick PG: Psycho Goreman. The promise of this film being the festival darling it should have been was dashed when it began its run at the beginning of the Global Bastard which severely limited the venues it could play in. But now that fan favorite streaming service Shudder has picked up this film, it is finally ready to be spread to a mass audience. After months of buzz the movie has finally arrived and proved well worth the wait and the hype.
While playing an energy-filled game of "Crazy Ball" sister and brother duo, Mimi and Luke accidentally unearth an alien warlord. This is a millenia old being capable of unfathomable sadistic evil, unfortunately the gem capable of controlling him is in the hands of Mimi. Dubbing him Psycho Goreman, the young girl is eager to hold the reigns over her new friend. Together they pal around town and occasionally perpetrating acts of horrific violence. But beyond our world the alien forces who once imprisoned Psycho Goreman are looking to finish him off once and for all.
This film is a hilarious and violent tribute to the films of the 80's and 90's where kids find themselves befriending beings from beyond our plain human world like ET, The Monster Squad or Mac and Me. This is one of those movies that you will either think is the stupidest thing ever or you will instantly fall in love with it. I am definitely in the camp of those who loved Psycho Goreman. As someone who will always advocate for practical fx in a movie I was blown away by the costumes and make-up work in the movie. But if that was all there was I would have just written this off as a soulless showcase for gore fx akin to 2016's Terrifier, but there is an offbeat heart to this movie that charmed the socks off me. A large part of this can be attributed to Nita-Josee Hanna as Mimi, I could see any other young actress being unbearably grating in this role, but Hanna is hysterically funny as the lead of this film. She is quirky, bossy, and carries a mean streak meaning she has no problem using the alien warlord to his full violent potential. Whereas in an Amblin-type film it would have been a goodhearted kid who finds the alien friend, the strength of this movie is in the fact that an obnoxious brat is the one who takes on that role. Enriching this dynamic is the fact that the character of Psycho Goreman is portrayed completely straight as a merciless alien being (until his enemy harms his hunky guys). Add in the plain and down-to-earth nature of Mimi's brother and you have a top tier trio of characters to carry us through this flick.
Psycho Goreman is truly one of those movies that is not meant for everyone but those it was meant for know who they are. It is made in a way that director Steven Kostanski knows this movie is destined to be a cult classic from the start and he makes no effort to change that course. The humor is obnoxiously on-point and the make-up fx are expertly crafted creating a strange feel-good film for horror fans.