Psycho Ape

Director - Addison Binek (Movies to Watch on a Rainy Day, Tromasterpiece Theatre)

Starring - Kansas Bowling (Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood, B.C. Butcher), Bill Weeden (#Shakespeare's Shitstorm, Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.), and Stephen Albers (Tromasterpiece Theatre)

Release Date - 2020

Genre - Horror/Comedy

Tagline - "The ape wonder of the world!"

Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     My love for bad for movies has lead me to meet several like minded people.  The masses may proclaim that the movies I love watching are bad but I personally have more fun with these cheap movies than they do with theatrical shit shows.  They may be on the low side of quality but the creativity and imagination that went into them is unlike anything you can find elsewhere.  Another fan of bad movies that I met sometime ago is the host of Movies to Watch on a Rainy Day and the mastermind behind Tromasterpiece Theatre, Addison Binek.  His posts on Facebook has brought my attention to several indie flicks that I had never heard of before.  For sometime now he has been working on a killer ape movie with the help of fellow filmmaker Greg DeLiso.  I've been curious about this project since the very beginning and Binek knows this so when he was almost finished with it he reached out to me to review it.  I couldn't wait and watched it on my next day off work.  Thanks Addison!

     The film follows Nancy Banana who is obsessed with apes and the lone survivor of a teen massacre where an escape ape killed all her friends using a banana.  Now, years later, the ape has escaped and is on another bloody rampage and is being trailed by Dr. Zoomis.  The ape soon finds his way to Nancy's and the two create a bond that only Dr. Zoomis can break.

     Psycho Ape is the kind of indie movie that gets me excited to turn my television on.  This type of movie is not meant to be well polished, well written, and thought provoking.  Instead, it's funny, goofy, and doesn't make sense at times but it entertains.  I want to have fun and not be hit with a movie that tries to mindfuck me.  Psycho Ape is a fun flick that you have to experience for yourself.  The acting in this one is very uneven but funny.  Kansas Bowling and Bill Weeden work so well together.  Their characters are both over the top and fun but they are not trying to win any awards.  It looks like they had fun on set and that fun transfers well onto screen.  However, the supporting cast is a little awkward at times.  This does bring some unintentional laughs but is still extremely awkward at times.  The story for this one pays tribute to so many classic ape movies from yesteryear that almost plays out like movies from the drive-in era.  The nods to these classic movies is funny and expected.  You can really tell Binek had fun with the film.  With that being said, the Pixar argument in the film makes absolutely no sense and does break the flow of the film up in the same sense that the stoner woods scene breaks up the story in Amityville Vibrator.  Finally, the film has a surprising amount of blood and practical effects.  The effects does show the film's budget but they are still fun and bring in some laughs with the film itself.  Binek did them to fit in with the theme of the film which brings in a few extra laughs.  Overall, Psycho Ape is far from perfect but you can't deny how entertaining it is.  The movie has plenty of laughs and I couldn't imagine the amount of fun this one would be with a group of friends and several beers deep.  I can't wait to see the finished product and double feature it with S.O.V. slasher Spirit Animal.  I highly suggest checking out this shitty film because it was so much fun.