PG (PSYCHO GOREMAN) Trailer Promises Gleeful Monster Pandemonium
Steven Kostanski is one of many current filmmakers taking heavy cues from genre entertainment of the 1980s. But while many of this generation pay thuddingly reverent homage to greats like John Carpenter and David Cronenberg, Kostanski is more interested in the ridiculous and wildly ambitious fun of Full Moon Features and Empire International Pictures. His latest film PG (Psycho Goreman), goes even further, bringing the spirit of Saturday morning nonsense like He-Man and Super Sentai into an R-rated movie. Here's the synopsis:
PG (Psycho Goreman) introduces emerging stars Nita-Josée Hanna and Owen Myre as Mimi and Luke, a perpetually bickering sister / brother duo who unwittingly resurrect an ancient alien overlord (Matt Ninaber) who's been entombed in their backyard. They nickname the malevolent creature Psycho Goreman (or PG for short) who thanks to their possession of a magical amulet is forced to obey their childish whims.
It appears the same goes for the rest of the galaxy as PG’s reappearance on Earth draws the attention of interstellar friends and fiends from across the cosmos. It isn’t long before a rogues' gallery of galactic combatants converge on the strange realm of small-town suburbia.
As you'd expect from all that and the director of Manborg, the trailer looks bonkers:
Obviously, the Spookies-level variety of entirely practical monsters is the star attraction here, especially when you consider they're called things like "Dark Scream," "Death Trapper," "Kortex," and so on. The movie looks insanely fun - how can you not love a surly monster playing drums? - but honestly, I'm just as excited about the story, which sounds unconventionally heartwarming as hell. Says Kostanski:
What would it be like to have your own monster? As a kid, I was mesmerized by the relationship between John Connor and the T-800 in Terminator 2 and the way this relatable kid could suddenly have a badass villain as his pal. I would fantasize about hanging out with the likes of Skeletor, Megatron, Cobra Commander, and every other Saturday morning cartoon villain. These characters always interested me more than the traditional heroes.
The whole thing feels like something like The Monster Squad blended with Star Kid, or indeed Kostanski's own references Masters of the Universe and Beastmaster 2, with a surfeit of awesome original monsters and head rips and shit. If Kostanski can replicate that childlike wish-fulfillment fantasy for an R-rated audience, boy I'm into it.
PG (Psycho Goreman) premieres at SXSW, appropriately, on Friday the 13th. We'll leave you with an exclusive trading-card image of one of the film's monsters, "Judicator":
