Have you ever heard of the boys at Astron6? It’s a group of Canadian filmmakers who have made some really great stuff in the last 10 years. They have a real love and understanding of genre pictures and they really know how to homage, satire, and make faithful versions all of their own. Father’s Day, which I have reviewed before, is a great black horror comedy. The Editor is a Giallo horror comedy that is pitch-perfect. They did the excellent Lovecraftian horror film in The Void. That is very bloody and very creepy. Then, a few years ago, they did Psycho Goreman.
Psycho Goreman is a science fiction horror comedy that looks like a kid’s movie. It is most definitely not for kids.
A brother and sister are digging in the backyard when the girl digs up a gem. From the very same hole, an evil alien super-villain emerges. He had to be imprisoned on Earth for his crimes of trying to destroy the galaxy. This was in revolt for being enslaved by an alien group that makes you think of the Power Rangers.
He immediately sets to work killing people, but the little girl discovers that she can command him since she has possession of the gem. Bloody hilarity results.
She wields her new power to command a super-powerful alien with no morals like a spoiled brat from the 2020s. This is fucking hilarious, as she has little regard for how the evil alien feels, or the damage caused to the locals.
Eventually, an alien Justice League comes to Earth to find and stop him, and from here things spiral. The film wraps up with a heartwarming ending, with an ultra-dark twist for the galaxy.
It is a lot of fun. In my opinion, the Astron6 crew never misses. Everything in the movie will feel familiar to you. Like all of their films, they are heavily inspired by all our favorite properties and genres from the past. As writer/director Steven Kostanski said:
“It’s mostly inspired by my experiences as a kid. I grew up in the video store, constantly going to rent movies with my family every weekend. There were a lot of scenarios where I would rent movies that were not suitable for kids, and so Psycho Goreman is a bit of me working through some of those traumas.”
If you haven’t seen Psycho Goreman yet you have been missing out.
