Tweet
Released by: Wild Eye Releasing
Released on: 2/3/2009
Director: Keith J. Crocker
Cast: George Reis, Paul Richici, Chris Hoskins, Larry Koster, Arlene Hansen
Year: 1997
Purchase From Amazon
The Movie:
Loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's Murders In The Rue Morgue, Keith J. Crocker's 1997 8mm opus The Bloody Ape follows an ape named Gordo who escapes from a carnival run by Lampini (Paul Richini). None too happy with the way he's been treated over the years, Gordo goes on a revenge driven rampage and murders anyone who has done him wrong over the years.
Enter a foul mouthed cop named LoBianco (George Reis), a racist douchebag of a character assigned to figure out who or what is responsible for the rash of killings and rapes in the area as of late. He tries to lay the blame on a black mechanic named Duane Jones (Christopher Hoskins), all while Lampini is running around trying to get Gordo, now a blood crazed killer ape if ever there was one, back under control before it's too late.
The first twenty minutes or so of this movie are probably going to put you off, as they're talky and then some and not a whole lot happens. That said, once that set up is out of the way and the characters have been given enough to stand on Crocker is wise enough to ramp up the ape rape and slam in a whole lot of simian sleaze. The film never overreaches, instead it's relaxed in its low budget trappings, a film obviously very comfortable in its skuzzy skin.
Like many of the films it apes (that was a clever pun, right), Crocker's picture uses a lot of library music in its score and those with good memories might pick up on bits used in other films like Bob Clark's Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things among others. Very obviously influenced by pictures like that and by low budget monster movies of the seventies such as the various bigfoot films that were popular in the decade of disco, the film was made with its heart on its sleeve and if you've any affection for low budget monster mash ups of that era, you're bound to have a good time with this one, warts and all - and there are some warts. Expect bad acting, expect trashy jokes and racist humor, expect a man running around in a low rent ape suit and expect a fair bit of cheapjack gore - but if you've made it this far, odds are pretty good those are pros, not cons, in which case, dive in.
What the film delivers, and in large quantities at that, is atmosphere. It does a very good job of replicating the low budget seventies feel and not just because it's shot on 8mm - there are details in the dialogue, the clothing, the mannerisms and the speech patterns that help to seal the deal. Don't go into this expecting anything slick, polished or 'good' in the traditional sense, you're not going to get it, but if you're in the mood for something sleazy, give The Bloody Ape a try - it's the best raping giant monkey movie you'll see this year.
Video/Audio/Extras:
So The Bloody Ape was shot on 8mm, transferred to tape, and then from tape to DVD - don't expect this one to look so hot. The image is as grainy as you'd expect given the format the transfer has been done in and there's softness throughout - but you know what? It kinda works. I don't know that a better quality transfer would have helped much. This film is what it is, we can leave it at that.
Audio fares about the same, the Dolby Digital 2.0 track, in English (with thick Noo Yawk accents) is occasionally a bit muffled and flat but the dialogue is audible enough and the levels are well balanced. There are no alternate language options or subtitles provided.
Extras are plentiful, starting with a commentary track that features director Keith J. Crocker and actors George Reis and Paul Richini. These guys are having a lot of fun here, it shows, as they take us on a pretty thorough examination of what went into making this movie. We learn about casting, the sets and locations, the effects, the ape suit itself, and what movies it pays homage to and/or flat out rips off. It's a good talk, no pretentiousness here at all, just a fun discussion that leaves no stone unturned.
There's also a decent featurette included here entitled Grindhouse Gorilla: The Making Of The Bloody Ape which wrangles up about twenty-three minutes worth of cast and crew interviews along with clips and behind the scenes material. It covers some of the same ground as the commentary track does but it's a fun watch. Crocker's short film, One Grave Too Many, is also included on the disc, it's a quick six minute bit about some grave robbers who get into trouble.
Rounding out the extras are a bunch of still galleries (covering video art, stills, lobby cards and more), a trailer for the feature, a trailer for Blitzkrieg: Escape From Stalag 69, menus and chapter stops.
The Final Word:
It takes about twenty to thirty minutes to pick up steam but once it does, The Bloody Ape delivers pretty much everything you'd want - sex, violence, bad dialogue, ape rape, bad costumes and more - and on top of that Wild Eye's disc is loaded up with extras. What more do you want?
