People often use the term “intentionally bad” in reference to films like Sharknado, Lavalantula, or Weedjies! Halloweed Night. But that is incorrect, as they are not setting out to be poorly made. Schlocky and cheesy? Sure. Over the top? Yes. Cartoony and outlandish? Absolutely. While opinions about the quality will vary, none of those titles are deliberately constructed to be bad. Enter Psycho Ape: Part 2 – The Wrath Of Kong, written and directed by Addison Binek and Greg DeLiso, which is intentionally bad in the very real sense.
After the events of the first film, copycat killers have surfaced, and the city’s banana supply is dwindling to precariously low levels. Due to the violence and mayhem he’s caused, Psycho Ape (Floyd Cashio) is on trial. The judge (Galen Howard) seems uninterested in controlling the courtroom, as bystander Mary Jane (Heather Harlow) has several outbursts during the proceedings. Could all these things spell the end of Psycho Ape’s freedom?
Possibly, but the violent primate does have a few people in his corner. Dr. Zoomis (Bill Weeden) has come to befriend Psycho Ape, and Nancy Banana (Kansas Bowling) is in love with the simian. The trio cohabit, trying to eke out a living amid all the chaos of the 1960s while shilling products for the very movie they are in. Unfortunately, a rash of murders means new scrutiny of Psycho Ape’s predilection for slayings, further jeopardizing his trial.
“…a rash of murders means new scrutiny of Psycho Ape’s predilection for slayings…”
Psycho Ape: Part 2 – The Wrath Of Kong features moments where the actors break character. At one point in a car ride, Cashio takes off the ape mask, and someone off-screen asks him if he’s okay and if he needs water because it is so hot. Other points go behind the scenes as greenscreen effects dematerialize or the actors refer to themselves as their actual names and not as their characters. One sequence sees (presumably) Binek or DeLiso instruct a supporting actor to have a staring contest with the camera for a good two minutes. Then, the moment when that person playing a reporter has said staring contest happens. Are these intentional gaffes perfectly calibrated a la The Play That Goes Wrong (only in film form) or simply an excuse not to have to try and make a good film? The answer to that question means the difference between having a good time and being frustrated.
Bowling’s quirky sense of humor as glimpsed in B.C. Butcher is on full display, and she’s as delightful as ever. Weeden is also pretty spot-on with his comedic timing. These two really elevate the stupider moments, such as a Titanic “paint me” moment. That James Cameron film is almost 30 years old, and filmmakers are still doing this, seriously? Considering how out-of-date it is and how unnecessary the moment is, the only reason it works is because Weeden is so gung ho. Howard’s recital of “gavel, gavel” could well be the funniest thing in the film.
Psycho Ape: Part 2 – The Wrath Of Kong is either an annoying film which no one tried, and the filmmakers just said screw it. Or it is a brilliant bit of meta-filmmaking that twists in on itself like Thankskilling 3 on steroids. Either way, not every joke lands, but the cast sells it all with aplomb. It does not matter if one finds this to be good-bad, bad-bad, or just plain blah; this is an experience that should be had by everyone interested in low-budget and experimental filmmaking.
For more information on Psycho Ape: Part 2 – The Wrath Of Kong, visit Addison Binek’s Facebook page.
"…an experience that should be had by everyone interested in low-budget and experimental filmmaking."
That’s just not true.
Asylum is a cynical cash grab garbage designed to prophet off a market that enjoys b movies.
They are hollow and void of any merit.
The intentions behind them are no where the same as something like Aligator, It’s Alive, or Samurai cop.
Movies that were made in earnest.
Sharknado is a scam, plain and simple.