2020: Psycho Goreman (11th)

What else happened this year? Covid year. Thanks for that.

What is the plot - in one sentence? A strange girl gains mastery of a huge, bloodthirsty warlord, with strange results.

I don't have time, just spoil it for me? By the end, she's used him to defeat his enemies, destroy vast swathes of the world, and get closer to her own family, too. 

What is the meaning of the title? The kids call him Psycho Goreman because it's kind of funny.

I'm all for using big guys and tiny dogs for comic effect. These dogs weren't mentioned outside of this scene, and I approve.

Anything that's not aged well? Does a woman get slapped around? It's too early for it to age, it is weird though.

Any thoughts? A few. I wouldn't have guess the movie would be like this when I stumbled upon it one afternoon. It's a weird mix of comedy and superhero movie. Some of the special effects are really gross and visceral in a cheap way - guy's getting turned to pulp, a kid being turned into a giant brain with eyes, to name but two - but it's met with a solid, eye-rolling acceptance. It's for comic effect, but it's jarring nonetheless. Meanwhile, the kids are just annoying, weird pre-teens, but they have to deal with decapitations, genocidal violence, and that most stereotypical of movie problems: an inexplicably British villain. Luckily, they handle it with aplomb. They don't address the fact that the younger, smaller sister bullies the shit out of her older brother by sheer force of weird personality, either, and I'm ok with that.

Would you recommend this? This was a very low budget, unpredictable, self-aware and occasionally funny movie. It's a good surprise, though I think recommending it would be a step too far, this surely is something you have to stumble across.

Final thoughts? This is a very strange movie. I can't see it gaining an audience as anything but a cult movie, but there some bits I thought were pretty funny. It tended to go to 'character pointing out how stupid something is' or 'ultra-violence' for its comedy too often, so if you don't like that, you won't like this. If it sounds at all interesting, check it out. 

 Want more of this nonsense for some reason? Check here for all of them.