The Bloody Ape

Review by Nick Peron

The trick to making a movie on a small budget is not just to tell a good story, but to also make the best of your budget. When it comes to horror films, one often has to scrimp as much as possible to create the special effects required and still not run over budget. This creates a challenge: How to make a film and not make a total utter shit job.

The independent film industry, especially the horror and exploitation genre operate under the concept that you do not need a stellar budget to make a good movie. Take whatever you have and go, improvise and hopefully the audience will be able to suspend their disbelief to watch all the way to the end your film.

Regardless of the effort, this can put the movie into two categories: (1) That it's a brilliant piece of work or (2) it's a festering pile of horse shit.

In watching Bloody Ape, I could see that most people would consider this film as the festering pile, however, I think these are people who are quick to judge, and are the kind of film viewer that has been so utterly brainwashed by the tripe that comes out of Hollywood that they have unrealistic expectations. They are kind of like that guy who fell out of the ugly tree, and remains perpetually single because they expect an ideal mate is someone who hopped right out of one of the centerfolds they have plastered all over their unkempt apartment.

A person who truly enjoys film will see that Bloody Ape has a charm to it that makes it very enjoyable.

 But first let's talk about the film itself.... 

Bloody Ape is inspired by the Edgar Alan Poe story "Murders at the Rue Morgue" which, for you unsophisticated illiterate types out there, is a story about an ape that goes on a murder spree for it's master. Yes, Poe wrote about more than just ravens and lost Lenores. He also wrote about vengeful ape, how effing cool is that? 

The film was directed by Keith J. Crocker (Blitzkrieg: Escape from Stalag 69 ) and written by Crocker and George Reis. It follows the life of Lampini (Paul Richichi) who is the owner of an ape named Gorto (George Reis), a friendly and lovable ape that he charges people to see at the local circus. Lampini is a pretty happy guy because he has met the love of his life Ginger (Arlene Hansen) and intends to marry her.

However, Lampini suffers a series of effronteries to himself: First by Vic White (Larry Koster) the racist and lazy gas station attendant/mechanic, then the sheister Rabbi Rabinowitz (Salvatore Finkel) who tries to rip him off by selling him a phony engagement ring, and lastly from Ginger herself, who rejects Lampini's proposal and leaves him high and dry. Weeks later Gorto seemingly escapes and then systematically begins to murder each of the people who have wronged its master and anyone else who got in the way. The case is picked up by the exceedingly racist police superintendent who dismisses reports of a killer ape, presuming each murder as the work committed by a different minority group. He finally goes even so far as arresting an innocent African American man because of reports of a "dark figure" on the scene of a murder. Eventually, it's exposed that Lampini was responsible for training his ape to kill, and a final bloody retribution is exacted before the films end.

Although the film was made in 1997, they used some vintage hardware. As it is a homage to cheaply made drive-in fare, it would be comparable the same quality filmmaking as Hal Warren's "Manos" the Hands of Fate . Given the budget of the film, this gives the film an enjoyable kitchy touch. It's mangled and gritty film quality and sometimes distorted audio track (likely, caused from the audio tape getting crumpled or damaged) is a nice touch.

Unlike contemporary films (such as the often cited Grindhouse series), technological limitations in 1997 would have prevented Crocker from reproducing these film flaws in post production -- however I would have to say that post-production effects are no substitute for the real thing. To any aspiring filmmakers who want to make a film that looks all beat up: I recommend actually using the right equipment instead of fixing it in post. Bloody Ape achieves that beat-up drive-in theatre quality, and it happened naturally, and as such probably entailed a lot less effort than modern attempts to add in these flaws digitally. Interestingly, when it comes to this DVD transfer -- as is the case with some kinds of old film -- it appears that something's get lost in translation. I don't know exactly how to articulate it in writing, but the digital transfer seems to miss capturing *something* making the film ultimately have an erie, surreal quality.

 The locations filmed were likely a matter of convenience for the filmmakers, which again gives it that Drive-In B-Movie feel. Where else but a b-movie would someone take someone's home office and a high school class room and try to pass these locations off as part of a police station? Why were they filming scenes at a gas station and a video store? Probably because they were readily available. The carnival scenes are priceless because it is appears that Crocker had Richichi go up and talk to random carnival patrons and workers who had little forewarning that a movie was being shot.

 The special effects are simply bargain basement, with the ape itself being simply George Reis in a gorilla costume. This itself is also intentional, and adds to the enjoyable aspects of the film. Why someone would expect this movie to have effects more spectacular than a man in a gorilla costume, and smatterings of fake blood (not to mention some hilarious use of whipped cream.) There are still some very impressive special effects in this film, including a head crushing, a hilarious decapitation, and a person being crushed between two cars.

Bloody Ape has some infamy for being banned from film festivals due to it's content. Perhaps by today's standards the violent content is not all that shocking, and I highly doubt that in 1997 were things that much different. That leaves me to believe that the thing that got peoples panties in a bunch was probably the overtly racist characters.

The characters in this film are very very racist, especially the police captain. Let me stress that: The CHARACTERS are racist.

Having previously seen Crocker's work, I know that he is an unapologetic filmmaker: In that, if the story calls for a racist character, he's going to present one that is fully believable even if it offends or hurts someone's feelings. What's the point of creating a disposable character that the audience that isn't supposed to be like, if you're just going to water them down so you don't offend anyone?

Someone who is a blatant racist is not going to water down their language just because you are going to get offended, so in turn, the characters that Crocker & Reis have created are just the same. It all boils down to context, and it's hardly an indication of the creators opinions of other ethnicities. In real life, someone who is driven by racist ideas is going to say some vile things. You and I know all the slurs and stereotypes and it's our personal outrage over what is said is what makes these characters so unlikable, and exactly how the makers of the film want you to feel about them. To spin a fictional character (much less finding an actor to say them) speaks volumes about the films creators fortitude and guts for writing the script the way they did.

The fact that this movie is maligned for simply that just goes what I've said countless times: The average mouth breathing movie goer can't look past the offending content and see the context. This in turn makes easily frightened festival organizers to tuck it between their legs when it comes to screening a movie like this.

I commend Wild Eye Productions for releasing this movie.

So, final words: If you like drive-in grind housers, you like cheap-o special effects and sleazy characters, and a beat up movie that has a lot of love devoted to it, Bloody Ape is one to see, so long as you aren't going to get offended on someone elses behalf because they use the n-bomb. If you don't take your movie watching so seriously, grab a few friends and some booze and sit down and watch Bloody Ape, you'll be sure to enjoy it.