Three Films Make A Post: Little girl. Big psycho.

Psycho Goreman (2020): This weird-ass gory horror tokusatsu comedy by Steven “Manborg” Kostanski proudly stands in the tradition of comparable weird-ass movies from Japan. At least half of the film’s jokes are very funny indeed, the monster costumes are rubbery fun, and the acting’s generally fitting the tone. However, like it is with a lot of movies of this kind, from the US, Japan, or elsewhere, the other half of the jokes fall flat like blood-encrusted pancakes. The other big problem is that there’s simply not enough plot or material for a ninety minute plus movie, so the middle part drags pretty badly; which is particularly unfortunate when much of it could have been excised without any losses to the movie.

The Pond (2021): This Serbian, but English language, movie by Petar Pasic starring Marco Canadea as a Professor on leave after a family tragedy who is either suffering from a nervous breakdown or has stumbled upon a rift in our understanding of the world – or both - is a frustrating experience. There are some scenes and shots here that will probably haunt me for quite a while, but the film’s total commitment to a “everything on screen is a metaphor” type of the Weird also makes it hard to wade through, with little but metaphor to guide a viewer through it. Some of these visual metaphors are also really coming down on the side of the pretentious to unintentionally funny. Particularly all the fish business is just plain silly.

Still, there’s something there sometimes, an otherworldly quality to the staging and the shot composition that does make this one worth watching at least once, in my eyes.

King Rocker (2020): At times, there’s also something pretentious about this documentary about Robert Lloyd (of The Nightingales not-really fame) by Michael Cumming and comedian Stewart Lee, too. Particularly the film’s attempt to mirror Lloyd and a King Kong statue (don’t ask) is pretty strained and leading nowhere, and made even worse by Lee (who is on-screen as much as Lloyd) making jokes about it, suggesting that the filmmakers actually knew that this bit was a terrible idea but couldn’t come up with any better way to frame things. The film’s also a bit too chummy at times, with some diversions that really go nowhere fast (what’s the reading of parts of an unfilmed comedy TV script good for, exactly?), and scenes of Lee and Lloyd being drunk, middle-aged buddies that go on way too long.

However, it is also a treasure trove of interviews and raconteuring (that’s a word now) with and other footage of a genuinely interesting guy who made a lot of just as genuinely interesting music, presented with great sense of love and respect, which makes up for all of the film’s flaws.