The ultimate evil in the universe meets its match in the form of a temperamental little girl in PG – Psycho Goreman. Mimi (Nita-Josee Hanna) and Luke (Owen Myre) are siblings, who after a competitive game of crazy ball, dig a hole in their backyard and find a mysterious glowing gem, which Mimi takes for herself. However, this unwittingly unleashing a nameless evil from the planet of Gigax, who was imprisoned by a race known as Templars. This creature (Matthew Ninaber), known to others as the archduke of nightmares, is ready to fulfil his destiny to destroy the galaxy. However, this plan hits a snag when it is found out that Mimi has the power to control the creature, who she names Psycho Goreman or PG for short. Much to the horror of her parents Greg (Adam Brooks) and Susan (Alexis Kara Hancey), Mimi decides to make PG her own personal, if not incredibly reluctant, best friend. However, the planetary alliance is alerted of PG’s awakening and the Templar Pandora (Kristen MacCulloch) heads to Earth to put a stop to this great evil.
PG – Psycho Goreman is the latest film from writer/director Steven Kostanski (Manborg, The Void), which is a very gory twist of the typical Amblin Entertainment “kid befriends alien creature” formula from the 1980s. The biggest twist Konstanski gives to this premise is how the alien creature, whom our child protagonist Mimi befriends is undisputedly evil, with PG only reluctantly following Mimi’s orders because she possesses the “Gem of Paraxodite,” which is bound to PG’s soul. However, PG’s presence on Earth endangers Mimi and her family, as his awakening attracts both the planetary alliance and PG’s paladins.
After directing the dark Lovecraftian horror of The Void, as well as the work-for-hire reboot Leprechaun Returns, Steven Kostanski returns with a sci-fi horror/comedy that is much more tonally similar to his early work with the collective Astron-6, more specifically 2011’s Manborg. PG – Psycho Goreman can also be a love letter to practical creature effects, with the film featuring at least a dozen alien creatures, on top of the titular PG, including a cameo appearance by the one and only Bio-Cop (Robert Homer), in reference to Steven Kostanski’s popular 2012 short film. The very name of PG – Psycho Goreman a play on the PG rating given to the Amblin films this film is harkening back to, even though PG – Psycho Goreman ends up being the more gory family film that you will ever see.
There has to be much praise given to PG – Psycho Goreman‘s 12-year-old lead Nita-Josee Hanna, who is able to convincingly stand toe-to-toe with a murderous alien creature. Astron-6 alum Adam Brooks also stands out as possibly the most deadbeat of deadbeat dads, with his character of Greg always being belittled by his wife Susan for being too lazy. However, the real star of the show is Matthew Ninaber as PG (voiced by Steven Vlahos), who is able to strike the balance between being the embodiment of pure evil, while also being a loveable monster, who learns about the true power of love.
Overall, PG – Psycho Goreman is a fun and gory 1980s throwback family adventure.