Tokusatsu has a wide influence and it is never more clear how wide-reaching it is than when you see a film like Psycho Goreman (2020). It is a love letter to the inventiveness found within the genre. Of course, the love is peppered throughout a film that is primarily a comedy. Psycho Goreman is the tale of an intergalactic tyrant with the power to destroy all life in the universe demoted to become the plaything of an eccentric young woman due to his essence being tied to a crystal.
The film is directed by Steven Kostanski, the man behind Manborg (2011) and The Void (2016). If you’re familiar with either of those directorial efforts you’ll be well aware that the man understands practical effects and how to use them brilliantly. Psycho Goreman uses practical effects in two ways, one which is the cosmic horror behind characters that could kill you with but a thought, and the other is the comedy of suits purposely designed for gags, not function. Psycho Goreman will transform a cop into a Cronenbergian horror who continuously attempts to kill himself and that horror will be forced to play a children’s game. In Psycho Goreman, there is but one lesson: life is cheap. This would easily be a criticism if it weren’t couched within the other message of the film that life may be cheap but family isn’t. Yes, a film where a child gets turned into a brain monster still has a core message about the importance of family. It is the absurdity of it all that makes it work so well.
The influences of Psycho Goreman are plenty but if Kostanski is not a Mechanical Violator Hakaider (1995) fan then I would be shocked. Both films play with characters who are cast from a villainous mode and pitting them against an angelic character. In Psycho Goreman, after his release from the crystal, he is immediately hunted down by Pandora, a religious zealot who rules the Galaxy with a puritanical fist. In a way, we have a vibe that seems like it would fit in perfectly in a British 2000AD comic. Goreman in a way represents the anarchic punk movement that was bashed into attempted submission by the Thatcher government. This can be seen even more evidently in the sequence where Goreman’s former allies have betrayed them, like a Punk band that went mainstream.
Not all of Psycho Goreman works; there are elements of comedy that don’t land perfectly. The humour featuring the father, in particular, can occasionally feel a bit off-putting, like it goes on for slightly too long. It feels like humour from a different movie and is left a little out of place. The other minor issue is that the fight scenes are not up to traditional tokusatsu levels. While they are always fun you can tell that even the best-looking suits lack the total mobility of Kamen Rider or Super Sentai. Now clearly part of this is intentional and is meant to be highlighting the absurdity of it all but as a long-time toku fan you can’t help but want to see them go all out because the suits while goofy look so so sooooo cool!
The one thing the film does better than most tokusatsu is anchoring the film with brilliant child performers. Nita-Josee Hanna is brilliant in the lead role as a completely unhinged preteen girl who is singularly focused on hunky boys and dominating at murder ball. Her brother, played by Owen Myre, is just as captivating. They really capture that sweet spot of childhood where your understanding of life and death is so juvenile. Their performances are so pure.
