The first teaser for the latest feature from Canadian cult filmmaker Steven Kostanski (Manborg, Leprechaun Returns, The Void) has arrived today, and we think you’re gonna love it.
Psycho Goreman, loaded with practical monsters and gore, introduces the titular character, a sort of “my pet monster” who does the murderous bidding of… two children.
Check out the crazy trailer and full information (via press release) below!
Featuring a supporting turn from Kostanski’s Astron-6 collaborator Adam Brooks (and a few other surprise cameos), PG (Psycho Goreman) introduces emerging stars Nita-Josée Hanna and Owen Myre as Mimi and Luke, a perpetually bickering sister/brother duo who unwittingly resurrect an ancient alien overlord (Matt Ninaber) who’s been entombed in their backyard. They nickname the malevolent creature Psycho Goreman (or PG for short) who thanks to their possession of a magical amulet is forced to obey their childish whims.
“The core concept of ‘PG’ is something I’ve carried with me for as long as I can remember,” explains Kostanski. “What would it be like to have your own monster? As a kid, I was mesmerized by the relationship between John Connor and the T-800 in Terminator 2 and the way this relatable kid could suddenly have a badass villain as his pal. I would fantasize about hanging out with the likes of Skeletor, Megatron, Cobra Commander, and every other Saturday morning cartoon villain. These characters always interested me more than the traditional heroes.”
It appears the same goes for the rest of the galaxy as PG’s reappearance on Earth draws the attention of interstellar friends and fiends from across the cosmos. It isn’t long before a rogues’ gallery of galactic combatants converge on the strange realm of small-town suburbia.
“I love contrasting operatic space fantasy with suburban banality,” admits Kostanski. “This developed out of my love for low budget genre films from the 80s and 90s like Masters of the Universe and Beastmaster 2 where budget constraints forced the filmmakers to set their epic stories in accessible real-world locations.”
Utilizing practical FX ingenuity honed from his work on Hollywood productions (Crimson Peak, It, Hannibal TV series) and his own low-budget phantasmagorias, Kostanski introduces over 15 memorable monsters throughout PG including the avenging angel PANDORA, the treacherous goblin DARK SCREAM, the serpentine sorceress HISS, the devious KORTEX, the demented DEATH TRAPPER and of course the titular PSYCHO GOREMAN himself.
And though these creatures find themselves face to face with child protagonists, Kostanski assures horror fans that PG is definitely an R-Rated experience. “I enjoy subverting the safe space of the ‘kids movie’ genre with shocking violence and real world consequences. This is a theme I applied in my ABC’s of Death 2 segment W is for Wish. With PG, I’ve pushed this idea to more imaginative and brutal heights, recreating the deranged scenarios I used to make up while playing in the backyard as a kid.”
The conceit appealed to producers Stuart F. Andrews and Jesse Kristensen who were intent on financing “the biggest, baddest and purest expression of Kostanski’s berzerk imagination to date.” They partnered with producer Shannon Hanmer (Z is for Zygote also from ABCs of Death 2) and TIFF Midnight Madness programmer Peter Kuplowsky and after nearly two years of development, production and post, PG (Psycho Goreman) will have its world premiere at SXSW in Austin, Texas this March on – appropriately enough – Friday the 13th.
