THE BLOODY APE (1997)

A couple of weeks back I attended the October Cinema Wasteland Show. While I was there I walked by a table for Wild Eye Releasing. I had reviewed their release of GOTHKILL, which I thought was very well done and I mentioned it to the man behind the table. He asked me if I had seen their other flicks And I thought I had seen BLITZKRIEG:ESCAPE FROM STALAG 69, but I was mistaken.
Then I saw the cover for THE BLOODY APE. I had to have this.
After coming home from the convention this was the first thing I put in the DVD player.
I couldn't have been happier.



THE BLOODY APE (a.k.a. Son Of Sweetback Vs. Kong.) is a throwback to the classic, zero budget trash of the late 60's and early 70's. And well it should be. Film maker Keith J. Crocker was insane enough to shoot the damned thing on 8mm!! Sure the flick is twelve years old, but 8mm was dead waaaaaay before 1997. And how he manages to capture that feel on such a low budget is beyond me. He makes it look like he transported himself back in time and shot the film and then brought it back here with him. The scenery looks legit, the interiors look legit. Crocker even manages to get some of those horrid shots with huge shadows because the film makers didn't know
how to light the damned shot.



There is only one thing that kills the illusion and that's the scene at the video store. No way there should have been a video store in this flick, but what can I say? At least it was VHS.



So, what is THE BLOODY APE about? It's a demented twist on the Poe Classic Murders In The Rue Morgue like you've never seen it. When a carnival barker releases his 400 pound gorilla on the city it isn't long before the blood and gore is flying. From hippies trying to piss on a bush to women who uses banana scented soap, no one can escape the wrath of THE BLOODY APE!!! THE BLOODY APE even manages to get a little frisky with one of the numerous lovely ladies who populate this film. Yeesh!



In the end, film maker Keith J. Crocker is bringing us untold stories of the grindhouse/drive-in days and I personally, can't wait to see the next one.
Congratulations to Wild Eye Releasing for getting this out to the people. Please support this company in all their endeavors. I would recommend buying directly from the distributor in this particular instance so they can continue releasing such quality fare.