Psycho Goreman

GeekTherapy · February 2, 2022, 2:31am

Originally published at: https://geektherapy.org/psycho-goreman/

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#311: Link convinced Lara and Josué to watch comedy horror movie Psycho Goreman. The family dynamics and bullying add depth to the characters and make the movie surprisingly relatable.

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Transcript

Josué Cardona 0:11
Welcome to GT radio on the Geek Therapy network here Geek Therapy we believe that the best way to understand each other and ourselves is through the media we care about my name is Josué Cardona. I’m joined by Link Keller

Link Keller 0:22
sup freaks

Josué Cardona 0:27
and Lara Taylor.

Lara Taylor 0:29
I can’t follow that. Hi everyone.

Josué Cardona 0:33
it’s it’s it’s Halloween month. So

Link Keller 0:37
spooky season!

Josué Cardona 0:37
spooky season. So I think it’s time we start. We start visiting some some some horror movies.

Link Keller 0:45
Hahahaha

Josué Cardona 0:47
And I think I think it’s a it’s an excellent choice to pick 92% rated on Rotten Tomatoes guaranteed to be a classic shutter original PG psycho Goreman.

Link Keller 1:05
Whoo. heck yeah!

Josué Cardona 1:07
is that is that? Is that what we’re talking about today?

Link Keller 1:10
That is what we are talking about today. Psycho Goreman is streaming on shutter exclusively, though they do have physical copies you can buy to add to your collection of blu rays, which I suggest because this movie is fantastic. And I love it. For longtime listeners of the show, you may know about me is that I love horror movies. And I love spooky season. And so every year I take this opportunity to force Josué and Lara to watch something that they probably would never ever watch. Otherwise.

Lara Taylor 1:49
I do like me some spook, but you picked one that I would not watch on my own.

Josué Cardona 1:55
You you’ve converted me from it’s been I was I was I filled out a profile for something recently. I was like, Oh, do you like horror movies? I was like, Yes, I do.

Link Keller 2:05
aw!

Josué Cardona 2:05
I do actually. Yeah.

Link Keller 2:07
you came around

Josué Cardona 2:07
So yeah. Now I just now just I’m asking everybody for recommendation

Link Keller 2:12
three years later Josué loves horror.

Josué Cardona 2:15
Yeah. Yep.

Link Keller 2:17
Excellent.

Josué Cardona 2:18
Yeah.

Link Keller 2:18
Yes. So psycho Goreman. It is a very fun, silly. Gore rific horror movie. It is more silly than horror.

Lara Taylor 2:34
Oh, definitely. I had to like, I was like, I can’t watch scary things when Nina’s around. And this one she could have she could have watched this one. Most definitely.

Link Keller 2:46
I was when I mentioned it. I was gonna say like, this might be something that Nina would enjoy. But I didn’t want to gamble on it because I don’t write I don’t want to give Nina, like nightmares,

Lara Taylor 2:55
right. But she came in when I was watching it and into the office and was like, oh, and started to walk away. And this is your fine and it was just the gore. It was great. It was beautiful.

Link Keller 3:07
Yes.

Josué Cardona 3:08
One of the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes says an 80s throwback that asks the question, what if et starred pinhead? psycho Goreman is a bonkers horror comedy that lovingly sends up the cheapo genre flicks of the era. It’s a good it’s a good that convinced me. Yeah. That’s my review as well.

Link Keller 3:31
That is probably my favorite thing about psycho goreman is all of the practical effects. The writer and director Steven Kostanski who is known for doing special effects makeup stuff you might recognize his work in. It, the first Suicide Squad, hannibal.

Josué Cardona 4:02
Like the new It Movies?

Link Keller 4:03
the new the new it movies.

Josué Cardona 4:08
Hannibal

Link Keller 4:09
Hannibal? Yeah, he did some makeup work on that

Josué Cardona 4:13
the series of the movie.

Link Keller 4:14
The series, okay.

Josué Cardona 4:17
Okay, yeah, yeah.

Link Keller 4:18
And then he was the director for the void, which came out in 2016 which is a movie I also really enjoyed. Though I think psycho Goreman is more fun and more accessible to people who don’t already consume a ton of horror. Yeah, but psycho Goreman really fun. Amazing practical effects puppetry. I just I just I just love the puppets. There’s so good. This skull the brain in the jar. Love that guy. The big bucket of body parts the big metal bucket of body parts. Oh, the boy He turns into a big brain. Big wet puppet. I love it but yeah, it’s the basic story is our two main characters Mimi and Luke. They are older brother younger sister and their parents. And Mimi and Luke are playing a game called crazy ball that they made up. And after the game, they are digging in the backyard and they discover an ancient alien. prison block a box anyways, they release an ancient evil who is bent on destroying the whole worlds and the universe and all things all lights all life.

Josué Cardona 5:47
Rita Repulsa.

Link Keller 5:49
Very, very much. Yes, that is actually a major reference point is Power Rangers stuff like if you liked Power Rangers as a kid, this is for you. But yeah, so they they release this ancient evil. But it turns out that because they have this gem of power that they can control him. Then they name him they named him psycho Goreman, great, great scene where they pick out a name for him. And they do some shenanigans. And then other aliens get involved because he’s a psycho Goreman’s a real bad guy. And so then it becomes sort of a, an intergalactic war is kind of happening. And it’s just sort of their family dealing with that. And I think it is really fun movie. Obviously, I’m mostly there for the humor and the puppets and the wet Gooshie Gore stuff is very funny to me. But there’s also some some, some stuff about families and I think there’s space to talk about some things. But yeah, so what did you guys things were your initial impressions experience? Hmm. How did you how did you enjoy it?

Lara Taylor 7:07
I liked it a lot. It continues my there has to be a child I hate in every horror movie I watch. I just wanted to strangle Mimi, every time. Every time. I don’t like her. But it was it was great. I loved the humor. I personally like gore in my movies. I don’t. I don’t know. It’s um, this was beautiful. And not like, I don’t know, I could watch it without. I like the gore. But usually I have to like flinch sometimes and look away for a second. But this was just like, it was so fake and beautiful. And, you know, cars running over body parts and heads exploding. And it was so fun. And I definitely appreciated. Like it looked well done. For a like, B movie. C movie. Something is great. I loved it. And like you said, lots of family stuff to talk about in there. Definitely. But I hate the kid.

Josué Cardona 8:23
you Don’t like Mimi. Not even a little bit?

Lara Taylor 8:25
Not at all.

Josué Cardona 8:26
No. I mean, you know what about

Lara Taylor 8:28
she’s just like my best friend and in elementary school and I hated her too.

Link Keller 8:32
Well, is Mimi is Mimi worse than the kid from the babadook?

Lara Taylor 8:37
They’re different.

Josué Cardona 8:40
So so but But what about all the times that Mimi has a chance to do the right thing

Lara Taylor 8:45
and doesn’t?

Josué Cardona 8:46
how do feel about her then? And never does?

Lara Taylor 8:48
Never does the right thing? And there’s a scene there’s a scene. So it pissed me off. There’s like the point where he, Luke is like, you never said you’re sorry. And then she just starts singing a song and I’m like, What the fuck? That’s not sorry. Why are you like, Why are you falling for this Luke? And then she does her little knocking thing to say I’m sorry. But it sounds to me like the half assed apology that she like told psycho Goreman wasn’t an okay apology earlier. She’s not sorry. I don’t like her. She reminds me of my best friend in elementary school who was a bully, So

Josué Cardona 9:35
yeah, yeah. So I mean, I thought it was hilarious. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it so much. I did not. I don’t know why I didn’t. I did not expect it to be a comedy. Like I didn’t read anything about it. You’re just like watch it. I was like, Okay, Psycho Goreman, let’s say let’s see, what is that? And I laughed so hard. So much, and mimi was a big part of it. But um, but I kept I kept thinking throughout the movie, whatever. About times I’ve had clients who, who liked horror films and like they liked them for different reasons. And it’s really I mean, it’s just like everything we talked about, right? Like, there’s something that you like. And then in it, you can see all these things, you can see yourself you can relate to it. And there’s so many things moving at different levels that I that I can imagine some of my past clients like bringing up and like it resonating with them like me, and you just brought up like, Mimi is so much like my best friend from school. Right? And, and Mimi, Mimi is a terrible person, right? There’s even even

Link Keller 10:39
she is a little shit.

Josué Cardona 10:41
There were times when I was like, at first I was like, Oh, this kid is hilarious. But like halfway through the movie, I was like, This is perhaps the greatest villain I’ve ever seen.

Lara Taylor 10:52
I’m going to destroy the world just because

Josué Cardona 10:56
like, like, PG has like Psycho Goreman, PG, for sure. Like, he has some some like depth. Right? Like, they’re like, he has an origin story. They’re like reasons, right?

Lara Taylor 11:05
for his anger and all of that.

Josué Cardona 11:07
Yeah. But like, even even even Mimi’s father who is like, another waste of space

Link Keller 11:15
cannot wait to talk about him.

Josué Cardona 11:16
Yeah. But even even him, like you could come up with some reasons for like, maybe why he’s this way

Lara Taylor 11:22
right? unhappy maybe work sucks. Yeah,

Josué Cardona 11:26
I can, I can think of ways he was raised. You know, things his parents did or didn’t do that have created that and, and but Mimi’s just like the most one sided like uncomplicated, like just Oh, and so I think it’s really easy to project a whole bunch of like, terrible experiences onto that character. Because it’s just oh, just so selfish. Just

Lara Taylor 11:58
doesn’t care who dies. Like.

Josué Cardona 12:03
I think just even even just the way that like, PG would be telling stories about, like, his origin and like and right. And then suddenly, like, you’re, you’re seeing these stories play out. Take some of it is like, super interesting.

Lara Taylor 12:16
and She’s like, haha don’t care

Josué Cardona 12:19
she’s like, Oh, should we move the baking? But she’s not even listening. I’m bored. Right? It’s like, she’s that. That

Lara Taylor 12:28
that was my friend in elementary school.

Link Keller 12:32
She is very bossy,

Lara Taylor 12:33
and I was very much Luke

Josué Cardona 12:37
There’s even there’s like that scene that you mentioned. Where? Right? It’s like, you never apologize. And then she just does something. So out of left field, right? Like in the context of as a as a movie watcher who’s like, enjoying the movie. I’m like, This is so ridiculous. And I’m just laughing because I think it’s but like, if I put my GT hat on, and I think about it, I’m like, this. This is like, gaslighting. This is like, like, just doing something so weird and crazy, right? That you’re just like, I don’t even know what’s happening anymore. Right? Like, what is this person doing? But she’s also like, as much as she is just like a terrible person. She’s super charismatic. Right? In like, in like a Disney actor kind of exaggerated way. Right?

Link Keller 13:30
She and this actress she she did a fantastic job in this role, but I

Josué Cardona 13:36
hope she gets an oscar

Link Keller 13:36
she so perfectly represents the real life experience I’ve had where there are, like you said charismatic people who bully people who are mean, people who don’t care what other people think or their needs or wants or anything, but they’re funny. And so part of you is like as long as they’re not doing it to me,

Josué Cardona 14:02
you follow them

Link Keller 14:03
I have enough space here where I can laugh at it. It’s funny, it’s engaging, I’m enjoying myself, but then it gets directed at you and you’re like, Wait a second. That’s That’s me and my feelings are hurt. Yeah, and I felt like I’ve met people like that in real life. That is not that is not a fake character. That is not real. I have met people like that and

Lara Taylor 14:24
it’s not fun.

Link Keller 14:26
I it is it is not fun, but it is interesting to see her in the context of her family. I do find it really interesting that both of you guys took the the apology scene the way that you did because I took that as the this was a breakthrough moment for her and she she’s not capable of doing the apology the way that literally anybody else would be expected to. But she found a way and like the knocking their secret language that they knock on the walls to each other which is such a cute little thing. like, crazy ball is a cute little sibling thing where it’s like they have their secret code language

Lara Taylor 15:06
that the mom also knows.

Link Keller 15:07
that the Mom also knows, yes! But having that viewers like It’s like she doesn’t say sorry, but she has found like two ways to communicate to Luke that she is sorry

Lara Taylor 15:20
but the song is literally frig off! and I don’t care about you.

Link Keller 15:25
Yeah, but

Josué Cardona 15:26
Lara just shook her head so hard. It was like, she’s never been so disapproving of anything you’ve ever said

Lara Taylor 15:34
been knocking I can say, okay, that might be cute, but it’s still like half assed, like PGs. Like I’m sorry

Link Keller 15:41
it absolutely and strong armed because it’s in like contextually is like, if you say sorry, I’ll do the thing that you want me to do. But the idea being is that she is able to communicate this thing to Luke, and he is able to receive it in that way. And then psycho Goreman goes is this love? And the dads like, yes, sing along and having that be, again, not good, like emotional intelligence. That’s not a real apology. But it does, I think perfectly encapsulates the kinds of arguments that you can get into with your family. And you can resolve an entire conflict without ever actually directly saying it. There’s secret languages of the family of the siblings, where they’re able to get, you know, the conflict, they’re separated, both literally and figuratively. And through this moment that they share, they’re able to reconnect. And I think that that is such a good representation of the way that you can see kids like, get in like a brawl, and they hate each other and you’re like, oh, no, they’ll never recover from this. And then, you know, they play a card game where you slap each other’s hands, and they’re like, yeah, no, we’re best friends again, and I was like, how hand slapping solve the problem? Okay, all right. I guess it’s solves the problem. Okay. Um,

Lara Taylor 17:10
okay. I think I can get that with like, an incident. But like, this girl has been bullying her brother for his entire life. I’m presuming. And I just, I can’t that poor child I identify with Luke it is.

Josué Cardona 17:27
I gotta, I gotta, I gotta side with Link on this.

Link Keller 17:31
I convinced you.

Josué Cardona 17:32
I’m gonna, I’m gonna say. I think I think it’s, I think it’s a very good example of exactly what you’re saying. Right? I think it is. It’s

Link Keller 17:45
It’s not what what I would like, real life to be like, right, but I do think that as far as like fictional representations of things that happen in real life like this. It’s it fits, it fits.

Josué Cardona 17:58
I think. I think it’s useful in that in that context, right. It’s like, I think that was perfect. Right? What you said, but like, we just had a terrible fight. We’re just staring at each other. We almost killed each other. Like,

Link Keller 18:16
we’ll sing our song. We’ll see our family band song now the song The lyrics are fuck, you are frig off!

Lara Taylor 18:23
frig off and like,

Link Keller 18:24
I won’t do what you tell me.

Lara Taylor 18:26
Exactly.

Link Keller 18:27
Everything is like the words do not match but the singing of our song the emotional connection that our band, you’re back in the band, right? She said you’re out of the band. And this was the emotional of like, you’re back in the band.

Josué Cardona 18:42
I’ve liked this. Here’s my but

Link Keller 18:47
show that butt

Josué Cardona 18:50
but in the context of the movie. Right? It is. It is. It is not. I don’t even know what the word that I’m looking for. Is

Lara Taylor 19:02
she wanted him to die.

Josué Cardona 19:04
Because like, no, no. Right? It’s like giving her the gem back is the worst. Like it. Again, I think it defies logic, right?

Lara Taylor 19:15
they’re gonna destroy the planet Yeah,

Josué Cardona 19:17
she like she’s the bigger threat. Right? In general, like in this moment like that is that that is the stupidest thing to do. And and just like her sway over him, the the power that she had, and this I mean, again, in the context of the movie, I think it was perfectly ridiculous, right? It sets up that like the lyrics are like, I’m the best, right? Like, you have to get to this. I’m just I’m just the best Right? Like there’s, there’s like, there’s so much wrong with it. But it’s so absurd that in the context of the movie, it was hilarious like that that moment. He’s like, Is this love? Like, just kill me like spit out food like like, neighbors were like, are you okay in there? Right like, like laughter hilarious. But the fact that he gave her like that the outcome of that was like, the just the last thing, like of all the possible solutions to the current problem. That was the last one. It was it was it’s not even on the list of solutions. It’s like it’s on another column of like, not solutions

Link Keller 20:21
just another problem.

Josué Cardona 20:22
Yeah, just creating a bigger problem,

Lara Taylor 20:24
Josué as you’re describing this, right? Like, yes, the movie in the movie. It’s absurd. And I love the way that it happened. But also, the way you’ve described this reminds me of like, when if someone is in an abusive relationship, and they get abused, and then somebody does something cute or sweet to try and get them to submit to whatever they want, you know, that’s exactly what she was doing to him.

Link Keller 20:49
Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. fit that pattern. Yeah, one hundred percent.

Josué Cardona 20:54
It was like, she just reminded me that she’s

Lara Taylor 20:56
break his arm or something like, Yeah,

Josué Cardona 20:59
well, yeah. It’s like, it’s like, oh, it’s abusive. I’m gonna take off my shirt and show you like how, like, you know, oh, remember this like you like this? She’s like, Oh, remember, I’m the best one. I’m the best. Remember? To just like, give me what I want. Yeah, no, I agree with you. That’s absolutely what it felt like, I think I think that’s why, again, with my GT head on, it bothered me so much. I’m like, no, please. No, like anything. It was the it was incredible. Right? It’s like, say you’re sorry. I’m the best.

Link Keller 21:31
I’m not gonna say it.

Josué Cardona 21:33
I mean, she didn’t say like that.

Link Keller 21:37
She straight up says I’m not gonna say it. And then she does the knocking. I’m sorry. And that’s like her compromise is you can’t get me to do the thing that you want. Yeah.

Josué Cardona 21:48
That’s later. That’s way later. That is like, she’s already for the manipulation has happened. The fact

Lara Taylor 21:54
that psycho Goreman has more character building in depth. than she does the

Link Keller 22:00
he is the titular character,

Josué Cardona 22:02
anyone? I mean,

Lara Taylor 22:04
and he goes on a killing spree at the end

Link Keller 22:05
I mean, yes, actually, he ends up being a pretty three dimensional character, which is really funny because he just he looks like a Power Rangers villain.

Lara Taylor 22:20
And Mimi is Rita Repulsa.

Link Keller 22:22
Yes.

Josué Cardona 22:23
I mean, so kinda, sorta.

Lara Taylor 22:25
Yeah.

Josué Cardona 22:26
I mean, ah, yeah. No, I mean, I get the movies ridiculous. Like, like, a lot of things. Like it just it just doesn’t make sense for for that joke, right. I mean, that’s, that’s a that’s a. That’s the joy of it. Um, but yeah, that’s, yeah. All right. So you said you want to talk about the Father?

Link Keller 22:45
Yes, I would like to bring up for discussion, the term strategic incompetence, or performative incompetence. This is something that has been showing up on my tic tok for you page fairly frequently in the past few weeks, in and on, showing up on Reddit in the threads that I’m in. So a little confirmation bias there. This is all the rage right now of strategic incompetence, meaning basically acting like you can’t do something so that people will stop asking you to do it. In the context, I keep seeing it come up, it is often in established heterosexual marriages in which the husband isn’t responsible for any sort of household work either because he just has never done it or he has done so poorly that then his wife will just be like, You know what, it takes up less time and effort if I just do it for you, and don’t ask you to do it anymore. And seeing the the dad in psycho Goreman like they have this setup where it’s like they’ve got the big hole in the backyard and the dads like first of all, Luke real proud of you for digging the hole. Second of all, this is unacceptable and somebody needs to fill this hole somebody and then they have like a family democracy moment where they vote and they all vote that dad has to do it. Which I laughed really hard at that just the concept of having like a family democracy like that. I’m like, oh, that gets abused constantly, doesn’t it? And from the outcome of that situation, apparently Yes, yes, they do. Because he the dad gets ready to like he picks up the shovel and then he pretends that he gets a splinter in his he hurts his hand. And the moms like yeah, that didn’t take long. Okay. And he really hams that up.

Lara Taylor 24:53
Yeah. he says he can’t go to work because of his hand.

Link Keller 24:57
He can’t go to work he he’s just very lazy and when he gets called out on that he has a whole spiel about like Don’t you dare call me lazy you know I hate that my mom my teachers everybody’s calling me lazy you know how I hate that and ooof ooooh that is there that’s a conversation right there is the way that people will absolutely manipulate situations so that they don’t have to do things and how frustrating that is to deal with to witness. Oh, yeah. Dad

Lara Taylor 25:37
and his whole like aI Are you saying I don’t I don’t do anything around here she’s like, go for it. Go for it. Tell me what tell me what and he has nothing to say

Link Keller 25:50
nothing to say and then they do a cut and he’s sitting on the toilet and then that’s when he has the comeback ohh I laughed so hard at that part that’s that’s relatable. Not not the being shitty like he is but in the like not having like in the moment not having anything you think about it later. On the toilet. You’re like, oh, I have the perfect comeback now.

Josué Cardona 26:13
He’s the second worst villain in the movie. Yeah, I mean, I’m not surprised at the mom tried to kill him at the end. Because he was she was pretty tired of them.

Link Keller 26:32
I also I loved, circling back to abusive relationships that that point where she is already past the threshold. She’s like, I want I want to murder you. I would I am so fucking tired of your shit. And he’s all like, Honey, I still love you. And I’m ready to go to therapy if that’s what you want. And oh my god. That sent me off the first time I watched it. I was like, Oh my God, how many how many times has that happened in real life?

Josué Cardona 27:02
and It worked. Yeah. because he does it and it worked right.

Link Keller 27:06
Yeah. You You know finally have the confrontation. And for one person for for the for the wife is you have passed you’ve the the straw and the camel back broken it you have passed that point. And then that is the point where he’s like, Okay, now I’m willing to make some concessions. It’s like, so frustrating is

Josué Cardona 27:30
also obviously performative, right? Yeah,

Link Keller 27:33
just just like his performative incompetence. This is his performative like, I’m sorry, like, you’re right, I’ll do what you want to do now. The same, the same, like acting to get out of a negative consequence, basically,

Lara Taylor 27:52
even after all of that, and saying, he’s sorry, and he’ll go to therapy, then when she transforms back into herself, and she is like, covered in whatever, sweat liquid goo, whatever, and is like, she looks deathly pale. And she’s like, passed out. He’s like, Honey, I’m gonna need you to drive me to the hospital.

Josué Cardona 28:17
I did not expect the people to be so infuriating. But but this is, this is why like I was saying before I can. These are the types of things where, like, you don’t choose what what you watch that’s going to, like, remind you of something or make you feel a certain way, right? And this this movie, those family dynamics were so terrible.

Lara Taylor 28:44
I’m impressed with Luke and how well adjusted he seems to be out of all of them.

Link Keller 28:51
I deeply relate to Luke in that from from the outside, he looks well adjusted.

Lara Taylor 28:58
Right, right. That’s what I’m saying. Like,

Link Keller 29:01
I relate to deeply my personal life of like, Oh, I’m Luke. And what I’ve done is I’ve just taken everybody’s problems and I’ve shoved them deep down inside of me and now they’re my problems but I’m turning them into a tumor.

Lara Taylor 29:14
He will be a nice well adjusted child for another year or two and then his life will fall apart.

Link Keller 29:22
He’s absolutely set up to be a people pleaser from being bullied by his sister and by both of his parents sort of just letting that happen. Very half hearted like, Hey, you, you should be nice to your brother or he won’t play with you anymore.

Josué Cardona 29:40
I don’t think he’s well-adjusted but he looks Yeah,

Lara Taylor 29:45
yeah,

Link Keller 29:46
just comparatively

Lara Taylor 29:47
comparative. That’s what I’m saying.

Link Keller 29:49
The bar is low for him

Lara Taylor 29:50
the bar is low. So I’m like that. I’m impressed with how well he is doing for all of the things going on around him.

Josué Cardona 30:00
Still the worst part was it after. After showing so much like care for Pg, PG still didn’t remember his name?

Lara Taylor 30:08
Right?

Josué Cardona 30:09
poor kid

Link Keller 30:10
Luke, you should know that by now. Mimi and… Mimi’s brother,

Lara Taylor 30:17
and he even knew the parents names at the end but not

Link Keller 30:21
Greg and Susan and the boy

Josué Cardona 30:28
yeah, yeah, I don’t know. I was surprised by, by how much of the family saw and the type of like, again, one dimensional characters and like you put them all in a room. You have have a hell of a stuff going on. Like, ooh, you put you put this extreme in with this extreme. Oh, that’s what that looks like. That’s very helpful. That’s very helpful. And very much um, yeah, it’ll it’ll make you feel something if you’ve ever like Yeah, I mean, like you Yeah. You You You You wish certain things upon these people at different at different moments. Fascinating the family was fascinating and yeah, so and then the character of PG again, I’m not a lot of stuff doesn’t make sense. So I’m not gonna go I’m not gonna go too far. I’m not arguing logic here. But the fact that we like we know that he was like part of an enslaved and oppressed people and then he he found a power and was able to like basically stand up to the oppressors and like liberated people it goes so doesn’t line up at all with how he is now like there’s like there’s there’s some sort of gap there Right? But like there’s this there’s this interesting piece of it. Where were you like, oh, wait a minute, like, is he? I’m rooting for him. Right in a way um,

Link Keller 32:14
I love that PG cannot be fit into hero or villain within this movie. Because he fulfills both roles.

Lara Taylor 32:28
Not even like anti hero or whatever. He’s just

Link Keller 32:32
no just he’s just both and I and I love that they they don’t let that just be contextual in the movie they straight up have a moment where they say oh, there is a fight between evil and other evil because the people who are antagonistic to PG who they have framed as being they are the good guys and they have put a way a bad guy, but very quickly reveals was like, Oh, they’re the ones who enslave people. Like you’re not great. Oh, and then as soon as you show up on Earth, you do some cool murders. Yeah, no, you’re not good guys. You’re not the good guys. And PG his goal is to just do destruction. He has friends which is a good sign right?

Josué Cardona 33:18
who are his friends?

Lara Taylor 33:19
he doesn’t have friends anymore.

Link Keller 33:21
Not anymore but the the paladins of obsidian his team. The including the the big metal bucket of parts.

Lara Taylor 33:33
Yeah.

Link Keller 33:35
But yeah, it’s like, they’re not good guys, either. And so it’s like it is evil versus evil. And then you have the family, which is our entry into into this whole situation and they’re not good. They’re not good people. And so it’s like, there’s no like, true, good, heroic person to

Lara Taylor 33:56
Alastair

Josué Cardona 33:56
Alastair,

Link Keller 33:57
sort of, sort of I do. I love Alastair. He has that moment where he’s like, Do you think I’ll ever be normal again? And mimi’s just like, Nah, probably not. But I like you how you are. And you say, Oh, okay. And then he sloughs aways, big brain body tentacles.

Josué Cardona 34:16
One of the funniest lines to me was when Mimi says, like, No, I just, I just want to marry him. And so and then and then fight with him every day like mom and dad.

Link Keller 34:28
It’s like there’s the perfect, A little Geek Therapy nugget right there right is we’re we are seeing all of these terrible things within this family. But she does the most human relatable child thing of all, which is like I think that’s normal them i that is that is that is the example. And therefore that is the goal for me. And so I’m just I’m just going to recreate my home life as an adult. And so that just like yeah, we’ll get married and we’ll fight all the time just like mom and dad. It’s like, Oh, wow. Wow. Yeah. Mm hmm. That’s what she thinks a marriage is. Yep, that’s the that’s the goal that’s being an adult is growing up and getting married to somebody you don’t really like you have a fair amount of contempt for. They don’t really like you either. And then have children.

Josué Cardona 35:26
Yeah, she knows who she wants to hate in the future. Right. Is that one it’s Alastair? Yes.

Link Keller 35:31
I do also like just the very you know, like children’s movie of the the younger sister having a crush on the older brother’s best friend and him just being like uhh no thank you. Just try trying to be nice but also like no

Josué Cardona 35:50
about I’m a big part of that is like Mimi was very Mimi about about it.

Link Keller 35:55
She was just as much of a bully to Alastair she was to her own family members.

Josué Cardona 36:00
With with an extra dose of like, creepy. Harassment on top of it. Yeah, she’s the worst. Mimi’s the worst. Ah, I mean, um, yeah, on my list of

Link Keller 36:15
I wish I was more like, Mimi. She’s terrible. But I wish I had an eighth of the confidence that she exudes from every pore of her being.

Josué Cardona 36:25
Have you ever tried answering any question with a song where you just declare how great

Link Keller 36:30
I should? That maybe that’s, that’s the one behavioral change I need to make in my life to really get there.

Josué Cardona 36:37
if you can pull that off. I think you’d have an eighth of the conference. And you’d be quite successful. Probably. Yeah, yeah.

Lara Taylor 36:46
Just don’t wish murder on people. And you know, I don’t know. punch them in the stomach.

Josué Cardona 36:58
the movie was hilarious Oh, yes. Very good.

Link Keller 37:01
The winner is the champion of the universe. And the loser gets buried alive.

Josué Cardona 37:09
It’s very funny

Lara Taylor 37:10
and digs their own grave.

Link Keller 37:12
You got to dig your own grave.

Josué Cardona 37:17
Yeah, again, I didn’t expect this much good stuff in to so much relatable stuff. But it was it was good. Yeah. I mean, when you hate so many characters and movie, that’s a lot. That’s a lot of GT library.

Lara Taylor 37:38
Yeah. Like resonance, and repulsion

Josué Cardona 37:43
so much repulsion

Lara Taylor 37:44
a million times over by mimi.

Josué Cardona 37:49
Yeah, I mean, there’s, I mean, they get into that point of like, evil versus evil. Like, there was nothing nothing. Nothing good

Lara Taylor 37:58
I did like that the paladin Um, they were able, they might be evil, but they came up with a nice governance. Like, they’re like, we’re happy with our own little moon and we’re just gonna trade who gets to rule and it’s nice. Things are fine the way they are.

Link Keller 38:14
We take turns wearing the crown!

Lara Taylor 38:16
Mm hmm.

Josué Cardona 38:16
Yeah. I mean, I mean, yeah. That was, that was interesting, right? Cuz he’s like, I, I saved us all and then. But you all just made a deal with the people who enslaved us anyway. Right. So ah, and, and they want to maintain that status quo. So that’s the

Link Keller 38:39
secret politics in there.

Josué Cardona 38:40
They tried very poorly, to kill PG. They would, they could get out of it for days. And I don’t think they would have actually Well, I mean, I guess they were kind of successful. But that that part was very funny, too. But, but I think I love that the movie like hinted at all of these like, there’s a there’s backstory there and like, we never got to we only got to see a surface level because that’s that’s not what the point is. That’s not what this movie is about.

Link Keller 39:14
I like whenever they would cut to the aliens. It’s just I get like, Big Star Wars vibes where it’s like, oh, the cantina with all these these different aliens and everything. And there’s there’s a whole universe out there full of stories and adventure. And you only get this little sliver. So enjoy. Enjoy the seasonings you get.

Josué Cardona 39:39
If I wanted to go deeper into if if I was assuming that this movie actually had something that it wanted to say. Right, which I’m assuming that it does not. I’m assuming that it wanted us to have a good time and laugh, but assuming that it did have a message in here, right? I feel like we see PG’s origin. And then we see moments where, like, he, he understands that, like, that story is important and worth telling. But the fact that nobody cared or like that Mimi just like, completely dismissed it. It’s almost like maybe like PG is still that person who like, I’m sure he’s angry. But like, there’s he understands, like, kind of where he’s coming from and why he started doing the things that he’s doing. But just never, I’m assuming, right. Like he’s had nothing but Mimi’s in his life. Who could who don’t who won’t listen to him? Don’t give him like don’t value the story and don’t see him as anything else. But either a threat a monster

Lara Taylor 40:52
or a tool.

Josué Cardona 40:53
Yeah. And in case of Mimi, right. And so he he could like there is a potential redemption story there. That Mimi completely destroyed the possibility of throughout the movie. And like you can you can see it you can see the he like like, what are you? He just sits down like it’s storytime. He just sits on the couch and other kids that around? I have a tale to tell you right. Like, let me let me see it. And like the part in the diner where he’s telling that story and then like it does that flashback. He’s like, Oh, like he Like he did this amazing feat that like, Don’t the whole universe knows him for like he destroyed this huge monster. It’s like, he’s saying it with pride. Right? And then then like, we You didn’t let him finish. It’s so if there’s a message here is that when you dismiss a people and the things that matter to them? They don’t they don’t it doesn’t feel good. And they could with enough power. Just you know, become you know, unstoppable killing machines that go through the through through, you know,

Lara Taylor 42:11
they could murder you

Josué Cardona 42:12
planet planet, like but like. In a horror exactly in a horror, sci fi horror, gory way, like destroying planets and stuff, right? It’s metaphorical. Yeah,

Lara Taylor 42:25
they could turn you into a puppet of their own and like melt your face. And you just asked

Josué Cardona 42:34
there was a lot of melting in this movie. I appreciated that hadn’t seen anything good melting like that in a long time. soulless husks. Good stuff alright, any any anything else on a Psycho Goreman? Any any final words for? We haven’t had a horror entry in a while. So I’m glad. I’m glad we did this. I don’t know for in the old library. Final thoughts.

Link Keller 43:07
I have two final thoughts. One I really love that in the beginning when they are first dealing with this issue Luke’s like we should we should go to the cops and mimi says I don’t trust cops. What are they gonna do? And then later, the dad says the same thing. So I like that sort of reflecting our parents beliefs on to children, but also that he’s 100% Right? The cops can’t do anything. They are not equipped to handle the problem and they immediately get their asses handed to them. I thought that was very funny. I laughed a lot at that. But my final point that I would like to end on is that I hope in the next few years that psycho Goreman becomes the next monster LGBTQ plus icon like the babadook, because psycho Goreman loves his hunky boys.

Lara Taylor 44:08
He does love his hunky boys. Not my hunky boys!

Josué Cardona 44:12
I mean, I mean,

Link Keller 44:13
that’s my favorite part. I do not care for hunky boys! or or do I? Best best part of that movie? Oh,

Josué Cardona 44:24
again, just talking lots of experiences. And you know? Yeah. Is the babadook an lgbt like representation?

Link Keller 44:35
This is what happens when you only watch half of the movie. I don’t finish it until three years later, but yes, the B and LGBT is for Babadook that I didn’t take off right when that movie came out. It was a while afterwards but at some point, somebody made that joke and it’s it’s stuck and the internet. It’s there’s there’s a whole line of Babadook Gay related stuff out there now.

Josué Cardona 45:04
I didn’t know.

Link Keller 45:06
I want to see psycho Goreman take take up that mantle. Join join the queer monsters Avengers team. It’s not the Justice League but there’s it’s a league. There’s not justice, but there is some sort of league that could happen here.

Lara Taylor 45:27
It’s interesting prism comics, the LGBT comics nonprofit that supports LGBT comic creators has a panel at Comic Con every year. That is queer horror. And maybe it just needs to be all about psycho Goreman.

Josué Cardona 45:49
I mean, again, there’s there’s there’s a lot of backstory there, does it? There’s a lot that we don’t know. Could be kept comics. No.

Link Keller 45:56
Psycho Goreman, the story of psycho Goreman slave becomes a world destroyer, the Archduke of nightmares, gains the mantle of psycho Goreman and discovers the hunky boys.

Josué Cardona 46:15
Also could potentially be a fashion icon. I mean, that whole montage with

Link Keller 46:21
that montage was great

Josué Cardona 46:22
was good. Yeah. Okay, so I don’t I don’t. I mean, I don’t know what the future holds. I don’t know for the rest of October. We’ll talk more about horror. So in case we don’t, do you have any recommendations?

Link Keller 46:38
I wasn’t prepared for that question. Nooo,

Josué Cardona 46:40
I know.

Link Keller 46:42
oh no.

Josué Cardona 46:42
Yep. Yep.

Link Keller 46:44
Ah, shit

Josué Cardona 46:46
no, nothing. Wow. Well, what a missed opportunity. Thanks for listening everybody.

Link Keller 46:54
Watch psycho Goreman. Shutter shutter has a ton, a ton of great horror movies.

Josué Cardona 47:04
It’s nothing but horror movies. So

Link Keller 47:07
I want to say like seven bucks a month. 10 bucks a month, something like that six, but they have a free week trial. And it is it is worth it, folks.

Lara Taylor 47:17
And if you cancel it at the end of first week,

Link Keller 47:21
they might give you know give you a free month. But yeah, it’s definitely at least worth you know, check. Checking out their library during the month of October. There’s lots of good stuff on there.

Lara Taylor 47:34
I’m still working my way through midnight mass on Netflix. I don’t know how I feel quite yet because I haven’t finished it. But after watching the first few episodes if you have a thing and you love animals, and you ever think about animal don’t watch it.

Link Keller 47:48
Oh, I was gonna say I haven’t started that one yet, but who am I kidding. I’m gonna watch.

Lara Taylor 47:53
You’re gonna watch. You’re gonna watch

Link Keller 47:54
thank you for that warning.

Lara Taylor 47:55
That is a good warning. Yeah, yeah.

Josué Cardona 48:01
Okay, okay.

Lara Taylor 48:05
What else? that’s it.

Josué Cardona 48:07
Oh, oh, well, at least at least you had an actual recommendation. Lara. Thank you. So yeah, so tell us tell us. If you If and when you watch psycho Goreman. Let us know on the GT forum. What’s your thought?

Lara Taylor 48:27
do you hate mimi as much as Josué and I do?

Link Keller 48:31
Tell us about a Mimi in your life.

Josué Cardona 48:33
Yeah, who is

Lara Taylor 48:35
who was your mimi?

Josué Cardona 48:35
who was first was your first mimi?

Link Keller 48:41
ugh.

Josué Cardona 48:44
Yep. links in the show notes to all the ways to reach us social media, the forum. And for more Geek Therapy, visit geek therapy.org Thank you so much for listening. Remember to geek out and do good. And we’ll be back next week.

Link Keller 48:59
Her name is Me. Me. Like No wonder she’s so self obsessed. Oh my gosh.

Josué Cardona 49:05
What I didn’t.

Link Keller 49:07
I just put it together.

Josué Cardona 49:08
Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Wow. Wow.

Josué Cardona 49:13
Geek Therapy is a 501 C three nonprofit organization dedicated to making the world a better place through geek culture. To learn more about our mission and become a supporter, visit geek therapy.org

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Characters / Media

PG: Psycho Goreman (2020)
Mimi / Psycho Goreman
Luke / Psycho Goreman
PowerRangers
The Babadook (2014)
Midnight Mass

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Themes / Topics

Conversation Topics:

* Bullying
* Consequences
* Family
* Gaslighting
* Leadership
* LGBT Issues
* Mental Health Services
* People pleasing
* Power struggle
* Problem Solving
* Standing up for oneself
* Redemption
* Strategic or performative incompetence
* Taking responsibility for one’s actions

Relatable Experience:

* Bullying
* Fighting
* New Life Event (New Rules)
* Resonance
* Repulsion
* Hunky Boys