Bloodtype Online

    Dr. Charles Decker emerges from the jungle a year after the plane crash that everyone thought had killed him.  He brings with him a chimp and a great secret taught to him by the witchdoctor of the tribe that rescued and cared for him.  The secret is the ability to increase the size of any creature and control it.  Instead of using this for the good of mankind he decides to use his now huge chimp to take revenge on all those who have wronged him.  Unfortunately his assistant, who also loves him, gets angry when the good doctor takes up (or at least tries to) with a young college girl.  The assistant takes control of the creature (the titular Konga) and sends it after him, which ends badly.  Soon the creature is growing to epic proportions and is battling the English army.  Did you ever notice that it never ends well for the jumbo-sized apes? 

    In spite of being a really silly movie Konga is very entertaining and fun.  The story is full of plot holes and really makes no sense.  For example the chimp “grows” into a man in a gorilla costume!  Last time I checked a chimp and a gorilla aren’t the same creature, much less just a larger one.  Also the doctor drives the gorilla around in a van with the schools name on it, yet no one notices the same van at each and every crime scene?  But hey this isn’t the kind of movie that you should think too much about, because it will just ruin it.  The cast does a great job in the limited roles they are given, which is all you can really ask for.  Lets be honest, this movie is more about the gorilla costume than it is about any actors or their performances.  

    The special effects in this movie are dated really bad.  I mean for crying out loud the creature is nothing more than a guy running around in a gorilla suit that looks no better than what you would see in an old 3 Stooges short.  What is really funny is when the gorilla grows large enough to terrorize the city of London Godzilla style!  Some of the miniatures look pretty cool, but they do a terrible job trying to blend in the live actors.   

    I can’t lie I enjoyed the movie.  By no stretch of the imagination is this a good film.  It is filled with silly dialogue, situations, and comes to a predictable end.  But it is a good watch and well worth at least a rental.   

** 1/2

-John "El Juan" Shatzer