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Ape (1976 film)

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A*P*E
Korean theatrical release poster
Hangul
킹콩의 대역습
Hanja
킹콩의
Revised RomanizationKingkongui Daeyeokseub
McCune–ReischauerK‘ingk‘ong ŭi Taeyŏksŭp
Directed byPaul Leder
Written by
  • Paul Leder
  • Richard Leder
Produced by
  • K.M. Yeung
  • Paul Leder
Starring
Cinematography
  • Daniel Symmes
  • Tony Francis
Edited byPaul Leder
Music by
  • Bruce Mac Rae
  • Chung Min Sup
Production
companies
  • Kukje Movies
  • Lee Ming Film Co.
Distributed byWorldwide Entertainment
Release dates
  • July 23, 1976 (1976-07-23) (South Korea)
  • October 1, 1976 (1976-10-01) (U.S.)
Running time
87 minutes
Countries
  • South Korea
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$23,000[1]

A*P*E, released in South Korea as King Kong's Great Counterattack (Korean킹콩의 대역습; RRKing Kong eui daeyeokseup), is a 1976 monster film. An international co-production between South Korea and the United States, the film was produced by Kukje Movies and the Lee Ming Film Co. (South Korea) and Worldwide Entertainment (U.S.), and was shot in 3-D using the Space-Vision process. Directed by Paul Leder and featuring special effects by Park Kwang Nam, the film stars Joanna Kerns, Rod Arrants and Alex Nicol. It marked an early film appearance by Kerns, later known for her work in television.

A*P*E was released at approximately the same time as Dino De Laurentiis' 1976 remake of King Kong. The film is regarded by some critics as a Z movie. In later years, the film was released under the titles Attack of the Giant Horny Gorilla (for its 1982 re-release on the grindhouse circuit)[2][better source needed] and Hideous Mutant (for its original home video release).[3][better source needed]

Plot

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A 36-foot-gorilla escapes from an oil tanker off the coast of South Korea. After battling with a giant great white shark, the ape reaches land. Shortly after, actress Marilyn Baker arrives in Korea to shoot a film, followed by her lover and journalist Tom. As the United States Military begins receiving reports of sightings of an unknown creature, the commanding officers initially dismiss them as nonsense. They rationalize the evidence, such as giant footprints, as being the work of the film production, joking someone should ask the creature if its name is "King Kong". The ape fights a giant python before a confrontation with archers, who attack but are unable to kill the massive primate. The U.S. military, consulting with Captain Kim of the South Korean Police, become convinced the reports are genuine. However, the officers cover up the truth from the media as Tom prods for answers.

Tom drops by the film set as Marilyn is filming a rape scene; he warns her after a cut that the ape is still at large and has killed people. Though she is skeptical of their relationship and his seriousness, they kiss. As the ape destroys entire villages, the military forcibly evacuates rural areas, and refugees flood the cities. The ape then emerges onto the filming location, where Marilyn, running as part of her performance, unwittingly lands into its paw. It carries her into the mountains, and the army gives Colonel Davis orders to capture the beast alive.

While the prehistoric creature battles helicopters, destroying a handful and giving the others the middle finger, Tom rescues Marilyn. The monster then enters Seoul, following Tom and Marilyn, and begins damaging buildings. After the creature kidnaps Marilyn again, tanks and increased firepower bring the beast down, and Tom and Marilyn are reunited.

Cast

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  • Rod Arrants as Tom Rose
  • Joanna Kerns as Marilyn Baker
  • Alex Nicol as Colonel Davis
  • Lee Nak-hoon as Captain Kim
  • Yeon-jeong Woo as Mrs. Kim
  • Jerry Harke as Lt. Smith
  • Larry Chandler as First Mate
  • Walt Myers as Seaman
  • J.J. Gould as Soldier in Jeep
  • Charles Johnson as American Tourist
  • Paul Leder as Dino
  • Choi Sung Kwan as Film Producer
  • Bob Kurcz as American Actor
  • Jules Levey as Reporter
  • Josh Luckritz as School Child #1
  • Park Kwang Nam as Ape

Production

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U.S. theatrical poster for A*P*E.

A*P*E was an expedited production meant to capitalize on the upcoming release of Dino DeLaurentis' King Kong (1976).[citation needed] The entire budget for A*P*E was $23,000 and the special effects budget for the miniature buildings was only $1,200.[1] The film was shot in just 14 days.[1] Several plot elements, such as a giant gorilla's relationship with an American actress, are essentially lifted from the King Kong story.

When the film was going into production in February 1976, it was announced as The New King Kong and was advertised as such via a teaser poster in Boxoffice magazine.[4][better source needed] When RKO Pictures discovered this, they filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against A*P*E's production company.[5] The title of the film was subsequently changed to Super Ape in June 1976,[6][better source needed] then to A*P*E on October 1, 1976, and the tagline "Not to be confused with King Kong" was added to the theatrical posters and movie trailer. However, the company still managed to use King Kong's name, not only in its native South Korea, but also in some international markets, where the film was known as Super King Kong[7] and King Kong Returns,[8][failed verification] respectively.

The film's title A*P*E is jokingly explained as an abbreviation of "Attacking Primate monstEr", with the deliberate intention to spoof the acronym title of M*A*S*H, a popular 1970 film and subsequent 1972–1983 television series that was based in Korea, where A*P*E was produced.[citation needed]

In one scene, the movie pitted the titular giant ape against a huge great white shark, meant as a spoof on Jaws, a movie about a giant shark made a year earlier. In August 1978, the cover of Famous Monsters magazine referenced the scene.[9]

A*P*E was released theatrically in North America in October 1976,[10] merely two months before the release of King Kong.

Reception

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In a contemporary review from October 4, 1976, Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune called the film "exactly what the annoying television ads make it out to be—a cheap Korean-made picture attempting to cash in on the new, multimillion-dollar 'King Kong' film due at Christmas." He added that "we never see the monster stand next to any people, because that would give away the monster's actual size as it rips apart a rubber shark, model boat, model helicopter, and cardboard town."[10] He later put it on his list of the worst films released in Chicago during 1976.[11]

Much of the commentary on A*P*E focuses on the film's low-quality special effects. For example, John Wilson, creator of the Golden Raspberry Awards, claims that the ape suit used in the film "looks more like your grandmother's lamb's wool coat collar than an actual simian." He also remarks that "a five-year old could spot the [model buildings and vehicles] as phony."[12] Wilson also describes the film's music as "one of the worst movie soundtracks of all time."[12] Other critics have noted that the size of the ape appears to change throughout the film, and that the ape actor's T-shirt is visible through holes in his costume. At one point, the ape throws a snake at the camera and "the snake hits the camera, making it shake."[13]

Monster movie critic Mike Bogue stated, "A*P*E may not be the worst giant monster movie ever made, but it would have to chart high on any Top Ten Worst list." Citing elements such as the ape vomiting and dancing to the film's score, Bogue states that "as the genre magazine Castle of Frankenstein used to say in its movie reviews, this one is so bad it has to be seen to be disbelieved."[14]

In reviewing A*P*E, along with other King Kong parodies, Roy Morton states that the film "quickly degenerates into a dreadfully campy spoof." He speculates that on realizing the low quality of their production, the producers deliberately tried to make an already bad film worse in the hope that moviegoers would laugh with them, instead of at them. To that end, Morton states that while cinematically inferior to The Mighty Peking Man (1977), A*P*E does have an "it's so bad it's good" cult film appeal the aforementioned film lacks. Nevertheless, he closes his review stating that the scene where the ape looks directly at the audience and gives everyone watching its movie "the finger" sums up the entire film.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Podcast on Fire Network Bonus Episode 7: A*P*E (podcast). Podcast on Fire. November 16, 2012.
  2. ^ "Attack of the Giant Horny Gorilla promotional poster". Retrieved 2014-09-27.
  3. ^ "킹콩의 대역습 - Ape (1976)". www.mydvdlist.co.kr. Retrieved 2009-06-30.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "The New King Kong".
  5. ^ Jones, Stephen (2000). The Essential Monster Movie Guide. Titan Publishing Group. p. 36.
  6. ^ "3D Features and Shorts 1966 - 1997". 3-D Film Archive. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  7. ^ "Super King Kong (Turkish Poster)". Motion Picture Art. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2014-09-27.
  8. ^ "King Kong Returns (French Poster)".
  9. ^ "Jaws vs Ape". Famous Monsters. No. 146. Warren Publishing. August 1978.
  10. ^ a b Siskel, Gene (October 4, 1976). "Slow film lives up to track record". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  11. ^ Siskel, Gene (January 2, 1977). "Reeling off the top 10 films in the year of Hollywood remakes". Chicago Tribune.
  12. ^ a b Wilson, John (2005). The Official Razzie Movie Guide. New York: Warner Books. pp. 7–9.
  13. ^ "A*P*E". atomicmonsters.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  14. ^ Bogue, Mike. "American Kaiju: Mike Bogue's Articles and Reviews: A*P*E". americankaiju.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  15. ^ Morton, Ray (2005). King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon. New York: Applause Theater and Cinema Books. p. 300.
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