Down and out circus owner Mark Remington (an extremely cranky Anthony Eisley) and feisty lady trapper April Adams (a lively turn by Megan Timothy) venture into the African jungle to capture a giant ape named Gorga (director David Hewitt in a crummy and unconvincing dimestore gorilla suit) so Remington can exploit the beast in order to salvage his floundering business..
Boy, does this rock bottom cheapie strike out something awful in every possible way: Lifeless (mis)direction by Hewitt (who also co-wrote the talky and uneventful script), shoddy (far from) special effects, a dull and derivative story that unfolds at a painfully plodding pace (it takes seemingly forever for the titular oversized simian to show up), a laughable fight scene between Gorga and a huge plastic dinosaur, flat cinematography by Gary Graver, a native witch doctor played by a white guy in swarthy make-up, and a numbing emphasis on drab chitchat over action. Moreover, it's sad to see such familiar B-flick faces as Kent Taylor, Scott Brady (who at least gives it a game go as the greedy jerk bad guy), Gary Kent, William Bonner, and Greydon Clark slumming in this schlock for a quick paycheck. A real clunker.
Boy, does this rock bottom cheapie strike out something awful in every possible way: Lifeless (mis)direction by Hewitt (who also co-wrote the talky and uneventful script), shoddy (far from) special effects, a dull and derivative story that unfolds at a painfully plodding pace (it takes seemingly forever for the titular oversized simian to show up), a laughable fight scene between Gorga and a huge plastic dinosaur, flat cinematography by Gary Graver, a native witch doctor played by a white guy in swarthy make-up, and a numbing emphasis on drab chitchat over action. Moreover, it's sad to see such familiar B-flick faces as Kent Taylor, Scott Brady (who at least gives it a game go as the greedy jerk bad guy), Gary Kent, William Bonner, and Greydon Clark slumming in this schlock for a quick paycheck. A real clunker.