Touted by its trailer as “exploding with spectacle” in “SpectaMation” and “Eastman colour“, this daft, romping killer gorilla flick from lowbrow Brit director John Lemont (whose exuberant introduction on the DVD places him halfway between Derek Jacobi and Dale Winton) is a forgotten treasure of so-bad-it’s-good cinema, and a worthy addition to the shelves of any monster movie fan.
Michael Gough, the cult actor beloved for his portrayal of Alfred in Tim Burton’s Batman films, here stars as the Baron von Frankenstein-esque Dr. Dekker, an ambitious (read: crackers) boffin whose experiments with plants in Africa have lead him to believe that he can genetically alter the growth of animals, in this case an ape, causing them to reach enormous sizes. He declares to his assistant Margaret (Margo Johns) that these foreign plants will provide a new “link between vegetable and animal life“, and that if he can combine the genetic structure of droseraceae (venus flytrap) plants with that of animals, he’d create the sort of revolution which makes schools “tear up all the textbooks.”
If its synopsis sounds interesting, Konga soon falls into predictable genre beats, albeit without the allegorical shades of its best entries. From Godzilla (1954) to Big Man Japan (2007), the monster movie has always doubled as political commentary, using its giant beasties to comment on nuclear threat or capitalist excess, among other topics. For a short while Konga threatens to dip its toe into even more ambitious waters, as a scene where Dekker argues with his headmaster over teaching new ways of science can’t help but recall the Scopes Trial of 1925 (filmed in 1960 as Inherit The Wind) and the creation-evolution debate at its centre. But the idea evaporates almost as quickly as it transpired, and soon Dekker has Konga hypnotized, willing to undertake his master’s nefarious deeds without question.
Indeed, it soon becomes clear that Dr. Dekker won’t let anybody stand in the way of his ‘progress’ – not even the cat! In one of the film’s funniest scenes this loopy botanist mercilessly shoots his curious tabby, causing Margaret to recoil in such an affected, stage-school manner that you’d think he’d just flipped the channel from On The Buses to Gardeners’ World. Her reaction to his first human murder isn’t much more severe (along the lines of a scolding for burning toast), but both are indicative of the wonderful acting quality on display.
As Sandra (whose bullet bra is even more ludicrous than the plotting), Claire Gordon appears more like a waxwork than the assembled left wing of Madame Tussauds, and the fact that Lemont and co-writers Aben Kandel and Herman Cohen try to subvert the ditzy blonde image by making her a science geek oblivious to boys only makes her porn-grade acting all the funnier, and indeed the actress remains best known for her supporting work in modest sexploitation fare like Cool It Carol! (1972).
The film’s approach to narrative doesn’t differ much in its approach to characterisation and acting, but this is largely to its benefit. Lemont tears a page from Roger Corman’s Trash 101 by having a plane explode into a ball of screen-swallowing flame within two minutes of the (Saul Bass-esque) opening credits, and from here the pace only flags occasionally, with an unnecessary police investigation element souring the otherwise light and campy tone. In fact, the filmmakers tip their hats to Little Shop Of Horrors on several occasions, especially in the greenhouse of steak-eating venus flytraps, all made from pleasingly rubbery prosthetics. The best are the large, veiny, phallus-shaped bean plans with flickering tongues, quite obviously made last minute from craft paper in the script office.
Konga was advertised simultaneously alongside its Dean Owen-penned novelisation, and both were based on the Konga comics series which ran in the US between 1960 – 1965 (including work from Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko). With its bold, primary-coloured palette and pacy action, the film certainly resembles a comic book, but as this was one of the first major monster movies to be shot in colour, sadly the man-in-fluffy-cowhide look of Konga, played by Paul Stockman and not the renowned “ape” actor Steve Calvert, has its sewing joins and seams highlighted by the bright ECM photography, while they might have comfortably bled into the scheme of black and white.
But many of Konga’s flaws work retroactively in its favour, with the quaint setting, bad acting and shabby effects lending it an oddly endearing quality. If the film is most interesting as a time capsule (British horror had been living in the shadow of Hammer’s Dracula for three years now, making killer gorillas a fairly unique prospect) it’s still functional and entertaining as a genre piece, delivering a lot of laughs and some good action in the last twenty minutes. If you get a giggle out of penis plants and like the idea of seeing London crushed under the heel of a murderous primate, Konga might be worth searching out for a rainy Sunday afternoon.
The DVD/Extras
A solid restoration from Network which bears some fading, but for the most part preserves and enhances the original photography. Colours are well defined and the original aspect ratio properly served, meaning that this is likely the best release of Konga to date. Sound quality is also fine, but it’s disappointing that the extra features comprise only the original theatrical trailer and a stills slideshow. The sad death of Michael Gough in 2011 means that we never could have enjoyed an appearance from him, but given that Network got director John Lemont for the intro, one wonders why he didn’t oblige, or wasn’t asked to perform an interview for the extras. A shame.
Director: John Lemont
Stars: Michael Gough, Margo Johns, Jess Conrad
Runtime: 90 mins
Country: UK, USA
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