DVD Review: The Legend Of The Psychotic Forest Ranger

By Brad Henderson

Eighties throwback films are getting more and more popular every year. Some of these films are pretty incredible while others fall flat and just don’t hit the notes. You sometimes have a film that falls in between and that is exactly where The Legend Of The Psychotic Forest Ranger ends up.

There are films that are serious throwbacks and then there are comedies. Comedies tend to show up more frequently because it is easier to make fun of these kinds of movies and not take the serious approach. With a title such as The Legend Of Psychotic Forest Ranger you can expect a comedy and that is exactly what you get.

The film’s setup is good with a great killer who reminded me quite a bit of the killer in Psycho Cop with his one-liners and kills. However, I think the execution was lacking with this film. Certain things that happen are hilarious, but most of it seems like they were trying too hard to get a laugh. Sure, there are funny moments but after a while it just gets a little old because it feels like they relied too much on the “callbacks” and cheeseball stuff they set up in the beginning. I should add that it’s hard to please me with a comedy; I’m a little tougher on them than I should be.

I did enjoy the intentional plot holes, which I thought were genius. Not too many films like this actually set up plot holes. Usually they depend on the dialogue for a laugh, but The Legend Of The Psychotic Forest Ranger had little goofs throughout. They were pretty great but still not enough to sell me on this film.

I love what the filmmakers were trying to do and while the film isn’t boring at all, it kind of felt they were promising more than what was presented. I felt they could have been more creative. Everything else in the film is good, including the music and gore. Not much can be said for the acting because everyone is terrible, but that’s exactly how they’re supposed to be. So if terrible acting was their goal, then they all nailed it.

The Legend Of The Psychotic Forest Ranger definitely has its moments and I’m sure it could have a decent fan base once the word gets out about it. I would love to see this film get a little more recognition, because I know it would grab some people. Sadly, it just wasn’t for me.

The Legend Of The Psychotic Forest Ranger was released on DVD by Black Fawn Distribution.