A*P*E - Reception

Reception

A*P*E has been described as one of the worst movies ever made, even appearing on the cover of The Official Razzie Movie Guide. Much of the commentary on A*P*E focuses on the film's low-quality special effects. For example, John Wilson 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 as phony." 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.

The film suffers from other problems besides poor special effects, however. The Korean extras, who are supposed to be fleeing in terror, can sometimes be seen with smiles on their faces, and the film's dialogue is occasionally chopped off by poor editing. Wilson even describes the film's music as "one of the worst movie soundtracks of all time."

In a scathing review, monster movie critic Mike Bogue states that "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 such things as the ape vomiting and the ape dancing to the film 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."

In reviewing A*P*E, along with other King Kong parodies, Roy Morton states that the film "is extremely cheesy" and that while it "begins with a reasonably serious tone," it "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, 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 a scene where the titular ape turns around after a victory to give the audience "the finger" sums up the entire film.