Filmed in SpectaMation, no less.

BA_Harrison

Konga is, for the majority of its running time, a mundane mad scientist movie; only in its closing moments does the film become the desperate King Kong rip-off that its derivative title suggests. But that doesn't improve matters much.

The deranged doctor in question is botanist Charles Decker (Michael Gough), who, having been lost in the jungles of Uganda for over a year, finally returns home to England with Konga, his pet chimpanzee (UK quarantine regulations clearly non-existent back in the '60s), plus several specimens of rare insectivorous plant-life. Using these plants, Decker concocts a formula designed to generate rapid growth in animals and tests his serum on Konga, with incredible results: the chimp not only increases in size, but also turns into a gorilla!

Having added a little something to his concoction to ensure obedience, Decker then proceeds to use Konga to remove anyone who has been getting in his way, starting with the troublesome dean at his university, followed by a rival scientist, and then Bob, jealous boyfriend of Sandra (Claire Gordon), the pretty student that the dirty old doctor has designs on (can't say I blame him though: she definitely stands out from the other girls in his class!).

When Decker informs his besotted assistant Margaret (Margo Johns) of his plans to dispose of Konga, and she subsequently overhears him telling Sandra that he has no more use for her, she releases Konga, giving him one last blast in the arm of Decker's serum. As a result, the ape grows bigger than a house, kills Margaret, grabs Decker, and goes on the rampage in Croydon High Street, before legging it to London to be shot at by the army. After wasting much of their ammo shooting at Big Ben, the soldiers adjust their sights and bring Konga crashing to the ground (but only after he has thrown Decker to his death).

Not only does Konga suffer from a dreadfully dull and derivative script, but this utterly abysmal monster movie doesn't even compensate by delivering a half decent creature, it's over-sized ape being nothing more than a man in a really bad gorilla suit (which, incidentally, is the same one used in several other dreadful films, including z-grade sci-fi clunker Robot Monster). Fans of very bad movies might get a kick out of the wonderfully daft carnivorous plants in Decker's greenhouse, the dated scenes where the groovy students get down to some cool tunes on their transistor, and Sandra's rather dangerous looking bra, but most viewers will find little to go ape over.

score 3/10

BA_Harrison 4 July 2015

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3270007/