Review of "The VelociPastor"
I wrote this paper, which was an extra credit fun assignment for a first-year undergraduate psychology course from Fall 2023 at City College. The professor asked us to review a movie from a list of tacky horror movies and include a diagnosis for the primary character. The movie I chose to review was The VelociPastor. I have displayed my review below.
Review of "The VelociPastor"
"The VelociPastor" is an absurd blend of action and comedy, where low-budget charm and intentional tackiness combine to shine. The film revolves around a Pastor, Doug, whose life takes a surreal turn after the tragic death of his parents. In grief, Doug uncovers ancient Chinese ninja powers, which transform him into a velociraptor dinosaur in his deepest moments of rage.
Doug's transformation is at the heart of the film. Doug’s physical change, into a literal dinosaur, replete with tacky dinosaur costume, runs side by side with Doug’s psychological change. Doug moves from being a naive and idealistic pastor, through interactions with Carol, a pre-med-law student and prostitute, to becoming a vigilante with eyes wide open to the harsh realities of life. Doug embraces his newfound ancient Chinese dinosaur powers to fight evils. Uncovering evil’s roots at the highest ranks of the church, the same one from which he was forced to defect.
The film does a great job commenting on the disconnect between religious idealism and the pragmatic demands of the real world along with the nefarious intent of some insincere church leaders. It cleverly portrays Doug’s personal narrative as an allegory for a societal hunger for authentic experiences and solutions, beyond the reach of traditional religious rhetoric. It does all this with its self-aware, tacky, absurdist, comic-book-esque ridiculous gore.
While the film successfully delivers on its comedic aesthetic and the tackling of the dichotomy of piety and primality. It falls short in addressing some other broader societal issues. The film could have benefitted from extending its absurd, gory satire to topics like gender equality, beauty standards, and race relations. More could have been done to comment on the Chinese Ninjas, or to expand the cast of characters to contain hero roles for those who didn't look like Abercrombie and Fitch models. I hope any sequel expands its treatment to include these topics.
From a psychological standpoint, Doug's character could be interpreted as exhibiting Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). This condition, potentially stemming from the trauma of his parents' death, manifests in his drastic shifts from a devout pastor to a dinosaur. This duality encapsulates the film’s central theme: the conflict between adhering to moral ideals and embracing one’s more primal, instinctual side. DID could have been brought on as a result of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after his parents tragic death. Doug also may be exhibiting aspects of schizophrenia if he is hallucinating dramatic battles as a dinosaur with Chinese ninjas, or Doug may be having episodes of psychosis.
In conclusion, "The VelociPastor" is a unique artistic experience that combines comedy, gore and absurd self aware tacky action. It humorously embraces its low-budget constraints, and also delves into deeper themes like faith, primality, and psychological struggle. Despite missing some opportunities to explore wider societal issues, it remains a memorable romp into a new mash-up style of surreal cinema. "The VelociPastor" not only entertains but presents a product that challenges societal structures through a novel medium and unique experience.
