I'm not totally sure what DVD was supposed to be inside this envelope but, no matter what the band DEK said, it couldn't have prepared us for the 16-minute short film shown here, in which a lo-fi gorilla (tall dude, gorilla suit, costume occasionally riding up to reveal human skin) leads a nerdy zookeeper on a chase around greater Pittsburg and terrorizes some kids in TSOL shirts, to the accompaniment of old-school circus music and punk-rock interludes.
It's the product of some kids with a video camera and some very devoted friends, but, in the grand tradition of chase films, fart jokes, smartass kids who fake-pick their noses, it's oddly compelling. Some of the segments last a little too long, especially when the zookeeper is being interviewed and the bad provides some random in-motion commentary, "Dude, I think you make a better zookeeper than gorilla chaser" is one key moment in the narrative, and it all ends up with a wild backyard punk-rock party as the band and the gorilla get down and dance together. Really, what more do you want? -Matthue Roth