Directed by Paul Leder and featuring special effects by Park Kwang Nam, the film stars Joanna Kerns, Rod Arrants and Alex Nicol.

As the United States Military begins receiving reports of sightings of an unknown creature, the commanding officers initially dismiss them as nonsense.

While the prehistoric creature battles helicopters, destroying a handful and giving the others the middle finger, Tom rescues Marilyn.

[1] Several plot elements, such as a giant gorilla's relationship with an American actress, are essentially lifted from the King Kong story.

[5] The title of the film was subsequently changed to Super Ape in June 1976,[6][better source needed] then to A*P*E on October 1, 1976, and the tagline "Not to be confused with King Kong" was added to the theatrical posters and movie trailer.

For example, John Wilson, creator of the Golden Raspberry Awards, claims that the ape suit used in the film "looks more like your grandmother's lamb's wool coat collar than an actual simian."

Citing elements such as the ape vomiting and dancing to the film's 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.

"[14] In reviewing A*P*E, along with other King Kong parodies, Roy Morton states that the film "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.

Nevertheless, he closes his review stating that the scene where the ape looks directly at the audience and gives everyone watching its movie "the finger" sums up the entire film.