Space Bikers-Return to Blig (2025)

-Written by Kyle Bain.

Bud (Brandon Horsford) has a job to do, and on his journey he finds a way to make some extra money. As he analyzes and begins to understand the intricacies of the banking industry, he knows that he’s in for the haul of a lifetime. Space Bikers-Return to Blig is Writer-Director Apostoly Peter Kouroumalis’ venture back into this world of exotic bikers and animalistic cro-mags. 

Across Kouroumalis’ catalog of animated films, he’s never changed. I commend him for standing firm on his love for this unique type of animation, unwavering in his attempt to create something both retrospective and original. Space Bikers-Return to Blig falls in line with his animated films, presenting viewers with something quite exotic, while remaining simplistic and interestingly familiar. I’m no animator, nor am I a filmmaker–so I can’t begin to understand the process of making a film like this–but, again, while I commend Kouroumalis, I desperately want something more. Space Bikers-Return to Blig is obtuse, dense, troubling–and, honestly, that’s what I expected. 

Space Bikers-Return to Blig is unapologetic, unwilling to conform to cinematic conventions–and that’s true of everything from the aforementioned animation, to the voice acting, to the storytelling. Again, that’s great for Kouroumalis, but it’s not necessarily great for viewers–for those attempting to dissect the film and appreciate its purpose. Space Bikers-Return to Blig is a bit too silly to appreciate–and while satire, hyperbole, and the like certainly have a place in the world of filmmaking, Space Bikers-Return to Blig overuses these techniques and hinders its ability to reach audiences. 

What Space Bikers-Return to Blig does well, however, is present viewers with vivid and vibrant visuals. Again, Kouroumalis looks to simplicity in his filmmaking, and Space Bikers-Return to Blig is no exception, though the vibrancy of his animations are unique and present in a way that is interestingly appealing. 

Space Bikers-Return to Blig is a dense, yet shallow attempt at expressing the dangers of banking, the security that surrounds it, and the individuals in the throes of the hustle and bustle of that aforementioned banking. Space Bikers-Return to Blig wants to be a social commentary, a film that analyzes societal and capitalistic norms–but there are more than a handful of moments in this nine-minute film that steal from Kouroumalis' attempts. Space Bikers-Return to Blig struggles from the start, and while there are moments in which I believe that the attempts don’t go unnoticed, there is far too much inconsequential exposition, that it’s sometimes hard to even care.

Written & Directed by Apostoly Peter Kouroumalis. 

Starring Brandon Horsford, Patrick Willumsen, Toly A.K., John Priest, Ian Keiller, etc. 

3.5/10 = WORTH WATCHING, BUT YOU’VE BEEN WARNED