Criminally Insane/Review

Review #2

Ethel Janowski (Priscilla Alden) has some issues. She can't stop eating! After spending some time with Mr. Electro-schock-therapist, Ethel is released and is looking to return back to normal at her grandmother's place in San Francisco. It looks like the plans for a diet have gone completely out of the window as Ethel starts her morning off frying nearly a pound of bacon to go with her 6 scrambled eggs and toast! (Even though we will eventually enter into "Gory" territory with this movie, I must say that even this level of food excess had my stomach turning) Later on that night, Ethel seeks out a midnight snack (Even though she's occupied the kitchen nearly all day long) but to her surprise, she finds the fridge empty. Grandma has locked all the food away! Granny then tells Ethel that it's for her own good, but Ethel isn't going to listen to anyone's advice for the remainder of the movie. She just wants to eat! And as we'll soon find out, she will KILL to eat!

Being that this is only a 61-minute movie (I've yet to see a Nick Phillips movie that runs into 90 minutes) and the fact the story is as simple as they come, it's hard to go into great detail without giving away plenty of spoilers. What I will say though is that if you like your grindhouse movies with sloppy filmmaking, a high bodycount, cheap effects, and filled with weak acting, then you'll have to look no further than Criminally Insane. What really helps this one is most of the eye-opening writing (Some of which will be immortalized down below) plus the concept seems to give you a good taste of what would happen if John Waters made a slasher film. (I'm talking about Waters in his heyday. Serial Mom doesn't count) Other good things to be found is a performance by exploitation-character actor, George "Buck" Flower playing a detective. And what may also be the coolest pimp slap I've ever seen in a exploitation flick!

Though some of the participants involved with this film would return a decade later for a loosely-based sequel, it's best we just have these memories because, like it or not, there's really nothing else that can compare with this oddity.

Reviewed by Laydback