When I first saw this movie I hated it. My girlfriend and I both thought this was just another bit of low budget cinematic stinkweed. Well that was many years ago. We recently found the movie on DVD and wondered "Could it really have been as bad as we remember?" and picked it up.
So the answer is yes, it really was as bad as we remember but we developed a new respect for this picture after hearing director Nick Phillips talk about when he went through making it and how the actors really believed in the project. With only $30K to work with they worked for 5 weeks (I guess no one could afford to quite their real jobs so they had to shoot when everybody could get away) to complete the project.
Ethel Janowsky (Priscilla Alden) is released from a mental hospital in the custody of he grandmother. Ethel likes to eat, no she LOVES to eat! She starts her day with a dozen eggs, a pound of bacon and half a loaf pf bread and 2 hours later she is ready for a snack! This is not a woman you want to invite over for dinner. When Granny locks up the food and declares that Ethel will have to diet whether she likes it or not Ethel becomes . . . well . . . you saw the title of the movie, right? After skewering Granny with a butcher knife Ethel unlocks the treasure chest . . . er . . . I mean the food cabinet and starts chowing down.
Of course life for her does not become idyllic. She has to kill the grocery delivery guy when he demands that she pay her back bill ($80, a hefty amount back in 1975), then her doctor shows up wanting to know why Ethel has not shown up for electro-shock therapy and he gets a shock of his own when she kills him. Then her slutty sister moves in with her sleazy boyfriend/pimp and starts turning tricks in the neighbourhood. As if that weren't bad enough those corpses locked in Grandma's bedroom are beginning to rot and there is only so much that air freshener can cover up. What's a fat, food addict, serial killer to do? Well, she could always . . . oops almost let it slip. Find out for yourself, you might guess the ending but even if you do you will not be disappointed.
Gore is plentiful but the killings are unconvincing and, dare I say it, reminded me of Andy Milligan's homemade gore effects. When Ethel bashes in someone's head it's obvious she is barely tapping them while these loud THUMPS are on the soundtrack; ditto when she uses the meat cleaver on her sister and her boyfriend. Still, director Phillips did the best he could (he admitted later that the stage blood they used was a little too red and thick).
Ten years later Phillips brought Ms. Alden back to do CRAZY FAT ETHEL, a shot-on-video sequel that probably had an ever lower budget.
CRIMINALLY INSANE is on DVD now with its sequel and a bonus film, SATAN'S BLACK WEDDING, also directed by Phillips. Do yourself a favour and skip that one.
So the answer is yes, it really was as bad as we remember but we developed a new respect for this picture after hearing director Nick Phillips talk about when he went through making it and how the actors really believed in the project. With only $30K to work with they worked for 5 weeks (I guess no one could afford to quite their real jobs so they had to shoot when everybody could get away) to complete the project.
Ethel Janowsky (Priscilla Alden) is released from a mental hospital in the custody of he grandmother. Ethel likes to eat, no she LOVES to eat! She starts her day with a dozen eggs, a pound of bacon and half a loaf pf bread and 2 hours later she is ready for a snack! This is not a woman you want to invite over for dinner. When Granny locks up the food and declares that Ethel will have to diet whether she likes it or not Ethel becomes . . . well . . . you saw the title of the movie, right? After skewering Granny with a butcher knife Ethel unlocks the treasure chest . . . er . . . I mean the food cabinet and starts chowing down.
Of course life for her does not become idyllic. She has to kill the grocery delivery guy when he demands that she pay her back bill ($80, a hefty amount back in 1975), then her doctor shows up wanting to know why Ethel has not shown up for electro-shock therapy and he gets a shock of his own when she kills him. Then her slutty sister moves in with her sleazy boyfriend/pimp and starts turning tricks in the neighbourhood. As if that weren't bad enough those corpses locked in Grandma's bedroom are beginning to rot and there is only so much that air freshener can cover up. What's a fat, food addict, serial killer to do? Well, she could always . . . oops almost let it slip. Find out for yourself, you might guess the ending but even if you do you will not be disappointed.
Gore is plentiful but the killings are unconvincing and, dare I say it, reminded me of Andy Milligan's homemade gore effects. When Ethel bashes in someone's head it's obvious she is barely tapping them while these loud THUMPS are on the soundtrack; ditto when she uses the meat cleaver on her sister and her boyfriend. Still, director Phillips did the best he could (he admitted later that the stage blood they used was a little too red and thick).
Ten years later Phillips brought Ms. Alden back to do CRAZY FAT ETHEL, a shot-on-video sequel that probably had an ever lower budget.
CRIMINALLY INSANE is on DVD now with its sequel and a bonus film, SATAN'S BLACK WEDDING, also directed by Phillips. Do yourself a favour and skip that one.