Diagonaldi Very well executed
Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
lemon_magic "Criminally Insane" is one those movies so uncompromisingly itself that watching it becomes almost an "arthouse" movie experience. The dreariness and awfulness never let up, even for an instant, and the cheapness of the production ends up working in the movie's favor and increasing the impact. I have to rate it a "2", because, let's face it, "Criminally Insane" is TERRIBLE. Compared to this movie, John Waters made Disney comedies (because as awful as his film families were, the members seemed to care about and love each other) and Herschel Gordon Lewis was making Cole Porter musicals. But I will admit - watching this for the first time is a memorable experience.
jwvongoethe1800 The first time I have heard of this title was in an review by The cinema snob. Judging from his review, I saw how bad this movie was. I than looked for the full movie. And OH MY GOD WAS THIS MOVIE BAD.I will now explain the story. You see that this review has no spoiler warning, because you can tell the plot in just one line: An obese mental patient who kills everyone who is standing between her and the fridge. That's the entire story in a nutshell, there are some other things like the characters and the ending that I won't tell you (you can watch the cinema snob's review if you want to know that).The "effects" on the blood are just cheap. The actors (if you can call them) don't look at the person they are talking to, and the music is driving me Criminally Insane.This is an Z grade movie, so I am not surprised by the fact that this movie sucks, but I have to admit that this movie is hilarious, because of how bad it was. AVOID THIS AT ALL COSTS!!! (especially the sequel)
CMRKeyboadist The 70's is truly a great era for cult cinema. With classics like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "Last House on the Left", "I Drink Your Blood", "The Crazies", etc, it is no doubt that we have a gem of a movie called "Crazy Fat Ethel" or better known as "Criminally Insane". Although, far more low-budget than some of the other horror/slasher flicks coming out at the time (not by much, though) this was a whole lot of fun and is certainly not a waste of 1 hour (that's right, the movie is 1 hour and 1 minute long).The story starts with Fat Ethel being released from an insane asylum. Her kind Grandmother picks her up and takes her to her townhouse in the city. One night Ethel decides to go downstairs for a midnight snack and discovers that all of the food has been locked away. It turns out that Granny wants to put Ethel on a diet. Well, poor Granny gets sliced up with a butcher knife thus starting Fat Ethel's murderous rampage. She kills the grocery boy when she doesn't have enough money to pay him. She kills a friend of her Grandmother's who is just checking in. She even murders her sister and her slimy boyfriend.That is most of the movie. I won't give the ending away but there is a sequel, so you can imagine how this movie ends. For the most part, this movie was a great "B" slasher from 1975. It's funny to think that the term "Slasher" isn't really recognized until "Halloween" and "The Friday the 13th" movies came along. But no doubt, this is definitely a slasher. For most of the murder scenes Fat Ethel is slicing people up with either a butcher knife or a meat cleaver. And though it isn't very gory it makes up for it with all the excessive blood use.If you are looking for a campy, no-budget, 70's slasher check this one out. I am glad I did. 8/10
udar55 CRIMINALLY INSANE is a real treat for cult horror fans. Don't get me wrong, it is no classic and plays like a low rent H.G. Lewis film (yes, you read that right) but there is just something inherently appealing about this film.The story is incredibly simple (Ethel kills nearly everyone she encounters) with few surprises (the end is a shocker though) but the film is infused with some great moments of black humor. The star of the film is, of course, Priscilla Alden as the criminally insane Ethel. I will stand my ground when I say the film's success rests firmly on her shoulders. Scenes of her repeatedly stabbing her grandmother while yelling, "I want that key! I want that key!" or her taking out a grocery store delivery boy are played perfectly. Despite Millard's claim that the got professional actors from Los Angeles, this is strictly amateur hour (sharp eyed viewers will catch a clean shaved George "Buck" Flower in there though). Strangely, all of this works to the film's benefit, creating some incredibly surreal moments.The film is filled with plenty of these "what the hell" moments. For instance, Ethel's sister Rosalie and her abusive boyfriend John move in. During a bedroom romp, John explains to Rosalie that he beats her because "baby, sometime you need to be beaten." How does she react to this misogynist viewpoint? Why by embracing him and giving him a kiss! The film is incredibly cheap and Millard makes no bones about it. In fact, he is oddly proud of what appears on screen for his $30,000 ("the biggest budget I have ever had," he claims). Watching this type of "do it yourself" cinema reminds me of the aforementioned H.G. Lewis, the cult films from Something Weird or Frank Henenlotter's debut BASKET CASE. It may not be pretty but it is definitely entertaining.
