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Insaniac
Directed By John Specht
Released: 2002
Starring: Robin Garrels, Chris Grega, John Specht, and Derek Simmons
Robin Garrels plays Autumn, a troubled young lady in a mental institution. She has amnesia and her therapist (John Specht) is trying to help her recover the memories she has lost. As more and more of her memories are uncovered, it is clear that Autumn has been through a horrifying experience and has buried it deep within herself.
But is she ready to discover the truth of what really happened?
Insaniac is a micro budget production if there ever was one. Shot almost entirely in an abandoned office building in St. Louis, the movie has the look of an all out indie flick. Director Specht has a little trouble keeping the flow of the story going in a couple parts. There are a couple scenes where Autumn is just wondering around and they could have been tightened up or abandoned completely. There’s also
some of a recapping at the end of the flick that I could have done without. However, to his credit, the film has a nonlinear storyline which Specht never loses hold of.
Speaking of Autumn, Robin Garrels is awesome. She stars, co-wrote, and even co-produced this one. Miss Garrels has a lot of charm and portrays her character realistically. There is a scene where Autumn is lying bold-faced to her boyfriend which is perfect because it captures a person who is the total liar. She will stick to her poorly conceived fib despite the fact that she’s totally busted.
There are other likeable and tripped out characters in the movie. There’s an insane gun dealer named Jesus that flips out and starts shooting the floor. There is a pair of drug trafficking thugs in the movie that are such comical stereotypes, it’s impossible to take them seriously. The opening scene of the party is hilarious and filled with freaks.
Insaniac is definitely not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. It’s got poetry reading for god’s sake! The aforementioned small budget and the indie style acting will put
some folks out. This is also a genre bender. The most horrifying moments are the gore-soaked hallucinations in Autumn’s mind so it has more of a psychological spin. It also has a lot of crime drama elements to it that horror fans may not be as interested in as some.
In the end, Insaniac is a very bold undertaking for Sub Rosa. It is a
thoughtful departure from some of their other titles (see
The Christmas Season Massacre) so it may catch fans of their other works off guard. I can recommend this one to those who like a lot of art in their horror or vice versa.
For more information go to
Sub
Rosa Studios.
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