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Released by: Heretic Films
Released on: February 28, 2006.
Director: Justin Paul Ritter
Cast: Helene Udy
Year: 2005
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The Movie:
Justin Ritter cut his teeth working for Roger Corman on all manner of low budget productions but after getting fed up with what he felt were poor projects he inevitably opted to branch out on his own and thus was born, KatieBird - Certifiable Crazy Person. Don't let the goofy title fool you, this is an extremely impressive directorial debut from a director that, if this film is anything to go by, shows a whole lot of potential and could be one to watch.
When the film begins, KatieBird Wilkins (Helene Udy, who showed up in Pin and My Bloody Valentine) is just finishing up a session with her psychiatrist, Dr. Richardson (Todd Gordon) before hopping into bed and riding him - obviously theirs is not the normal kind of doctor/patient relationship. At any rate, after they've done their business, he finds himself chained up in bed and it's at this point that KatieBird decides to tell him that he will be her last victim, but not before she tells him about her first time - he is her psychiatrist after all.
Through flashback scenes, we learn of childhood (where she's played by Nicole Jarvis) and then, more importantly, her teenage years (where she's played by Taylor M Dooley), her unusual relationship with her strange father, Merl Wilkins (Lee Perkins), who taught her the finer points of using a hammer and pliers on a victim, and the boy that shunned her and earned her wrath, Kevin (Jun Hee Lee of American Pie Presents: Band Camp). As the sins of the father are passed on through the bloodline, we learn how KatieBird became who she is, as does the unfortunate Dr. Richardson.
Shot and edited completely digitally, KatieBird takes some getting used to right from the start, as pretty much the entire movie is told using multiple panels or split screen. Until you're able to get your mind around this rather unconventional approach to storytelling, it's a difficult film to watch as you find yourself concentrating on one piece of the picture rather than the whole. Thought this might prove frustrating at first (in fact, it does), once you've conditioned yourself to the technique it actually works really well and seems less an exercise in style over substance than it does a different way to showing the condition of the lead character's obviously fractured psyche. As KatieBird's mind starts to come apart, so does the picture. This won't work for everyone and personally this reviewer can see how it will probably divide audiences once the DVD is available, but in the context of the narrative, once you get over the initial hurdle, it is quite effective even if it is overkill at times.
Once you get your head around that, you're left with a well written and well acted low budget film that proves to be genuinely disturbing on the level of better independent fare like Scrapbook or even Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer. The performances are quite solid, with Udy delivering a genuinely eerie turn as the lead and Gordon doing an admirable job as her unwitting victim. When you take into account the issues that she has with men based on the way she was raised and how she's been treated, you kind of have to see what happens to the good doctor coming, but that's probably the point and when we finally do get around to seeing how she pulls it off, the movie becomes as visually disturbing as anything in recent memory (and this includes more extreme fare like Murder Set Pieces or August Underground, though honestly that's like comparing apples to oranges…). If you're squeamish when it comes to teeth as a lot of people are, you'll be watching this one through the fingers that will inevitably be covering your face.
The film isn't perfect as at times the split screen effects make it tough to follow in a few spots but for a low budget movie working within the limitations that the lack of a huge budget brings to a production, Ritter has pulled it off and he's done it really well. This is one that will stick with you for a while, and the more it sets in the uglier it really gets.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The anamorphic 1.85.1 widescreen transfer is a bit too dark in some spots but otherwise looks very good on DVD. The reds and blues in particular that are used throughout the modern portion of the narrative provide a striking look for those scenes and all of the gruesome detail of the finale is as clear as you could hope fore. Some aliasing and mild compression artifacts are present but otherwise this is a fine looking presentation.
The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound mix on this DVD is very good indeed. The dialogue is clean and clear throughout and the music and especially the sound effects come through with clarity and audible precision. Bass levels are strong but not overpowering and there isn't a single trace of hiss or distortion present anywhere on this track. A true Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1 Surround Sound mix might have helped things a bit during some of the more intense scenes but otherwise, there's little too complain about here.
First up, in terms of supplements, is a full length audio commentary track from director Justin Paul Ritter who is joined by three of the performers - Helene Udy, Taylor M. Dooley and Lee Perkins. This is a lively and informative track that does a fine job of detailing reality of life on a movie set and the hard work that goes into getting a project completed. Ritter dominates the track and he explains some of the casting decisions, as well as how a lot of the effects work was done and some of the cinematography, while the performers explain bits and pieces of what they liked or didn't like about their characters and their work
in the film.
A fifteen-minute featurette entitled Movies Not Excuses gives us a look at the making of the movie through cast and crew interviews. While the interviews themselves are quite interesting and informative, Ritter's bookend segments in which he beats us over the head with his work ethic manifesto fast becomes tiresome - we know making movies, at least making movies well, is hard work and hearing him reiterate how much of his time and efforts were eaten up by this project borders on egotism. That being said, hearing the stories from the trenches out of the mouths of those who were there in this documentary proves to make it worthwhile.
Also well worth watching is an all too brief segment on the effects work that was created for the film. At only a minute and a half this is too short but we do get a keen look behind the scenes including some great footage that shows us how Gordon's make up was applied for his final scene.
Rounding out the extra features are a trio of Easter Eggs, trailers for other Heretic Films DVD releases such as Sacred Flesh and Red Cockroaches, and a brief set of liner notes from writer/director Justin Paul Ritter. It should also be noted that the first five thousand copies of the DVD come with the film's soundtrack on a compact disc housed inside the keepcase (which itself rests inside a slipcover). While you're probably not going to put this on when you host your next dance party (you do host dance parties, don't you?) this is an eerie little batch of music here and it's a nice touch having all seventeen tracks from the score included, with the track listing printed on the front of the disc itself. A chapter listing is included on the back of the interior cover art, and the film itself also comes with animated menus and a chapter selection menu.
The Final Word:
An impressive and thoroughly unsettling low budget horror film, KatieBird - Certifiable Crazy Person gets a fine release from Heretic Films that looks and sounds quite good and which contains some solid extra features.