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 SATAN’S
BLACK WEDDING/CRIMINALLY INSANE (Retro
Shock O Rama) 1975/1987/2005 Running Time would have to be a guess.
Probably around five hours of material. Horror the good old fashioned way.
Rated R.
Satan’s Black
Wedding tells the poignant tale of Mark who travels to
California
when his sister is murdered. He discovers that she has been working on a
book on satanic worship. Then he spots his sister in the company of a
priest and it appears that what we have is a tale of corruption, vampires
and an unholy wedding between brother and sister to bring about …The
Antichrist!
EI Cinema has always done a magnificent job of bringing us
the erotic films of Nick Phillips. Now they decide to explore his small
portion of work concerned with horror. Nick does horror like he does
erotic; off kilter, weird, and definitely a period piece. It’s like a
slice of life from the 70’s on The West Coast.
Criminally Insane
gives us Ethel Janowski who tips the scales at 300 pounds. Just released
into her grandmother’s care from an insane asylum, Ethel lives to eat.
Grandma decides to put Ethel on a diet.
Bad idea. Ethel refuses
to let anyone come between her and her beloved food. She’ll kill to eat.
And after killing her own grandmother, how hard can it be to kill anyone
who wanders near the house?
Criminally Insane
is a low budget, grimy flick that tells a tale of madness. Priscilla Alden
(Ethel) steals the film from everyone else.
There is a pretty small cast to begin with and with the proper
swung utensils it doesn’t take long to get to last psycho standing.
The effects, like Satan’s
Black Wedding are crude at best, but still effective for the time
frame.
As bonuses we get commentary tracks from Nick Phillips on the
two films, there is a behind the scenes documentary that reunites Nick
with his star, Priscilla. And, if that wasn’t enough, EI Cinema includes
Criminally Insane 2. The sequel
that no one needed, but for an early shot on video film it works pretty
well. Of course, be warned that half of the film is flashbacks culled from
the first film. - Douglas A. Waltz
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