Crazy As Hell (2002)

Wow! Such a good movie.

How sad is this?

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

I'd never heard of "Crazy As Hell" before seeing it, but I watched it on a whim. It was entertaining enough to keep my attention, but I was kind of waiting for it to end. The film just lacked intensity, which was odd considering the subject matter. Sadly, it just kind of dragged and not a whole lot happened. It felt like a Twilight Zone episode that was stretched into a two hour film. And, like many old Twilight Zone episodes, it dealt with a very one-dimensional character with a painfully obvious character flaw (in this case: arrogance/ego). Our main character isn't all that likable and doesn't seem to have anything at stake, so why should I care what happens to him? There are a lot of not-so-subtle clues and symbols. Oddly, many of them seemed like plot flaws and turned out to be intentional later on. For example (without giving anything away) in first scene, Ty stops his car then back up and accidentally backs his car over a glass bottle right behind his tire - why didn't he run it over it when he first pulled up? I dismissed this as a movie mistake, but it actually made sense in retrospect. Like a lot of the movie, it was so simple and obvious that I actually DIDN'T notice it.

First of all I did not know Mr. Lasalle was so talented. I watch this film over and over. Its story plot is very prophetic. If you pay very close attention to things in the movie you will understand its underlying plot. I don't want to give any other information as it may spoil the view for you. This film has not gotten the recognition it should have, which is very unfortunate. Anyone concerned or not concerned about their spirituality should watch this movie...I don't know what Mr. Lasalles driving force for making this movie was. But I would sure like to know what he was thinking when he wrote this story.This movie is definitely a must see. If you watch it and like spread the word. I didn't see it until 2005 and the only way I heard about it was by word of mouth.

I felt that I needed to comment on this film for a couple of reasons. (smiles) Raysond mentioned "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", "Shock Corridor", and "Girl, Interrupted", but neglected to add in what, I feel, is a worthy addition to said list of movies that actually portray mental illness and the institutions to which we relegate the unfortunate souls who suffer from these illnesses of the mind. The movie I felt was left off that list was "Gothika", and I thought, often, of that particular film while watching this one...What happens when the border between the Psychiatrist and the Patient is crossed, or breached, or, in the case of the movie from which I take my name, "Mister Frost", violated outright? Psychiatry and Psychology is the Religion for the "New Millennium". These Doctors with their PhD's are the new Priesthood. As was said several times in this movie (Crazy As Hell) and was mentioned in a couple of the other movies, these Doctors -- quite a lot of the time, I should think -- do not really view their patients as people. They are, at best, "cases" to be solved. Or, at worst, as the Psychiatrist in this movie was accused of, "...another notch in the win column": Another successful wager won… In the movie "Mister Frost", the Devil (Portrayed Amazingly well by Jeff Goldblum) says, "Because I'm chaos, it is my destiny to destroy." At the end of the day that is what this movie (as well as "Gothika") is truly about: Our fear of the destruction of our sanity by chaos. We all know that we walk a truly fine line between the sane and the insane, one that is made all the more precarious by the ever-changing opinions of society and the medical profession as to what constitutes "sanity". How many of us have feared that we might wind up locked away in one of these wards, against our wills and without recourse? Trapped there among the terribly wrong and delusional inmates, who would believe that we were sane? And, of course, this begs the question, "Are any of us TRULY sane?" As one character in "Gothika" points out, "You can't trust someone who thinks you're crazy." "Crazy As Hell" I would rank right up there with the best, easily, of the purely psychological thrillers. It portrays its contrasts using tricks of light and shadow…a blurring of what is real and what is not…from sharp focus to a soft blur… Director Eriq La Salle has us hook, line and sinker from start to finish… It was very refreshing to see an ending on a movie FOR ONCE that I just hadn't seen coming whatsoever. I didn't even pick up on the Hades/Sedah connection until after the movie was over.I felt that the way the production designer MUST have worked with the set designers and property masters was particularly effective. As the main character's world slowly crumbles over the course of the movie his environment and the objects contained in it begin to reflect this slow shifting of sanity into insanity. For example, the pictures and certificates on the walls of his office become progressively askew as the movie progresses, as do the Rorschach Ink Blots on the walls in the corridor leading to the ward the main character is put in charge of for the purposes of the documentary which is being filmed.This movie does have some shortcomings, as do all movies, but they are easily glossed over and are not severe enough to mention. Nor will these minor shortcomings (mostly in the realm of technical issues) detract from the basic enjoyment of what is a very enjoyable movie.Psychosis is an all-pervading mental disorder. Those who suffer from it DO NOT understand the distinction between "consensual reality" and their own particular version. How can any of us truly ever know if we are sitting here, right now, or if we are locked away, forgotten, in a mental ward somewhere hopelessly banging our heads against the wall…?As Jeff Goldblum's character in "Mister Frost" says, "I'm the Ga Ga Man! Boo!"

There were parts of this film which I did not like at all, because of the initial portrayal of the hospital and the patients. I worked Psych for 9 years and there were some scenes that were true to life, but overall, they were played for shock/humour. Having said this, I was distracted from these shortcomings by the excellent acting of the entire cast and when Mr.La Salle and Mr. Beach encounter each other, the sparks fly. I had no idea where the film was going but I was glad for the ride; these two guys display their talents and there is no doubt that you are seeing two masters at work. Some of the characters seemed superfluous to me, but the author did also write the screen play so I'll assume that he knew what he was doing (Big of me, don't you think?) I didn't care for the ending,and frankly, I thought it was an unoriginal cop-out, but the lead up to it - the chase, the revelation, made it bearable. Also, is there anything Ronnie Cox can't do?