User Reviews

KatieBird* Certifiable Crazy Person: 2 out of 10: On the surface Katiebird has a lot of redeeming qualities. The story while not original is somewhat fresh (female serial killer mixed with Frailty like family touch) the acting is well above average for a low budget horror film (even a poor performance such as Todd Gordon's stiff (this is not a pun) psychiatrist is still better than most.) and the make up effects and original musical score, again despite some small faults, are well above average.

So what went so horribly wrong?

Well the film is a talky affair with not nearly enough plot to fill the 100 minute running time. For a serial killer Katiebird seems a couple of victims short. The main (only) victim's killing is graphic but goes on way to long and lacks punch. Those scenes almost resemble a tedious Japanese snuff film (Devil's Experiment for example) rather than a proper movie.

Oh and the entire film is shot with split screen shifting windowpanes that take up maybe three quarters to as little as a third of your screen. Do not adjust your set. No really spend all the time you want fiddling with the aspect ratio on your remote it won't help. If you don't have a nice large screen plasma TV the film is simply unwatchable. If you do have a nice big screen the film is headache inducing. Even Woodstock didn't use this much split screen (and that was a concert film for God's sake) and Brian DePalma seems like a restrained TV sitcom director by comparison.

This is a shame because what little we can discern of cinematographer Josh Fong's works seems top notch. But it is lost in this look three places at once stylistic nightmare. Really you would have to be nuts to purposely torture your audience like this. Come to think of it you would have to be a certified crazy person.

****Minor spoilers contained***** KatieBird *Certifiable Crazy Person is the first entry into the horror genre by writer/director Justin Paul Ritter. Katiebird *Certifiable Crazy Person joins the story of the eponymous Katiebird Wilkins on the day of her father's wake as she recounts the story of her baptism into the life of a serial killer at the hands of her father to her psychiatrist who advises her under extreme duress - and bondage.

Some people have been confused by the style and pacing of Katiebird *Certifiable Crazy Person. The immediately obvious stylistic difference of K*CCP is its use of multi-panels throughout the film. For anyone unfamiliar with the term "mutli-panels", it is the simultaneous use of multiple image frames with sometimes varying subjects appearing on the screen at the same time. Imagine a comic book page on the screen with moving pictures and you'll get the idea. Now this may bother some viewers immediately and I myself have been somewhat annoyed with this approach – in other films, but not here. I believe the use of multi-panels is justifiable within the context of the story. Whether or not this was writer/director Justin Paul Ritter's intent, I do believe that the mutli-panels help actualize the fractured thoughts and manic mindset of the schizo-affective mind as exhibited by Katiebird. This was a bold and daring decision and I'm sure more than a few viewers will be off put by this, but those that remain will be rewarded.

"I remember thinking that being a little girl was sometimes so hard. I wondered if life would have been easier as a little boy, but I wouldn't want to do that. Boys become men. And men…are scum."

-opening lines of Katiebird *Certifiable Crazy Person Katiebird *CCP is not your average "boo!" filled slasher flick. This film is a dark character study and psychological horror film that plays with the tension and terrors created by the skewed world view of the main character. It seems slightly reminiscent of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and could almost serve as a female companion to create serial killer bookends for your horror DVD's shelf.

At the core of the film is a set of amazing performances from Helene Udy and Taylor M. Dooley as "Adult Katiebird" and "Teen Katiebird" respectively. Both women showed vulnerability and viciousness in their portrayal of Katiebird at the two times in her life. Udy imbued her Katiebird with subtleties and voraciousness that made her seem like sleek stalking panther – beautiful to behold, yet dangerous to touch. Dooley's version of Katiebird balanced wide-eyed innocence with a girlish sinister glee. The film is really a character study and therein lies its strengths and weaknesses. The film draws us into the life and mind of this female serial killer – yet there are times when the pacing drags a bit in the middle as we watch her develop - slowly. I found the character of Katiebird to be infinitely compelling and watchable even when the film sagged, but that offered us more time to contemplate her inner workings and to recoil in terror at the darkness found therein. There are a variety of themes at play in the film and according to writer/director Ritter, the foremost theme is that of the struggle for power and role reversal. We see this theme play out between Katiebird and everyone she encounters throughout the film as she grows throughout the film and asserts herself time and again. My favorite example of this theme is when Katiebird exhorts her victims to "bite me". When they refuse, she proceeds to convince them to do so by pulling their teeth out. Yeaach!!! I also enjoyed the dark incestuous symbolism of the passing of power from Katiebird's psychotic father to her by the literal passing of the phallic symbol of power – the claw hammer.

The unsung star of the film was composer Daniel Iannantuono's score. It is nearly impossible to describe as it alternates between driving the film forward with guitar riffs to falling back to support the action with a bouncing bass solo. The music incorporates sometimes piercing and sometimes atmospheric guitar notes as well as sudden blasts of computer synth noises. At times it turns eerily reminiscent of the Suspiria score with it's use of garbled growls and sinister whispers that creep in at various times. The score even runs calm and beautiful like the film's star with gorgeous sounds of classical acoustic guitar. The score is as schizophrenic as the main character – and just as beautiful and dangerous to behold. I hope it finds release one day as a CD.

My only complaint about the film is the sometimes lagging pacing. It is not filled with Hollywood style "boo!" jumps and cheap scares – but gives us a deep dark look into the mind of a certifiable crazy person. It is a fascinating character study and fans of good character driven psychological horror such as Henry:POSK or May might enjoy this film. Perhaps 'enjoy' is not the right word to use as the film presents us with very little to enjoy, but it is worthy of contemplation as it chills and disturbs us.

Streebo gives Katiebird *Certifiable Crazy Person a 7 out of 10 screams on the Streebo Screamo-meter.

Check it out and decide for yourself.