I love a San Francisco set horror movie, especially one shot in the 1970s, and Criminally Insane is just that, and I had not even heard of before this year. True, it is barely a movie, at just over 60 minutes long, but it packs a lot into that 60 minutes!
Priscilla Alden stars as Ethel, an overweight mental patient released to the care of her grandmother who lives in a San Francisco Victorian. (I couldn't quite figure out the neighborhood, but possibly the Western Addition or Pacific Heights). All Ethel wants to do is eat. A lot. When her grandmother locks up the refrigerator and hides all the food, Ethel kills her, and sticks the body in an upstairs bedroom.
Her brief freedom to binge eat is soon interrupted by the likes of a delivery boy who demands payment for grocery orders, Ethel's sister, who has left her abusive boyfriend to come live with their grandmother too, and a detective trying to solve some disappearances. Can't a lady eat in peace?
Priscilla Alden gives an impressive performance in that she is devoid of any likability whatsoever. It's actually kind of astounding just how unpleasant she is. Criminally Insane is extremely low budget; the blood is clearly very thick red paint, and the violence looks like it's been edited by someone who doesn't completely understand the rules of cutting. Both kinds. Still, I appreciated it for its forgotten grindhouse charms, and definitely enjoyed seeing the streets of 1970's San Francisco.
I watched Criminally Insane on Prime Video.
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