Genre:
Horror
Release Date: 02/28/2006
Sound: DD2
Run Time: 100 min
Flags: Graphic Violence, Rape & Sexual Abuse, Not For Children, Gore
Distributor/Studio: Heretic Films
One young woman's story of how she became a murderer is recounted in chilling detail in this independent
horror film from writer and director
Justin Paul Ritter.
KatieBird Wilkins (
Helene Udy) is a woman in her early 20s who is working with a psychologist,
Dr. Mark Richardson (
Todd Gordon), as she struggles with her emotional problems. As it happens,
Richardson is also
KatieBird's lover, and the intimacy of their relationship allows him to learn of
KatieBird's deepest secret -- she likes to kill people. How this outwardly sweet and loving woman became a multiple murderer is revealed during the course of a session with
Richardson that takes a very grim turn as
KatieBird looks back on her troubling relationship with her father,
Merl (
Lee Perkins), and his family.
KatieBird: Certifiable Crazy Person was the first directorial credit for
Ritter, who started his professional career working as a production coordinator for
Roger Corman's
Concorde-New Horizons Pictures.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
With all the hoopla about
horror going back to its roots, it's refreshing to see a film that actually gives you the real kind of squeamish chills that only true
exploitation delivers when it's running on full guns. Outside of Asian
horror, filmmakers rarely set out to achieve the shocking levels of disgust and dread that once paralyzed cult audiences, so when
Justin Paul Ritter decided to tackle this extreme technique, it was a bold move for a young artist in a changed world of cinema. What's interesting is just how a gutsy story like this can be told in the 21st century as compared to the film days of old. While embracing the unflinching nature of the material,
Ritter turns it on its head by dissecting storytelling techniques through effective and fluid multi-frame editing. While it may be too much for some, the film's extreme panel design style does create layers of subtleties that take it past sheer gimmick territory.
KatieBird: Certifiable Crazy Person is also admirable for the sensational performances gleaned from both of the actresses playing the titular main character herself.
Taylor Dooley is effortless as she conveys the naïve awe that drives the carefully orchestrated early moments of
KatieBird's life, while
Helene Udy is downright unnerving as the present-day psychopath whose frightening sexual and violent perversion drives the film to its terrifically numbing finale. While a lot of indie
horror wildly misses the mark, this one flourished under the same type of creative freedom felt by many of its genre's grandfathers and ups the ante in its own way. With deeper questions that delve into the nature of father and daughter relationships,
KatieBird also realizes a dream of meaning beyond shocks, and in doing so, makes the trip all the more haunting.
~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
;)
