CRAZY AS HELL
© 2002 Artistic License Films

Mania Grade: B-
Reviewed Format: Limited Theatrical Release
Rated: R
Stars: Michael Beach, Eriq La Salle, Ronny Cox, John C. McGinley
Writers: Jeremy Leven and Erik Jendresen, based on the novel SATAN by Jeremy Leven
Director: Eriq La Salle
Distributor: Artistic License Films

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CRAZY AS HELL

CRAZY AS HELL wastes no time in letting us know that things aren't quite right in the world of Dr. Ty Adams (Michael Beach). The renowned psychiatrist watches with alarm as blood pools out from under his bed and then wakes in his chair with a start. However, it's not just dreams that trouble the good doctor. He keeps imagining that he sees his young daughter in the room with him, though she's clearly not present; sometimes his wife appears to him, even though she's likewise not really in the vicinity.

Meanwhile, Adams has enthusiastically consented to be the focus of a 30-day REAL WORLD-type documentary that will follow his every move with 10 patients as he serves as a guest staff psychiatrist at Selah State Hospital. Adams has an unethical wager with documentarian Parker (John C. McGinley) that he can cure the schizophrenic Cheryl (Tracy Pettit) by the time filming concludes. Then Selah supervisor Dr. Delazo (Ronny Cox) gives Adams a new patient, a voluntary admission who claims to be Satan, played by the film's director, Eriq La Salle.

La Salle is clearly having a blast playing the flamboyant self-proclaimed Lord of Darkness, though he seems on more solid ground in the character's moments of erudite charm. When Old Nick (a name he claims to like) gets menacing, he sounds as defensive and belligerent as any trapped thug it's unclear if this is deliberate and intended to make us think perhaps he's just a mundane lunatic after all or if he's meant to seem more apocalyptic than he appears.

These questions of perception arise often in CRAZY AS HELL. Some of them are obviously intentional and appropriate perception is after all one of the movie's key subjects but others make us wonder how much weirdness we're supposed to perceive at any given time. For example, when we learn exactly what's gone wrong in Adams' life (hinted at from the start), we can't tell if this is meant to be a clue or if this is just another instance of movies playing fast and loose with how the psychiatric profession operates.

Many large plot points and even minor details like a state hospital nurse who can afford a sparkling new SUV are so at odds with reality that we can't tell if they're intentionally bizarre touches or just weren't fully thought out.

The former is suggested by La Salle's lighting, which is original and distinctive. Many scenes take place with half the set in realistic light and the other half ablaze with almost incandescent whiteness, isolating shot elements in pools of glowing light.

The other peculiarity of CRAZY AS HELL is its intensity of feeling about the issue of medication vs. talk therapy. The film comes down foursquare in favor of psychotropic drugs, going so far as to turn it into a moral issue, without actually delving into the pros and cons. Again, it's not evident whether the filmmakers are trying to make a statement or simply chose this conflict to dramatize Adams' stubbornness.

Even so, CRAZY AS HELL has some nicely nightmarish moments, along with an excellent leading performance by Beach, who captures precisely a man who is smart and compassionate enough to engage our sympathies, yet egocentric enough to be potentially dangerous. Cox is canny and on the money as the folksy yet stern administrator and McGinley is thoroughly persuasive as the gung-ho camera slinger. Jane Carr makes an impression as a prim, sensible nurse.

As many will suspect from the outset, the script by Jeremy Leven and Erik Jendresen, from Leven's novel SATAN, turns out to have a premise that is familiar from a number of other films. To name them would be giving away too much, as for awhile we have our choice of precedents before climactic revelations narrow down the list of apt comparisons. However, the basic story is both versatile and durable. La Salle's lighting and production design choices give CRAZY AS HELL a satisfyingly old-fashioned, off-kilter feel the theme is old, but this riff on it is worthwhile.