KatieBird *Certifiable Crazy Person

If this movie plays in a theatre near you, you're up for a remarkable piece of cineastic art. If you can stand it. This film just crawls under your skin easily, cut by cut, and it won't let go - even days after you watched it. A lot of its incredible intensity stems from its absolute perfect cutting/editing and from a soundtrack that matches the pictures on the screen to the point. The movie use the split screen technique in a wonderfully orchestrated way, adding to the unique and in fact gruesome experience. This movie is definitely not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach ... but if you feel up to it, you'll have a great movie experience.

I've seen this one about three times in late 2007, when once was more than plenty. I give it 5 stars because of its Horror elements and good acting. I don't recommend it to anyone at all. Yes, it is that gruesome.

First off - I liked this film. I liked it more than I thought I was going to. I feel that there are several positive qualities about KATIEBIRD *CERTIFIABLE CRAZY PERSON that I wasn't expecting. That being said, there are some big flaws too that keep this film from being what I would consider and indie "mini-masterpiece".

The story follows the obviously psychotic Katiebird immediately after the death of her father. The film starts with Katiebird restraining her psychiatrist who is also a family friend and her lover, and telling her "story". Katiebird is a bugged-out and twisted chick with a penchant for sadistic torture and masochistic behavior, whose family comes from a long line of killers. When KB hit's her mid/late teens, her Pops shows her the ropes (so to speak) of the finer points of torture and murder. KB tells her psychiatrist pal of her first kill, and this sweet little story is shown in some graphic detail through flashbacks. During her "confession", KB employs the techniques that she's refined over the years to make her point to her shrink-buddy. This continues on up until the films "climax"...and KB's realization that "nothing lasts forever"...

First things first - yes...as others have mentioned, the overlapping and size-shifting "window-pane" editing technique is completely unnecessary and annoying. It was fine for the first five minutes but becomes distracting to the point of annoyance when it is used CONSTANTLY throughout the film. It could have been used effectively in certain scenes had it not been done through every frame of the film. I never feel that it's a positive thing when people talk more of the technical aspects of a film or how it was made than the film itself - and I already see that happening with KB*CCP. Also, the pacing IS a little off at times and certain scenes could have been shortened to allow for more "action". Being a sleaze-fiend myself, there was also a glaring lack of nudity that could have "helped" things, given that there were several strange "sex scenes"...but this is just a personal preference and didn't really impact the film all that negatively. I can't be quite sure that I'd really want to see the older KB nekkid anyway, as she looked kinda like a strange mix of Uma Thurman and Cloris Leachman - if you can picture that combo. But - the performances by all the leads are very notable. Both the teen KB (especially) and older KB are very believable as whackadoo psychos - without going too overboard. KB's father is also good in his role as the quiet and nurturing psychopathic "teacher". The psychiatrist role is handled well - but he's pretty much just getting either talked to or tortured the whole time, so his part ain't that hard. The "gore-level" is above average and well-done - and this will almost always get a "plus" in my book. Not nearly as rough as some stuff out there, but definitely stronger that the average horror film. I also liked the lighting (especially in the "shed") and the score was decent for this type of film.

Overall, KB*CCP is an ambitious and quirky film from first-time director Justin Ritter - and I'm interested to see what he'll do next. I think fans of some of the newer wave of off-beat horror films like MAY or LOVE OBJECT will dig this one - if you can get past the annoying editing. As much as I will be interested in Ritter's upcoming projects -FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MAN - DON'T USE THE "WINDOW-PANE" TECHNIQUE ANYMORE!!!!8/10 for KATIEBIRD...

More like an artsy/fartsy psychological drama. I get that the multiple panels are suppose to represent the girl's fractured psyche. But, darn if it wasn't annoying as heck.

It might have been an enjoyable movie if they had just settled down a bit in the editing room. I liked the actors, especially the guy that played the dad. The story wasn't exactly uninteresting. The torture scenes are unforgettable.

Overall, it was just a chore to watch cuz of all the crazy editing and cumbersome pace.

Still, I'll be looking out for this director's next movie. If he can lay off the technical posturing, he might craft something great.

An intriguing premise and strong performances set Katiebird apart from the usual low budget horror fair. In fact, it is an unfair assessment to even call this a horror movie. Maybe psychological thriller or drama would be more appropriate. There is some gore, but it's harsh, non stylized, unflinching violence. I have to admit that I was squirming a bit in a few of the torture sequences. The tooth pulling scene between the title character and non affection returning would be boyfriend, who also happens to be Asian, ranks right up there with Marathon Man. Only this time we are treated to every graphic detail. The sound design here made me cringe (in a good way). The performances, especially from Katiebird herself and Lee Perkins playing her father, are very strong. No over the top campy fun here. These are very thoughtful, tightly wound performances. The one thing that keeps this movie from achieving some level of greatness is the unwise editing decision to present 99% of the film in multiple panels. There are a few moments were the technique is used to good effect. Whenever it shows multiple threads of action, even within the same scene, it works well. But when it devotes two to four frames to the exact same action and sometimes shot repeatedly. It just becomes annoying. This was a very unconventional movie and i dig that. But I wish it had been presented in a slightly more conventional manner.

Either way, this is definitely a must see.

bob out.