Crazed

I really enjoyed every part of this movie. It was never dull and the characters were very well done. I especially liked the "crazy" guy Graham. Papas does a remarkable job portraying this kind of psychotic. He is charming and shy on the outside, but has real potential to lose his mind if provoked.

There are so many good things I could say about this hidden gem of a movie. The old ladies are fun - they talk about bad breath and halitosis and super market employees who are "hoodlums" and "all hair and pimples" - but it's not done in a cheesy way, and that's why it's so good.

There are unpredictable moments and unexpected twists. You know the guy is going to go crazy, but you don't know exactly how. He does a really good job hiding his feelings. And I must admit, being a girl alone in her apartment while watching this film freaked me out a little bit. The story is flat out creepy!!

One correction needs to be made on here, however. The crazy guy is not "mother dominated". The old lady is NOT his mother. His mother abandoned him when he was only 4 or 5 years old. This is when we see the flashback scenes to his childhood. His life may be dominated by the old lady, but accepts this willingly, and out of loneliness. She is not an evil dominatrix whatsoever. Just a kind old lady who is also lonely.

It's too bad "Rodney" didn't act in any other movies. He could play Mac Davis, if they ever made a film about him. ha, yeah right.

I also thought Karen was a good character. I would like to clear up another idea on here. Some reviewers don't know why she left the farm. It seemed plain to me that she left because she wanted to become a writer and couldn't do so while living with her boyfriend. I think she also wanted to get away from him and that kind of country living. She needed to get into a city and spend some time alone with her writing in a place of her own.

If you like good characters and psychological movies that keep you wondering what's going to happen next, you should see this one (if you can find it). Never a dull moment and not too unrealistic. 8/10.

And remember, in the words of the over-acting professor: To be a <insert overused swear words in here> good writer you don't just need discipline, you need DI-CI-PLINE!! (I could have done without this guy).

Blood Shed/Crazed/slipping Into Darkness was the first movie I ever reviewed on IMDB. Initially I totally bashed the film. After A second viewing I take it back completly!!! The fact that the video art work makes it look like a violent-gore film lead to my negative review. I was expecting a gore fest and instead got a film with low body count and no gore. This film is actually very good. Their are a lot of interesting little things in this movie proving way ahead of the current events of our time. The lead character is constantly having flashbacks of his childhood. Most interesting is the priest flashbacks, the film seems to hint that he was molested by a priest especially of the quick shots of the boy on his knees possibly in a confessional booth. Ironically this issue is currently all over the news. It's almost as if the writer knew of a dirty little secret and was exposing it with this film. The character's army flashbacks are interesting too, especially since real life serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer had a bad experience in the army as well. It seems to me at second look that this film is a realistic look of how a lonley individual with serious past issues can slowly become completly insane and end up murdering people. To top it off there is some funny dialogue by the old ladies in this film to soften the serious tone. A second look at this film reveals a seriously under rated study of insanity. The original title Slipping into Darkness fits the movie better than the Blood Shed tag which will steer you the wrong way!

When I had bought this film for $6.00 at a used book store I didn't know what to expect. I thought this movie was interesting to watch. I do not know why the girl had to leave her apartment and still keep in touch with her boyfriend but my guess would be because of emotional problems in her life. She moves into a house that the people that live in it remind me of the tenants in the movie "The Sentinel". She ends up moving next door to some crazed wacko with alot of mental problems stemming from experiences in his past and the man begins to bother the girl after the old lady that is the landlady of the building tells him to do so and he thinks about it and gives it a try. She begins to push him away and gives him every excuse not to go out with him and he begins to get impatient. I will not give out anything that happens after this but as far as the overall movie goes I found it enjoyable to watch and the characters in the movie were perfect for their parts in this movie.

Crazed doesn't rewrite the rules of the horror genre or offer anything we haven't seen done to some extent or another, but for a low budget horror film, it accomplishes more than most and the attention to character drama and dynamics instead of offering a predicable slash fest is appreciated.

I would wish to say a few words about this picture.

In late July, 1976 I was in Los Angeles enrolled in a summer film workshop at U.C.L.A.; while editing my documentary film "24 Hours at the Original Pantry" I responded to a bulletin board card posted at the school looking for technical help on an independent feature film. I responded to the ad and was introduced to Richard and Jean Cassidy. I was hired that day as the company grip in charge of construction.

Together they had written, conceived and filmed a 35MM presentation short film of their story. The beautiful B/W project was an obvious tribute to the suspense and magic of Alfred Hitchcock. Directed by Richard, it featured his wife, Jean as the murder victim. This well crafted short was photographed very skillfully by a bright and talented Director of Photography named Doug Hodge.

The original working title of this film was "The Paranoiac"; it was completed and released as "Slipping into Darkness" by a company called Jupiter Pictures, sometime in late 1979.

Featured in the film is a very large house which still stands on Edgemont, south of Wilshire Blvd. and a few blocks east of Highland Avenue in Hollywood, Ca. Almost the entire film was set in this one location. This was the nature of "low budget/ no budget" independent film making during that era.

For anyone interested in the nuts and bolts. The camera, grip and set lighting equipment package (Additionaly, I suspect some financial assistance) was provided by The Sawyer Camera Co. Cliff Sawyer and Jack Birns were co-founders of the landmark Hollywood motion picture equipment rental company still known worldwide as Birns and Sawyer in Hollywood, California.

The 35MM camera package consisted of a Mitchell BNCR as the primary/ or "A" camera. The heavy Mitchell Camera was always operated on a Worrell geared camera head mounted upon an Italian Elemack "Spyder" dolly . An Arriflex 2C was used as the portable hand-held "B" camera. During the production, the BNCR was replaced by a camera known as the "Mitchell 205 Reflex". This was old Michell Model NC modified dramatically and updated by an Italian company in order to compete worldwide with the new and very innovative Panavision "X" camera.(only a small handful Mitchell 205 cameras still exist today) Even by present standards these cameras and lenses were great, but not very user friendly in terms of shooting sync sound in confined interior spaces.

At that time HMI (Daylight balanced)lighting technology was almost unheard of and carbon arc lights were far to expensive to operate within their limited budget. Therefore, tungsten lighting color corrected by filters for Daylight situations and extensive color gel correction and tenting of windows for all the interior scenes was relied upon . The project was shot on the relatively slow Eastman Kodak Color Negitave film stock of that era. The "tool box" we worked with was quite limited and very labor intensive for the crew size.

Despite the technical burdens and financial pitfalls which all small independent films faced and dealt with during the 1970's, I feel that this picture stands up very well compared with most low budget independent projects made during that time.

Thirty plus years later, I remain proud that this was my first feature film as a Key Grip. I still feel the same way about my efforts on a professional level and those who worked with me. Without the wonderful insights and information handed me by the talented and patient Director of Photography Doug Hodge, I might not have pursued and gained knowledge fundamental to the worlds of grip,set lighting and camera. In later years, I worked steadily as a key grip, lighting gaffer and cameraman on many film and television projects.

Additionally, the dogged determination of Richard and Jean Cassidy to see their project finished and out into the public arena was an inspiration to me. My professional life and career might never have gone beyond that 16MM editing room at U.C.L.A..

Motion pictures like this one were the training ground for many of today's "A"-list Producers, directors, actors, artists and technical craftspeople. My generation of film makers made our mistakes. We learned how and tried in all aspects of of our craft, to make a better mouse trap. Years ago, Key Grip and old friend Raymond Mario Perosi said to me: "Well hell, were all new once".

I have not seen this picture since 1979. Now that I discovered the new title, I will look froward to screening it with the latest changes and fresh eyes. If you have any comments about this film or film making in general, please submit them here or via my listing on this site.

Thank you for taking time to read my comments.--Dan Zarlengo