Criminally Insane 2 Blu Ray Review (Degausser Video)

Criminally Insane 2 (aKa Crazy Fat Ethel 2) is a 1987 slasher written, co-edited, and directed by Nick Millard (Criminally Insane, Death Nurse, Death Nurse 2, Cemetery Sisters, Satan’s Black Wedding, Oddo, Gunblast, The Terrorists, Dracula in Vegas, and Doctor Bloodbath) under the alias Nick Philips. It was produced by Frances Millard (.357 Magnum, Doctor Bloodbath, Criminally Insane franchise, Death Nurse franchise, Cemetery Sisters, and Satan’s Black Wedding). It’s a sequel to 1975’s Criminally Insane and it was remade in 2016 as Crazy Fat Ethel. It was shot on VHS and it re-used all kinds of footage from the original film. Thirteen years after going on a gruesome food-related killing spree, the gluttonous Ethel Janowsky (played by: Priscilla Alden from Criminally Insane, Death Nurse franchise, Birdy, Nina Months, and Nash Bridges) is deemed fit to return to society and transferred to a halfway house presided over by the kindly old Hope Bartholomew (played by: producer Frances Millard from Mac 10, Outrageous, Death Nurse franchise, Criminally Insane, and Dracula in Vegas) after the mental hospital runs out of space. Settling in alongside the other oddball residents, it’s not long before Ethel’s psychotic rage is once again triggered when one of the staff taunts her with food. After losing control again, Ethel sets about hacking and slashing her way through the remainder of the unlucky residents and anyone else unfortunate enough to come out to the dangerous property. Who will survive the criminally insane???? Criminally Insane 2 is definitely one of those rare sequels that you don’t necessarily need to see the original to follow it. That’s only because director Nick Millard uses all the best moments from the first feature as flashbacks here. Criminally Insane 2 does take a minute to establish itself after all the older material but it’s worth staying around for. Priscilla Alden as Ethel Janowsky basically does the same thing as the original for this follow up. She has a breakdown over food again and she goes on another killing spree because of it. There’s only a few characters that actually deserve it, most of them are just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Priscilla Alden is very interesting as the female villain for this very low budget slasher. She doesn’t hesitate once she loses it and she eliminates everyone that tries to get involved. The rest of the supporting uncredited cast includes Frances Millard, Fred Sarra (Gunblast), director Nick Millard (.357 Magnum), Royal Farros (Death Nurse), and Albert Eskinazi (Alcatraz Breakout). Plus it has archive footage that includes character actor legend George “Buck” Flowers (Back to the Future franchise, The Fog, Berserker, Cheerleader Camp, Pumpkinhead, Village of the Damned, Blood Games, Puppet Master II, and They Live). Nick Millard keeps it nasty and brutal here. It has some nice gory moments. They do what they can with the special fx without having any real budget. It’s creative how Millard made this work with it’s many limitations. It falls into the it’s so bad that it’s good category but it’s actually very entertaining and fun. Keep your expectations very low when it comes to this slasher sequel and you will most likely more than you should. It knows exactly what it’s doing, it fits in with all the other cheaper horror movies made in the 80’s. The rough quality honestly adds to it’s chaotic atmosphere!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Degausser Video! This 1080p uncensored and uncut (1.33:1) transfer is from a brand new restoration from the best surviving VHS tape master. This is why I love Degausser Video, it’s a Vinegar Syndrome sub-label that puts out low cheap quality and small budget productions that usually wouldn’t have a shot at an HD home video release. Don’t expect reference quality or anything that looks amazing to be honest. It still blows away and looks so much better than any previous version so it’s 100% the sharpest it’s ever going to look anywhere. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track on the disc. The audio is definitely tough at times but it’s honestly a major improvement compared to it’s archive versions over the years. All of the dialogue is solid, the slashing is elevated, and the music has a decent boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. The best thing about this home video release is it’s extras because Degausser Video went all out on it. It has an “Audio Commentary” with The Hysteria Continues. This is an interesting companion piece to this cheap 80’s slasher. This crew has a blast checking out and talking about Criminally Insane 2. It’s probably the best option while viewing this nasty follow up. It has the 1987 independent 57 minute slasher “Doctor Bloodbath” from director Nick Millard. This is actually better than the main feature on the disc and it’s probably the main reason to pick up this home video release to be real. It follows the insane Dr. Thorn (played by: Albert Eskinazi from Death Nurse franchise, Cemetery Sisters, Street Race, Mac 10, and The Terrorists) who clearly hates his job as an abortion physician. He makes a variety of gruesome house calls to all of his patients that end up getting the risky procedure. It’s a concept that I’m surprised more people didn’t do back in the day. Now, you definitely couldn’t get away with something none politically correct like this. It has the 23 minute shot on video 1993 TV pilot “Linebacker” from director Nick Millard. It has the 25 minute shot on video 1996 TV pilot “Submarine” from director Nick Millard. Both of these independent television pilots make a nice addition to this release but I definitely see why neither one was picked up for a full TV series anywhere. It has additional artwork and graphics on the reverse side. It’s available everywhere right now including @ VinegarSyndrome.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!