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Insane Like Me? Review
Image Credit: Bankhead Productions
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Britt Bankhead– Jake Morgan
Grace Patterson– Samantha Davis
Samantha Reddy– Crystal Davis
Eric Roberts– Sheriff Davis
Paul Kolker– Will Davis
Meg Hobgood– Josie
Marie Wetherell– Erica
River Perkins– Haydin
Blake Higdon– Jon
Jack Maxwell– Doctor
(check out the rest of the cast here)
Directed by Chip Joslin
Screenplay by Britt Bankhead and Chip Joslin, created by Britt Bankhead
Distributed by Bankhead Productions
Not Rated
Runtime– 86 minutes
Bankhead Productions Facebook Page
Insane Like Me? is available on various cable and Video On Demand platforms including Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, Fandango At Home, Comcast, Dish, and DirecTV starting June 4th, 2024.
Insane Like Me?, directed by Chop Joslin and available on various cable and Video On Demand platforms including Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, Fandango At Home, Comcast, Dish, and DirecTV starting June 4th, 2024, is a fairly decent low-budget horror flick about vampires. I don’t really care for the title of the movie, but it does have some cool vampire killing action moments in it, as well as top notch performances from star and co-writer Britt Bankhead and the immortal Eric Roberts. The title does make a kind of sense, but I think the movie should have something more direct and badass. Insane Like Me?, to me, implies that the movie is a mystery and it isn’t. The movie is something else entirely.
Insane Like Me stars Britt Bankhead as Jake Morgan, a badass ex-soldier who goes to a surprise party at a local “haunted hotel” with his girlfriend Samantha (Grace Patterson), his best friend and also Samantha’s brother Will (Paul Kolker), and Will’s girlfriend Erica (Marie Wetherell). The expectation for the party is for everyone to get drunk, have a good time, and for Samantha to reveal to Jake that she’s pregnant. Unfortunately for everyone, the party is infested with vampires (there are two guys in the hotel recording a sort of ghost hunter type show and they are the first to find out about the vampires. The poor guys actually thought the hot babe vampires were just hot babes that wanted to get with them). When Jake finds out that people at the party are being attacked, he jumps into action, doing his best to fight of the supernatural killers. In the ensuing violence, Samantha is attacked and disappears. The police eventually show up, and Jake tries to explain himself, but the cops arrest him. While being interrogated, Jake is confronted by the sheriff, Sheriff Davis (Eric Roberts). Sheriff Davis is the father of Jake’s girlfriend Samantha and he wants to know what happened to his daughter. The sheriff doesn’t approve of Jake’s answers to his questions. After enduring some super blatant police brutality, Sheriff Davis has Jake sent to a local mental hospital, where he is then committed. There is no trial or anything that we see. Basically, Sheriff Davis uses his pull in the community to get Jake committed.
Nine years go by, and Jake is set to be released. Despite seeing multiple hallucinations of Samantha and going through periods where he doesn’t want to take the medication he’s been prescribed, Jake tells his doctor that he feels good and that he “knows now” that vampires aren’t real and that the stories he told before are not true or real. Jake, of course, still very much believes what he originally told everyone, but if the “I’m fine now” story can actually get him out of the mental hospital that’s what he’ll do.
So Jake is then released from the asylum, and he immediately starts hunting down vampires and killing them. Jake’s big plan is to find the source of the area’s vampire problem, deal with it, and, hopefully, find out what the heck happened to Samantha.
While all of that is going on, Samantha’s sister Crystal (Samantha Reddy) tries to get on with her life. Crystal is a college student that also works a night job at a local bar. Crystal is perpetually exhausted from her class load and work, but she still finds time for her friends, including her boyfriend Haydin (River Perkins) and her other friends (Josie, as played by Meg Hobgood, and Jon, as played by Blake Higdon). One night, while working her shift at the bar, Jake shows up to talk to Crystal. It’s at this point that Sheriff Davis also shows up along with Will (Will is now a sheriff’s deputy). Crystal tries to get her father and brother to leave Jake alone, but she isn’t successful. Jake eventually leaves the bar, and the sheriff tells Will to make sure that Jake stays away from the hotel.
The sheriff wants Will to make sure Jake stays away from the hotel? What’s so special about the hotel?
So then some stuff happens, Crystal gets out of work and goes to a field with her friends to party and whatnot, and a vampire attack ensues. Jon is killed, Josie is taken away, and Crystal and Haydin try to escape. Before they are killed by an attacking vampire, Jake comes to Crystal and Haydin’s rescue. After some serious vampire killing action from Jake, he takes Crystal and Haydin back to his house to regroup. And it’s at this point that we find out what’s really going on. It’s pretty shocking and weird and messed up.
Insane Like Me? moves along at a fairly brisk pace while also generally using its time wisely. We get some nice character moments spread throughout the movie’s 86 minute runtime and some nifty vampire killing violence. Some of the action scenes are a bit underdone, but there’s enough blood and gore to make up for those underwhelming action scenes. It’s also always great to see an assortment of badass muscle cars in a vampire movie, as it’s just something you don’t see very often (and the muscle cars sound like killer machines, which is incredibly important when it comes to muscle cars. They can’t sound wimpy). The vampire killing weapons are top notch, especially the hatchet that Jake uses to bludgeon and decapitate the monsters. The vampire killing rules are also explained at one point, which is always appreciated. I mean, since vampires are always different from vampire movie to vampire movie, it’s important to have a moment where the vampire killing rules are explained. The audience needs to know if crosses and holy water do anything or not. In Insane Like Me?, vampires can be killed with silver bullets, a stake through the heart, decapitation, and fire. Garlic slows vampires down. The only “traditional vampire killing rule” we don’t know anything about is whether or not vampires can walk in the sunlight. The movie never really gets into it, and there are no real moments where we see vampires during daylight.
The locations used for Insane Like Me? are fairly mundane, which actually helps make the movie’s premise scary. There really isn’t anything outwardly special about the area of Texas that the movie takes place in. The town looks like any small town. The various “regular” people that we see are just that, regular people. Who would think anything super weird like vampires would be any sort of problem in a small town like the one in the movie? The hotel that figures into the plot becomes spooky when nasty things happen there. Otherwise, the hotel is like everything else in the town, just another place. The scariest set in the movie is the asylum that Jake manages to get out of. The asylum is an absolutely horrendous place that no one would ever want to find themselves in. It’s gross and dirty and probably smells. And then there’s the staff at the asylum, which is just awful. Nothing but a bunch of sadists.
Britt Bankhead does a great job as Jake. He starts out as a former soldier that’s just happy to be home and hoping to start up a regular life with his girlfriend Samantha. Then Jake is thrust into a situation that no one would ever expect to find themselves in, both in terms of the vampires and the asylum. When he gets out of the asylum, Jake becomes a man-on-a-mission, looking to kill as many vampires as he can while also trying to find out what happened to Samantha. He sees a hallucination of Samantha over and over again, but is she really a hallucination? Is something else happening? Bankhead makes you care about every aspect of Jake’s character and makes you root for him when he’s out in the world and killing vampires. Bankhead is also quite frightening, in a good way, when he’s wielding his vampire killing hatchet. The scene where we see Jake’s face covered in blood is iconic. There’s a reason it’s on the movie poster.
Grace Patterson does a nice job as Samantha Davis, Jake’s girlfriend. Samantha is so happy to reveal to Jake that she’s pregnant, only to get caught up in a wave of sudden vampire violence. When she appears as what we assume is a hallucination for Jake, Patterson makes you wonder whether or not what you’re seeing from her is real and if anyone else beyond Jake can see her. And even when it appears that she might not be a hallucination but, maybe, a ghost, it’s fun to guess what the heck is happening. I think you will be surprised by what Samantha is really all about (her final scene is one of the movie’s top shocking moments).
Samantha Reddy does a good job as Crystal Davis, Samantha’s sister. Crystal is a fairly interesting character when we first meet her. She’s a college student, she has a job, she has a group of friends that she cares about, including a boyfriend. How can she balance all of that stuff while also dealing with a grief process regarding her sister? Because what the heck happened to Samantha? Is she dead? Is she missing? Crystal becomes slightly less interesting later on, mostly because she doesn’t get to do all that much despite deciding to help Jake kill vampires. Crystal should have gotten the chance to use a hatchet to kill a vampire, too.
Paul Kolker is funny as Will, Jake’s former best friend, Samantha’s and Crystal’s brother, and sheriff’s deputy. Will is sort of a perpetual sidekick, either with Jake or his father the sheriff, but he doesn’t seem to know that. He tries to talk tough and act like a big shot, but absolutely no one takes him seriously. His interactions with Crystal in the bar are hilarious. Will actually wants his sister to call him deputy when he’s in uniform. Like she’s going to do that. Ever. And the relatively small handgun he uses as his deputy’s firearm is a hoot because it’s just another aspect of his “no one takes him seriously” aura. I wouldn’t mind seeing a movie where we see Deputy Will during his day-to-day job as the deputy. I think it would be a hoot and a half.
And Eric Roberts is fantastic as Sheriff Davis. Roberts makes Sheriff Davis the ultimate sleazebag. Sure, you sort of feel for him when he can’t find out what’s happened to his daughter Samantha, but you don’t condone at all the way he beats up Jake while interrogating him. Jake is telling the sheriff the truth. They were attacked by vampires. It sounds ridiculous but it’s the truth. Roberts manages to maintain that level of sleaziness throughout the movie. He also looks like he’s having the time of his life playing Sheriff Davis, which is always wonderful to see.
River Perkins is the ultimate annoying boyfriend as Haydin. He’s a complete lame ass yet think he’s the greatest thing going. Just what the heck does Crystal see in him? Meg Hobgood will surprise you as Josie. She’s more than just a pothead, unlike her friend Jon, played by Blake Higdon. Higdon is a sort of lovable goofball, and it’s a damn shame what happens to him out in the woods. Marie Wetherell should have been given more to do as Erica. She’s funny, but not as funny as her boyfriend Will.
The way Insane Like Me? ends makes it clear that there are more vampires to kill, and I know I would love to see what happens next. I know I want to see what happens next. I just want a better title. Insane Like Me? doesn’t really fit. The title needs to be more badass so it can match what we see happen in the actual movie. That’s the movie’s only real flaw. It needs a better, more straightforward, more badass title.
Still, even with the title it has, Insane Like Me? is worth checking out. It’s fun and weird and bloody, with plenty of vampire killing. Killing vampires is important work. It really is.
See Insane Like Me?. See it, see it, see it. Insane Like Me? is available on various cable and Video On Demand platforms including Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, Fandango At Home, Comcast, Dish, and DirecTV starting June 4th, 2024.
So what do we have here?
Dead bodies: At least 15
Undead bodies: Around 10
Explosions: A big one.
Nudity?: None.
Doobage: People sitting in a car outside of a house. A surprise party. A ghost hunter type TV show. Attempted private conversation. Attempted sex. A prank. A massive vampire attack. Neck snap. Metal pipe to the back of the head. Crowbar used as a stabbing weapon. Face spraying. Neck biting. Crowbar rammed through the chest. A brutal police interrogation. Off screen mental hospital stuff. Multiple hallucinations. Serious abuse. A dead body wrapped in plastic. Leg wound repair with a staple gun. A story about drunken debauchery. A working out montage. Beer bottle throwing. A bar. Shot drinking. Young people hanging out in a field. An argument. Another massive vampire attack. Beer bottle breaking. Broken beer bottle jammed into someone’s neck. Yet another massive vampire attack. Serious leg biting. Serious hatchet attack. Hatchet to the back. Hatchet throwing. Decapitation. Throwing a head into a raging fire. Bullet to the head. Impromptu face washing. More hallucinations. Old photos. More wound fixing. Flashback. Face attack. Serious leg breaking. Tape bondage. Another argument. A beating. A wicked hatchet shot to the fucking face. A big reveal. Seriously creepy touching. Electrical torture. Leg eating. Throat slitting. Bullet to the head. A stabbing. Another big reveal. More stabbing. Another bullet to the head. Exploding building. The promise of a sequel.
Kim Richards? In reverse.
Gratuitous: Halloween. Guy stuff. Guy drinking booze out of a flask. Some douchebag hitting on hot babes at a party. Red cup shots. Guys doing a ghost hunting show. Vampires. Eric Roberts as the sheriff. Police brutality. “Insane like me?” scrawled in feces on the wall of an insane asylum. Some douchebag putting on lip balm. Public library internet research. Guy wearing a T-shirt with a peace sign made out of pot plants design. Multiple badass muscle cars. Drunken discussion in a bar. A muscle car named “Maggie.” Talk of social media. People dancing in the background. People smoking pot in the woods. People making out in the woods. Pinning a vampire up against a tree with a car. Vampire rules. A shotgun. Attempted arrest. Flashlights. Bed bondage. Mouth sewing. A big explosion. A vampire child. “Just This Side of Insane” by Keaton Simons played over the end credits.
Best lines: “For a guy who is in the military he sure is late a lot.” “Eww! That’s disgusting! That’s my sister!” “Welcome home, captain. I’m a sergeant. What’s the difference? I work for a living.” “So, ghost cannibals?” “Don’t drink all of the booze.” “Was that the guy from TV?” Oh, come on! I’m drooling! What do you girls know?” “That’s not funny, asshole!” “What the fuck?” “Leave her alone, you bitch! Wait your turn, mister.” “Sheriff! Cameras are recording.” “Have one to grown on, motherfucker.” “How did you even pass?” “I’m a secret genius. What can I say?” “Shotgun’s under the counter if you need it.” “Leave him alone, Will. That’s Deputy Will when I’m in this uniform.” “Keep him away from the hotel.” “You really don’t like that guy.” “Someone has a case of the blue balls.” “Are you deaf? There’s a fucking monster in the woods, you idiot!” “Don’t speak ill of the dead.” “I can’t believe you still have all of these old pics.” “I’ve never lied to you. Please don’t lie to me.” “They’ll kill me! What do you think I’m gonna do?” “You killed her? Those things are evil.” “I’ll be right back, kid.” “These vampires will kill you. Did he just say vampires?” “Get it together, Will. Get it together.” “So, Jake? Yeah. You really know what you’re looking for? Yeah. You know what would make this a lot… faster? What’s that? If we quit playing games! You’re not my type. Why’s that? Necrophilia’s not my thing, bitch!” “What’s that smell? It’s like rotting meat or something. Whatever it is, it can’t be good.” “She was a vampire.” “Looks like you never really knew me at all, sport.” “What the hell, Stoker?” “Looks like you picked the wrong time to renegotiate.” “Where the hell is my car?”
