Hell could just be a specific emotion--relative and recurring.  And you might be experiencing that particular emotion right now with constant refrain.

     What if an egotistical young doctor of psychology is asked to treat a patient who claims to be Satan?  In a discussion with Eriq LaSalle, Crazy As Hell's director, he put it something like this: what if a doctor with a God complex treats a patient with a Devil complex?  Who would be treating whom?

     Eriq LaSalle's new feature Crazy As Hell smartly grapples with this question.  It is an interesting and entertaining first feature.

     The story begins with Dr. Ty Adams (Michael Beach) recovering from the loss of his wife and daughter.  He is a renown psychologist whose approach is to battle mental illness without the use of medication.  The film opens with Dr. Adams traveling to a state mental institution where he will be permitted, as part of an experiment, to run a ward of the hospital according to his unique and controversial methods.  In charge of the facility is Dr. Zelazo (Ronny Cox) who reluctantly hands over power of a certain troubled ward to Dr. Adams.  Adams arrogantly accepts the challenge and even agrees to allow himself to be video-taped by a ubiquitous documentary crew lead by Parker (the unhinged John C. McGinley).

     One day, Dr. Adams is visited by a patient who admits himself and claims to be Satan.  The patient whose character is entitled "The Man" is played by Eriq LaSalle with a kind of quite cool that one would associate with the Prince of Darkness.  Unlike the campy craziness associated with Elizabeth Hurley's turn as the Devil in Bedazzled, LaSalle cleverly leaves open the question whether the patient may in fact be Lucifer by approaching the subject from a clinical standpoint.  Adams again considers himself up to the challenge.

     It isn't the mystery associated with The Man's true identity that makes Crazy As Hell effective but the idea, more than a one line joke, that is played straight by an excellent supporting cast.  Beach is as delicious in the role of Dr. Adams as LaSalle is as the Devil.  Beach has always been a good physical presence on screen being able to play arrogant and selfish but make his character very human and sympathetic.  His so very bad agent in Bad Company (the neat Fishburne/Barkin vehicle) was memorable due to his ability to meld raw masculinity with an unsavory sexual appetite; sitting in the darkness of Fishburne's barren apartment, he defined scary-bad.  Here the show could have been easily stolen by LaSalle but Beach holds his own and creates a character both sympathetic and interesting.

     The film is worth seeing if for nothing other than the brief moments in which Beach and LaSalle trade barbs.  They have more than a doctor/patient relationship, we know that, and I found myself rooting for the good doctor.  The idea that psychoanalysis may be beneficial to Old Nick was intriguing--the kind of eerie flavor one gets from Tony Soprano's counseling sessions with Dr. Jennifer Melfi.  Its a diabolical guilty pleasure.  

     Without giving anything away, the film's ending is dissatisfying. There is no need to provide an explanation for the strangeness of the
setting or the behavior of the characters.  Even Adams' revelation is a bit anti-climatic given the delusionary images that confront him throughout the film.  The ending is much less intelligent than the rest of the film and reminscent of something from M. Night Shyamalan only paler.  Getting to the end may be enough for most viewers desiring answers.  The questions initially raised in Crazy are certainly difficult if not impossible to answer.  

     Crazy As Hell was shot on digital video presumably using the Sony DSR 500 camera.  It looks very good even at home.  The production values are high with a polished professional feel; I noticed grain and depth.  Once again, as with film's like Tape, and The Anniversary Party, we are reminded that there are viable alternatives to shooting on film.

     In a conversation with LaSalle, I asked him if he had seen William Peter Blatty's The Ninth Configuration.  He told me that he hadn't seen it. The early scenes of Crazy remind me greatly of Blatty's wonderful little chiller.  Like The Ninth Configuration, Crazy is blessed with a cast that executes their tasks solidly with material that provides them with intelligent dialogue and a unique story.  Unfortunately, I think that Crazy's script did not know how to end and sought a need to wrap things up as neatly as possible instead of allowing the audience to think for the themselves.  Still, Crazy As Hell, at least early on, forced me use my brain and look around for a minute wondering whether I was missing something and whether that creepy emotion that periodically wiggles up my spine should be taken seriously.

Jonathan W. Hickman, 2002