Insane (2010) User Reviews

Insane: Badly flawed but entertaining all the same

[Platypuschow · 5/10 · 2 May 2018]

I saw Insane on Youtube's Kings Of Horror channel, now when going into any movie from them you need to be aware that it's almost certainly going to be awful.

Insane however immediatly struck me as having considerably higher production values than most other films on the channel and it's opening sequence was really quite good.

It tells the story of a serial killer in a secluded off the beaten track hotel run by a mysterious and more than a little odd man. Yes it's a slasher, but as far as they go this does have some originality.

Now Insane should have been better but sadly it was marred by a few bits of dodgy writing, an unfleshed out side story and well..........the other thing I can't reveal as it would spoil things but lets just say it makes no sense.

Insane isn't your run of the mill slasher, it's above average in quality but well below average where it actually matters.

I'd say this is a harmless watch for fans of the sub-genre but it's flaws have left what could have been a good film a real let down.

The Good:

Quite well made all things considered

Really quite unpredictable

The Bad:

Needed fleshing out a bit more

Some of it makes no sense whatsoever

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

If you look deep within the bowels of Kings Of Horror there are passable movies, DEEP

Could've been better...and how to know when reviews are fake(good and bad)

[Indifferent_Observer · 5/10 · 18 December 2010]

I had high expectations after reading some reviews stating this is better then "Let the right one in" and other Great Swedish horror flicks. I also saw the usual "Worst movie ever" type reviews(the ones no one takes seriously) so I figured they were just trolls. At the time I didn't know the 9-10 votes were shills/trolls also, but I figured out all you have to do is click profiles and 9 times out of 10 the trolling voters have no other reviews(other then the flame) under their belts. And this is true for all IBMD movies after doing some research.

Now that we have picked apart the IBMD system so some of you newer members(like myself) can tell real reviews from fake lets get onto the movie:

First of all, those who read my reviews know that I usually tend to look at the better qualities of a movie and not get bogged down on flaming it or trying to sound like an "Armchair expert" spouting spoilers left and right which only makes one sound pretentious(and especially stupid when the movie just goes over these pseudo-intellectuals heads)

I am going to start off saying the movie isn't all that bad, but it isn't that great either. It kind of rides the middle. The Hotel that the movie was shot in was pretty creepy and a great place for a horror movie, but the 80's decor makes it all kind of distracting and you wonder why they didn't put a little more into the background to make the place a little more menacing. Also, I don't know if its bad acting or bad accents(I suspect a bit of both), but its noticeably bothersome at times. Again, usually I couldn't care less about stuff like bad acting as long as the movie works, I mean it is definitely a B-movie, but there is just too many little things in this movie that make it bad in a bad way.

Being the Horror expert I am, I have to say that the movie doesn't 'totally' fail for genre fans like myself. My chief complain as mentioned is I think the script just needed a few more characters(like maybe a cook, and a janitor) to add some mystery to the movie to keep us guessing about the killer. That would've locked the viewer in his seat especially because this movie doesn't use a lot of gore and tries to scare us using a more cerebral methodology. Don't get me wrong there are a couple gory shots that work, but its just not enough to save this movie. I'm hoping the bad reviews this film gets doesn't deflect the director/writer from making more movies because the script definitely had potential to be so much more, For being an honest, independent effort I give it 5 out of 10. Not great and better then the rest like one side is saying, but also not "The worst movie ever" like the other side is saying. Just an "ok" movie that could've been better had they put more thought and care into it.

That is as honest and unbiased as it gets like all my reviews.

Not great but not terrible either.

[michellevandewauer · 5/10 · 1 March 2012]

This is a run of the mill horror movie for the most part with the typical same old predictable scares thrills and chills of every other horror movie of this type you've seen before. A lot of these movies have terrible acting and the acting here is not stunning or anything but it's not terrible by any stretch some of the actors in this are actually pretty good. The story is predictable and the same old scares you've come to expect before so that is the main problem with this movie. Not sure what else to say but I have to write more lines. Great Swedish movies are hard to find but it's even more hard to find one from Finland.

B grade special

[LOL101LOL · 1/10 · 17 December 2010]

How is it possible that this has a rating of 7.4? and the review on here giving it a 10 must be working for the makers of this awful rubbish. The story line is a direct copy/ripoff from psycho, the acting is poor, and the music score is f####,but then again the low budget attached to this film should have been a dead give away. My advice if you really want to see this crap, push the fast forward button, believe me you won't miss a thing, and for those teen agers thinking it might be half OK cause of the gore and boobies it might have, forget it! a bit of blood here and there, and sorry no boobies.

This is the runner up for worst crap of 2011, 1 out of 10!

This one is truly dreadful!

[toppit83 · 1/10 · 15 October 2010]

Bad is always bad and this one is really bad! It's a run of the mill copy of the bad Psycho 2-4 movies, hey it even got a bad copy of Norman Bates!! The killer is a cross between the killer from The Prowler and Valentines Day with a bit of Darth Vader's breathing for good measure! Stupid characters that don't even scream for help or beg for there life or anything...just some quiet sobbing. And too ruin it all, if you've seen the trailer (?) you've seen every murder in the film...what did they think when they put that one out...i don't know. And as always when swedes make a horror flick with lots of blood and guts, the thing is in English! Nooo good people out there save your time and do something better for an hour and a half instead!! Maybe sort out your plastic-bags under your sink?

A joke

[haje0966 · 1/10 · 19 December 2010]

God awful movie, I cannot rate 0 thats why it's 1/10.

I was fooled by the two Swedish reviewers who given it 10/10 bringing the IMDb rate up to 7. If this is the best Swedish horror film ever then they should stop making horror movies now. Seriously my eyes hurt from watching this crap.

Camera works awful, the sound effect is awful, music was awful, actors are so amateur it was humorous to watch. Script was unforgivable, very unformulated and poorly put together It's an insult to the eyes and mind.

Should avoid at all cost. Big waste of time.

Don't pay good money to watch this movie

[jerardduffy · 1/10 · 18 December 2010]

This is the first time I have written a review. I have been using the IMD site for a number of years and always found it very useful, especially when it comes to deciding whether or not to watch a movie or not. When I decided to watch "Insane", it had a rating of 7.4. I thought I was in for a good night's entertainment. This was not the case. This movie is not the worst I have ever seen but I have given it the lowest score that was available to try and balance out some of the outrageously high scores that could have only been given by the mother of the director or the mother of one of the actors. Don't pay money to watch this movie take your partner out for a meal instead.

Low budget. Looks OK, but very amateurish

[benkvi · 16 December 2010]

Apart from a quite good location, this movie could just as well had been a students school-project. I'm unsure whether it was a good call to make the Swedish actors speak English. It could just be a pathetic attempt to reach a broader audience, but somehow it also helps to set the story in a strange, unknown place, which complements this sort of movie. Anyway, it often seems strained for them not to speak their native language, but it's forgivable.

The movie has some atmosphere; strange, secluded hotel. Abandoned, water-filled quarry nearby. Desolate.

The lone manager of the hotel sure brings up some Norman Bates-associations, but his gas mask breathing, super-strong alter-ego seems more like a bayonet-wielding action-Vader. Even though the story clumsily tries to portray his past, it is not very clear why he's become a psycho serial-killer.

There are several loose ends in the plot, but as a whole the movie has it's moments. The acting is mediocre at best, but the violence is not that bad.

I don't regret watching it, and will probably remember it. (To be honest, mostly for the nice-looking Swedish girls giving their best as amateur-actresses) I always like to see honest attempts at making horror with low budgets.

is it supposed to be a comedy?.

[ecejmi · 1/10 · 1 November 2010]

Honestly, Yesterday I and a bunch of friends paid 80 SEK for the biggest disappointment ever. Insane, the movie. Things to forgive: The plot: childish, predictable, stupid... the bad guy, a mix between Norman Bates, Darth Vader, Scream bad guy and Robocop.

Actors: None of them can be saved from the fire... Amateur acting, bad pronunciation in English.

Script: Simply incoherent and low quality stuff. It is just amazing to see how many hot lonely girl the hotel attracts...

Music: It is amazing what one can do with 3 piano keys. I am also a musician.

What I can not forgive is the extraordinary amount of mistakes during the whole film due to a very bad production. To put an example: -In England cars are driven in the left side and controlled from the right side... -At least twice we saw lights that should not be there (reflected) -Shadows of the camera and staff -The bad guy gets shot plenty of times but still fights and runs as normal. - The way the girl uses the pistol is a joke.

The good:

it is, at least a bad comedy.

To summarize, I am sorry for the director, I believe he should apologize for this movie. When you do not have enough money for a film, then it is when you need to be creative. Bad work. And the worst is that we paid to see this piece of... comedy.

Really?

[cheetahcub2 · 2/10 · 29 January 2011]

My dad always gets these kinds of movies: The ones that some people never hear of. That means that I have seen my fair share of independent films and amateur films. I also love horror films and have seen plenty to compare this with. This movie has a a decent plot, but the way they made it completely sucks. You are not informed about the characters very thoroughly, and it starts out looking like the middle of a movie: You have no idea what's going on, who the people are, where they are located, or anything useful. It's like the directors assume you know. It wasn't the worst horror film I've seen but it was nowhere near good. The acting is okay at times but it's like they are aware they are on film and talk and act as though people are watching. There's no screaming or real emotions shown during fight scenes; just a wimper and a cry here and there. Overall, I would not recommend this movie to anyone.

An offense to viewers and movie-makers alike. Please spare yourselves.

[nitzanhavoc · 1/10 · 9 October 2012]

This is the second time I've come back to a movie only to write it a review. First time was "The Grudge", to which I felt obligated to pay proper respect and give a praising review as of which it was worthy! This time - the complete and utter opposite. This is the first time I've felt the need to rate a movie 1.

It took me a while to get my hands on this movie. The waiting made me move from "anticipating" to "anxious". My, did I waste my time... I don't like trashing somebody else's art, as people obviously worked hard in order to create this film. I just honestly find it hard to understand how they spent 750k dollars and came up with, well, this.

The acting? I'm pretty sure this was the first gig for the actors and actresses here, though I didn't check. They might have tried, but their low level simply wreaked to high heaven... The story? Not original, not intriguing, not interesting and not good. The script? Predictable to the level of it being preposterous. Many times you could just guess what was about to happen or what a certain character was about to say. The ending? No twist, no new realizations, not a thing.

I honestly don't mean to sound condescending or uppity, I'm not one to talk or pass judgement as I've never worked on a movie and have never published any piece of art, written or visual. However, this "movie" felt like someone woke up one day and thought "Hey, why don't I make a movie?" he then proceeded to get some friends and their friends to write it, shoot it, be in it and write the music for it. And of course, to go on IMDb and rate it 10 so people would think it was worth the watch.

Painfully unprofessional. Next time, kindly show us a little more respect than that. Everything here is just my opinion (though most other reviews I've just read for it agreed with me, and weren't as nice about it), but if you ask me - I say stay the HELL away from this "movie".

ps If you suspect me of being in anyway biased, you're absolutely right. I'm biased by the fact that I've watched this. If you wish to prove me wrong - rent the movie, by all means. Just make sure you imaging me laughing and saying "I told you so!" when the credits roll. Cheers :)

Good film

[cradleoffulci · 8/10 · 23 December 2010]

I'm not much on words but let me say this movie is pretty damn good. Screw the haters. My kind of movie. Love this type of movie and it is not a psycho rip off. Only thing is i want more gore. All in all not a waste of time. most people don't have any taste. It amazes me how many idiots are out there.

Loved the plot loved the ending everyone who needed to live did and those that deserve death get it.also I like the killers outfit. The pace wasn't slow and I was entertained through out. Don't know why most foreign movies are good while America produces so much dribble. Always love to see a movie that makes me happy like this one. I recommend to anyone who likes horror.

Creepy Partly Dubbed Swedish Horror

[craig_madden · 7/10 · 11 January 2011]

Well, I went into this film not expecting anything mind blowing and just a bit of low budget horror - this is exactly what I got. The opening scene gets you gripped right away, but I warn, it's also a bit cheesy. I mean come on, you'd be screaming for your life - I wont give too much away. The acting overall is very tongue in cheek, but entertaining none the less - I love the cop that stops buy. The best actor by far was the lead role David played by Lars Bethke - he was perfect for the role and made the film feel very creepy and suspenseful. I must admit I jumped a couple of times. So if you like low budget slasher horror then this film is definitely for you, if not and you need something to stimulate your mind then give it a miss. Overall for the budget I'd give this a 7/10.

A story as old as time itself

[Heislegend · 4/10 · 20 December 2010]

Provided, of course, your definition of "time" happens to roughly equal "the last 3 Psycho movies". Let's face it, there's just not a lot you can do with the "mentally unstable man-child who owns a hotel and hates women" angle. What little there is in that well was done in the original Psycho film...and even that was heavily influenced by Ed Gein who, contrary to what appears to be popular belief, never owned a hotel.

And that's pretty much the plot...a few people get offed at a hotel owned and run by a mildly creepy guy who seems a bit too attentive. The kills are kind of fun but there's hardly enough to justify a whole film. They even introduce characters just to kill them a minute later. Understandable, considering there's only really 3 main characters. You gotta stretch the film out somehow. The film itself isn't bad, it's just not terribly good. I guess if you have some time to kill and you're not faced with a plethora of terrific options, it might be a good way to waste some time.

Not Original but Not bad - Entertaining

[Xorpion · 5/10 · 26 December 2010]

I would not say this movie was the worst. I have seen movies far worse than this!

To be on the positive note, It was entertaining even for a totally predictable plot. And it started off with a really really hot girl, sadly getting murdered. Wish she was given more screen time!

At first it started to appear more like Saw, but within the next few minutes it appeared to be a complete spin off of Psycho. The similarity is too much to go unnoticed. Come on - How much more similar can David from this movie be with Norman Bates from Psycho? Even the characters and the events are ditto!

Bates runs a not so flourishing motel. David runs a dying hotel. Both have developed a hobby - Bates stuffs birds, David makes miniature dolls. A woman comes by and is very secretive about where she is traveling. She is murdered. The woman who gets murdered has a sister, who is a very smart and over suspicious person, has a boyfriend. The boyfriend gets killed. An investigator visits the hotel, who also gets killed. The psychotic killer wears a costume and is a victim of child abuse.

ANYTHING NEW???

5 out of 10 simply because it was a little spooky and was fast.

Insane Indeed !

[georjekc128 · 1/10 · 18 December 2010]

I'm easy on movies. I appreciate most attempts by other people to create things. However, "Insane" has to be the worst movie I've ever seen and having seen 100's in this year alone that's saying a lot. The movie starts off with the time worn cliché' girl in the bathtub being spied upon, but that's OK, that theme still has a little leg room in the hands of a capable writer. Even with five writers this movie never rises above a predictable and substandard dialogue and falls completely flat on true suspense. But that's not the worst of it. The low budget, the "how in the world could that happen?" scenes that seems to occur every 5 minutes and the unconvincing lead actor serial killer made me wonder if I should be watching lead paint dry instead. All I had to look forward to was the ending in the hopes that there I would find some release, some satisfaction, some moral to the story but my hopes were dashed when the credits rolled up.

Only the makers of this movie and their closest friends would enjoy this movie. Oh yeah...and serial killers.

Worst movie ever made!

[CeaSerin · 1/10 · 18 December 2010]

Don't listen to the glowing reviews on this movie. The people saying such positive things obviously have an association with the movie in some way.

"Insane" is one of, if not THE, worst movie I've ever seen in my life. And I've seen "Clueless." As far as horror movies go it's still bottom of the barrel. Typical slasher movie that is extremely predictable and with an awful, truly awful, musical score. The composer must have scored the entire thing on some Casio he got from a nickle and dime store.

The only positive thing I can say about this "film" is that the women in it are very hot. That's about it.

You know who the killer is, you know who's going to die, you know what's going to happen next. And it all plods along. Basic premise of this is: girl checks into hotel - dies, girl checks into hotel - dies, girl checks into hotel - dies. The end.

Terrible music, terrible dialog, terrible music, terrible quality. Just the worst piece of garbage I've ever seen. If you can rent a copy please do the world a favor and burn it so no one else can suffer through this mess. Boooooooooo!!!

the worst of the worst !

[zarbtoyo · 1/10 · 20 December 2010]

I wouldn't say DON'T watch this movie, because if you want to watch the worst movie ever released then, this is the movie, you have to watch. If you want to see lousy actors, lousy dialogs, then, this is the movie you should see. I think this movie is very "prétentieux", why trying to do a new psycho, with bad actors, stupid screen writing, and, also very bad graphic qualities( it really looks like a soap opera.) At lest I hope, this movie didn't cost much than 1000 Swedish kroner!!! even less I think anyone can do better than this with the camera from a phone and a little bit of imagination. This is the first time for me here, i never wrote a review before, but just watching that "thing" made me so upset because, it was well rated. I didn't read the critics before,but i watched it because it was well rated. So again, if you want to make a movie, then watch this one to see everything you should avoid doing.

The chasing parts are stupid, people act like never anybody would do in this situation, they don't scream, they try to escape but stop for no reason... it would take me days to write what is so bad in this movie, so i better stop now.

BUT THIS MOVIE DESERVE MINUS STARS, one star is already too much.

Thank you , and please excuse my bad English, this is not my language.

So much stupidity from all characters!

[paul-ayres-60784 · 4/10 · 9 February 2019]

This film could have been quite good. It had a reasonable build up, a classic much used plot and not bad acting. The camerawork, set and directing was pretty solid along with the sets and atmosphere.

Why were all the characters behaving so stupidly? Why did the killer not take the gun? Why did the killer actually kick the gun towards the victim? Why did the girl not stay with her boyfriend? And how come the multiple bullets didn't seem to harm the killer?

Generously I have given this a 4.

Could have been so much better

[gluonpaul · 5/10 · 9 December 2018]

This movie felt like a project which went through some difficulties.

The main actor does a superb job, I have never seen him anywhere else but he is definitely a skilled actor. He was subtle but managed to pull off the role of the innkeeper very well. The rest of the acting in this was pretty meh to be honest. Not horrifically bad but very underwhelming.

The main problem though comes in about half way through. There are large scenes towards the end of the film in which the womans boyfriend turned up. These scenes felt completely out of place, suddenly the script went from a suspenseful thriller to having them quip one liners at each other. Dialogue in those sections became stilted and I strongly suspect all those scenes were added later on. There are a few hints at this for instance when the women each arrive at the hotel and have a meal they are in a restaurant but went the boyfriend turns up the meal is at a completely different location. You could literally cut out every scene with the boyfriend in and it wouldnt change anything in the movie otherwise. I get the distinct feeling all of that was added in to bump up the time of the movie and frankly it completely wrecks what could otherwise have been an honestly decent flick.

Overall i would say this was watchable but disappointing, not least of which because you could see all the wasted potential in this movie.

Piece of Crap

[pjcguy-963-677261 · 2/10 · 29 January 2011]

This movie begins with an assumption that we know what it is all about. At least that is what I assume since it starts with an incident that we can barely comprehend. The relationships among the various actors/actresses are only vaguely addressed, but we are supposed to know by some kind of precognition what it's all about. Since when are the targets of imagination supposed to provide the storyline? This movie is a failure. It fails to create characters. It fails to create suspense. It fails to create a plot. It fails to create a possible reality. It fails to frighten. It fails to entertain. It fails to provide a nude scene. It fails to fulfill any of the promises of the horror genre.

I want to suspend reality. I want to believe. I want to become an innocent pawn in the maniacal director's twisted world of terror. I want to escape my reality. What other reason is there for the existence of movies? Whatever the answer is, it is not this film. It sucks. We have no character development. We have no exposition. We have no motivation. We have no frickin' movie.

Someone had the money to make this movie but not the most important elements: plot, structure, characters, motivation, nudity, storyline, originality. Granted, originality is not always necessary since we are limited as human beings in our options, but we should at least provide an original premise as to why we are bothering to make a new film at all. I gave this a two because I have actually seen worse movies.

a really nice tribute to 80's slasher

[svartnos123 · 9/10 · 23 December 2010]

This film is actually a really nice tribute to 80's slasher. I cannot believe all the negative critics on this site. A wonderful tribute to Psycho! I hope this movie is going well in the world and the film-makers continue to make genre films in Sweden. I loved Evil Ed and this is not worse, just a different kind of movie. The end sequence is absolutely fantastic. Would love to know how the scene was done? Otherwise, I think the acting was OK, but the film feels dubbed? The photo is brilliant and it is a fantastic environment. Where is this hotel? The story was a bit predictable but there is a nice twist at the end. The murders are cruel, and the makeup effects are brilliant. To be an extreme low-budget film, I think it's fantastic!

solid and good movie

[ironfist699 · 6/10 · 4 February 2012]

this a pretty good and watchable movie, i have seen others with higher ratings and better comments, a lot worse than that.its a classic horror flick, nice atmosphere,good acting,especially the man in the leading role,in a great decorated 60's hotel. the director shows us a point of view different than usually tries to give us a little mystery about the killer, and he is successful i think.so there is nothing wrong about this movie and i have seen a almost every movie, of this kind after 1995,so i deserve to have an opinion, and one that counts.the other reviews here are frivolous and draft a movie is a lot of things,not only one,to be judged by.

this "movie" is just wrong on ALL levels

[lurchster · 1/10 · 20 December 2010]

i watched this movie before looking at any reviews........big mistake! the acting is horrible at best. if it were possible to give this less than 1 star i would have. all copies of this should have holy water urinated on it and then burned. nothing in this movie makes any sense. the way they tried to make it appear this took place in the USA was dreadful, i am guessing none of them have ever been to the US. i am pretty sure the people that gave this "movie" a good review were either on crack or retarded. SPOILER ALERT!! THIS MOVIE IS HORRIBLE! DO NOT WATCH IT! how is that for a spoiler?

THE BEST PART OF THIS MOVIE WAS KNOWING IT WOULD BE OVER SOON!

Sadly Bad...

[remcowiersma · 1/10 · 4 June 2011]

At a first glance this movie looks promising. The poster looks good, the killer looks pretty descent and yes, I thought the trailer itself was OK. When you read the plot it immediately reminds you of the great horror classic 'Psycho' which is in itself shouldn't be a big problem considering the fact that movies always recycle the same stuff for decades. Being inspired by these movies could result in a new (cult)classic.

Sadly this didn't happen here. The real terror of enduring this badly made flick already begins in the first minutes of the movie. And it doesn't get better until the end credits roll on the screen. The look and feel of the movie isn't natural. It looks like everything was edited later on in the movie. The Polaroid pictures that the killer leaves behind to let the victims know he is coming is an example of this. These just look terrible and WHY would a killer (who just wants to kill) leave pictures behind letting the victim know he is there before killing them while he could just kill them off instead of taking the freaking picture?!

Besides the major plot holes, bad camera, bad music, bad editing, bad special effects and the terrible acting this movie is just not good. It lacks character explanation which is essential for this type of movie. You must want the Heroin to win and succeed or even be excited when she is trying. Unfortunately you never feel for any character in this movie. Maybe it's because of the actors who just where more involved in trying to speak perfect English, when they all are Swedish, which resulted in (again) an unnatural feel.

On the plus side, I have to admit, there are 2 scenes which are absolutely brilliant. (One is when a victim clicks on the light and the killer is next to her bed. The other one when the heroin is walking in a dark room and not looks back but we see the killer waiting in the dark.)

Sadly, I was tempted to watch this when it still had a rating of 7,4 and someone called this better then 'Let the Right One In'. Obviously these guys have worked on this film or had a relation with the film. Saying that this is better than (also recent Scandinavian horror) 'Let the Right One In' and 'Frostbitten' is saying that you can better eat a rotten tomato then a perfect gourmet dinner.

So, all in considering, I have to give this movie 1 star. If I could give this movie 0 stars then still I had to give 1 star. Just for the effort and the 2 great scenes.