Visual
Look
As I said before, think Undercover Brother meets
Army of Darkness. Blaxploitation, campy horror,
and humor… a wonderfully funny combination. The set
design and costumes perfectly fit the feel of the movie.
Little touches, like the disco balls at the pimp's house
and the outrageous outfits, add to the funky 70's feel.
The horror makeup, while not elaborate, works. Its purpose
is not to be perfectly believable but rather to just convey
an idea. It's meant to be campy, which is the general
idea. My only suggestion for similar future films: have
the zombies lose the bony-hand gloves. They're not really
necessary and look way too cheesy when the characters
stretch their arms out, and the shirt sleeves pull up
to reveal a gap between the cuffs and the glove. A similar
look can be achieved by using cosmetics or paints.
Creative
shots like this one
add a 'Pulp Fiction' feel...
...while
the orange-ish tinting to
day shots is very 70's.
There
are some great shots and camera angles used in this film.
My personal favorite is a POV from inside the TV when
Shay-Shay is hosting her client. The inside of the television
set frames the shot nicely, and plus, it's just a creative
setup. Several of Sloan and Goldie's driving scenes are
well-shot also. Like Everything Means Nothing,
Hendricks makes good use of perspective and overall shot
layout.
The
editing was tight for the most part, and included some
very creative 70's-ish transitions between scenes. Lighting
was used very creatively as well. Not enough filmmakers
utilize light as a tool in their projects. It can be used
to set a mood or show emphasis. Throughout the movie,
Hendricks effectively uses light in various strengths,
colors, and positions. The only "lighting conflict"
I noticed was in a scene with Shay-Shay and the white
guy are trying to get 'busy' in a room. The illumination
shifts from dark mood lighting with a strobe light flashing
to a bright overhead incandescent light with the strobe
light. It goes back and forth a few times before the scene
ends.
Audio
The background music and scoring was a very good blending
of 70's funk feel with modern urban pop. Some of the ambient
sounds and effects were great as well (particularly the
sound effects in the "Pyramid Game"). There
are some places where simple sound effects could be used
in post to enhance the audio, namely when the cops are
talking on their radios. The person on the other end is
clearly standing off-camera reciting the lines with his
hand over his mouth. I only mention this because it is
a relatively easy effect to add in post, and will enhance
the scene. As far as other sound effects in the film,
the only caveat I have is with firearms: be sure to properly
sync up the sound with the gunshots! Like a picture that's
hanging just crooked enough to drive you crazy, sounds
that are barely off from their actions are disconcerting
as well.
While
I loved the dialogue, it was frequently very difficult
to hear. A prime example of this is in the "Pyramid
Game" scene, where both cops play an impromptu round
of the "Pyramid Game" to help jog their thought
processes; it's an absolutely hilarious segment, but I
had to rewind it a few times to hear the dialogue clearly.
There are different times in the movie where the audio
is too quiet or too muddied, or the dialogue isn't enunciated
enough, or the sync is slightly off. Some of these can
be corrected with audio equalization or tweaking the sync,
but other parts might require some ADR work. (We will
be doing an article on ADR in a couple of issues.)
Use
of Budget
Considering the size of the cast, the fact that they had
to rent two XL1-S's, and the highly specialized nature
of the movie, I'd say that the filmmakers got a great
film for their investment.
Shay
Shay and her 'sister' prostitutes
might not be the brightest bulbs...
...but
they don't mind getting their
hands dirty to hunt down zombies!
Lasting
Appeal
Even though I had never seen a blaxploitation film prior
to this one, I liked Insane in the Brain a lot.
While I know I didn't get all of the inside jokes and
references, I was still able to enjoy the movie on its
own merit. This is a big factor in recommending a film
to someone else; if a film is too specialized, a general
audience won't be able to really appreciate or enjoy it.
However, Insane in the Brain is one that I would
recommend for my friends to watch.
Conclusion
If you're not familiar with the blaxploitation genre,
this is a great one to start getting familiar with it.
Great writing and acting combine to present lots of laughs,
while creative visuals make it appealing to watch; as
a whole package, this movie is one that general audiences
will get a kick out of.
However,
I must repeat the oft-cited mantra of audio, audio, audio!
Great movies aren't worth much if you have a hard time
hearing them or if they have recurring bothersome glitches.
Spending the time and attention (and, in some cases, money)
in post to fix these things are a very worthwhile investment
and can only improve a film.
Content
8.5
Visual
Look
8.5
Use
of Audio
6.0
Use
of Budget
8.0
Lasting
Appeal
7.0
Overall
Score
7.6
A
powerhouse in management, Kari
Ann Morgan successfully produced a feature length film before
coming to work at Microfilmmaker as Assistant Editor. In addition
to writing for the magazine, she's been successfully working with
various distributors to get microfilmmakers the chance for theatrical
distribution.
