Crazed, somewhere in the mists of time also known as Fury: The Tales of Ronan Pierce, is truly the Ronseal of films. Pitched somewhere between sustained mania and it’s-too-late-we’ve-tipped-over-into-the-abyss, it’s crazed indeed. There is a ‘plot’ on which to hinge the insanity – in a brutal city, once good cop Ronan Pierce has turned himself into a vigilante, little concerned with the law.
Following the earlier murder of his daughter and the recent abduction of his wife, Ronan will stop at nothing to bring down the Luna Cartel. His former army colleague Logan (who has a serious vendetta of his own against Pierce) is now part of the cartel and is the man behind his wife’s kidnapping. Plus the cartel is responsible not just for enslaving innumerable women into drugs and prostitution but also having a neat sideline in harvesting body organs from victims of various crimes. As Ronan hunts for answers the bodies and carnage piles up. He does this by generally being the worst detective ever. Hint: if someone leaves a hand-delivered DVD of your kidnapped wife at your door every day and you’re seeking clues to where she is, maybe start by asking them?
Kevin McCarthy directs and his brother Michael McCarthy stars, with both sharing the writing duties. It’s very much inspired by comic books (Sin City), movies (Sin City…uh…yep, that’s it) and video games. Everything is dialed up to a Spinal Tap-esque 11 – the industrial soundtrack, the visuals (including comic book panels, CGI and the like) and the acting, pitch and tone. The McCarthy brothers are seeking to entertain through familiar influences and at this prom, no obvious trope is left lonely and unloved at the side of the dancehall.
Laying the stall out clearly as a piece of hyper-styled nonsense early on is helpful, ensuring you know in the first five minutes what the film is aiming for. It’s not original by any stretch and the short answer to whether it’s any good is no. A riot of steroidal macho cop movie and comic book clichés, it’s what you’d expect if someone like rubbish pop buffoons LMFAO were given money and asked to remake Stallone’s Cobra without ever having watched it.
Honestly, you’ve seen it all before and done much better. It’s juvenile, seedy, violent, and exploitative but without the wit, innovation or charm of something like classic grindhouse flicks. If you demand little more than a tiresome mix of noise, violence, skin, blood and an abundance of swearing for a good night in, this ticks all those boxes. Ruthlessly unoriginal and unpleasant, it aims low and succeeds in that.
CRAZED / CERT: TBC / DIRECTORS: KEVIN A. MCCARTHY, EDWARD PAYSON / SCREENPLAY: KEVIN A. MCCARTHY, MICHAEL MCCARTHY / STARRING: MICHAEL MCCARTHY, KANE HODDER, JORDAN ELIZABETH / RELEASE DATE: US: OUT NOW (VOD), UK RELEASE TBC
