Insane Like Me? was written by Britt Bankhead and Chip Joslin, and directed by Chip Joslin. It follows a vet named Jake, played by Britt Bankhead, whose life goes wrong when he is blamed for the death of his girlfriend. After being placed in and released from an asylum, he goes after the true cause of her death: vampires.

Now, ignore all of that. Let’s talk about the archetypical youths who fight Jake for screen time. We have the kind brave perfect “virginal” heroine, her jerk boyfriend, her sexually liberated best friend, and the patented stoner. Do they offer anything beyond their archetype? Not particularly. The absolute worst character is the stoner. The pacing slows down for his shenanigans, either to watch him do something “funny” in the background or because sometimes there are awkward pauses with his delivery. I don’t think anyone’s an inherently bad actor, but the actor portraying the stoner did not come off as if he was comfortable with the role. Moving on, Eric Roberts plays the sheriff. He’s great. His performance is styled with a bit of Matthew McConaughey, and it works so well. I think both Eric Roberts and Britt Bankhead‘s performances uplift everything else. The dialogue is acceptable, although it does struggle sometimes.

I never thought too deeply about “joke” as an insult, such as “That guy is a joke.” Insane Like Me? echoes that idea, and I mean that in a specific way. It sets things up, and the payoff is almost always underwhelming. The tone is inconsistent. The prologue sets the expectation of something humorous and even self-aware. After it, much of what remains is played straight. It does still seem to want to be funny, and who do you think has the monumental task of being the single source of humor in an otherwise serious plot? The stoner. There is a healthy amount of violence, but not all of it feels impactful. There’s a scene of a vampire tearing a leg up. He’s chewing, gnarling, and slurping. We see the leg. If one were to wipe the blood off, it would look like he hadn’t touched that leg at all. Maybe he didn’t, but they set my expectations. These are only a few examples.

There are so many small flaws and unsatisfying moments the genuinely good stuff cannot counterbalance it. The audio quality is very good. Some vampire bites sound too crispy to be believable. There are bits of gorgeous cinematography. There’s also questionable continuity. Early on, someone gets attacked by a vampire immediately after leaving a room. It’s offscreen. There’s no sound of a struggle, no screaming, no hissing, nothing. He’s just laid out on the floor like I didn’t just see him. In one scene Jake leaves his place, speeding down urban streets like he has a death wish. Someone leaves Jake’s place later and shows up at Jake’s destination seconds after he does. Explain! The practical effects are solid. When and how the practical effects are used, such as the aforementioned leg situation, is questionable. There’s a lot of CG blood that completely stands out and plays a part in the lack of impact. Other instances of CG, while still quite noticeably unreal, work well.

If you can turn your brain off and enjoy Insane Like Me?, please, enjoy. I’m not out to yuck your yum. Sometimes I turn my brain off, too. However, I can’t do it when so much of something’s structure reminds me of reading the back of Laffy Taffy wrappers.

4 out of 10