Twisted Insanity (2004) - By Nic Brown

Film Reviews: Twisted Insanity (2004) - By Nic Brown
Posted on Monday, December 31, 2007 @ 23:20:00 Mountain Standard Time by Duane

Mark Smith from Optic Nerve Productions 2002 has been making a name for himself with his short horror/thriller features because of their originality and high production quality. One of his works is a 10 minute film called Twisted Insanity. The film opens with a woman being stalked by an unseen person. That person seems to appear everywhere the woman is and is photographing her. The simple stalking soon escalates to violence when the victim is home alone one night. Now the question becomes who is this stalker and what do they really want? Is it obsession, jealousy or a twisted love of some kind?

Smith’s short Twisted Insanity may be only 10 minutes long, but it uses the time well. Tension and a since of foreboding are quickly established with some traditional “stalker point of view” camera work. One of the more disturbing scenes though involves no violence at all. The stalker is shown studying a wall covered in photos of the woman being followed. The sheer number of photos makes it apparent that this has been going on for a while and it also creates a disturbing knowledge in the viewer that the stalker’s obsession runs to all facets of this woman’s life. The idea that someone could follow a person and peer into all the different parts of their life without their victim knowing it is unsettling.

It is obvious why Twisted Insanity was the winner for best horror short at the Shoharie Scary Horror Film Fest 2007. The film is well made technically and although the dialogue is limited, Mark and his wife Tracy, the featured players, do a good job in bringing the story to life. So take the time to visit Mark Smith’s website: www.opticnerveproductions2002.com and check out the short film Twisted Insanity to find out for yourself what is behind the stalker’s strange obsession.