Plot: Leo (Leonard Shoemaker) works a dead end job, lives a low rent life, and has a wife that hates him. He idolizes the gangsters of the past, dreaming of a life of crime and wealth, but never does anything to change his lot. One night he is joined by his slow friend Nads and his orgy producer buddy Jason, in a venture to rob Leo’s workplace. Despite a run in with the security guard, the trio manage to pull off the heist, but wind up with only $50 to share in loot. While Leo is excited by the crime, his wife is tired of being poor and after railing into him, she leaves for good. But Leo finds a new girl, a dancer named Cherry and soon, he is back in the heist business. He eyes a real score and starts a plan to rob a bank, a job sure to line his pockets well. But like all things in Leo’s life, things don’t go as planned and Leo’s crew faces a world of trouble…

Entertainment Value: How Escape to Passion is more of a cult favorite, I will never understand. This movie is wall to wall madness, from the performances to the writing to the unsettling country music duets. A lower than low budget crime thriller, Escape to Passion wants to tell a gritty story about a loser who wants a better life, but instead comes off like a surrealistic nightmare of cinema. Leonard Shoemaker tees off a performance that is manic and out of control, while his costars range from slapstick comedy to quiet sociopath to drugged out of their mind vacant husks. You start to think “ok, this can’t get much crazier,” only to have things spiral even deeper into the abyss. Unlike some “cult” films, Escape to Passion isn’t a few wild scenes surrounded by endless, dull filler, this movie runs full speed throughout. Never boring and always entertaining, Escape to Passion should be seen by anyone who loves unique, offbeat movies.

This movie has ample nudity, with a good number of girls showcasing their talents on screen. The sex is never graphic or even close, but there are numerous full frontal shots of the ladies. If you don’t like to see bush, you’ll have to cover your eyes a lot here. There’s also a wild scene that involves an obese man, buckets of Crisco, and a couple hot naked ladies, so look forward to that chaos. There’s frequent violence, but its non graphic and is the typical of the genre, hyper red practical effects. The shootouts are a lot of fun and the movie sprinkles them in just often enough. The dialogue here is lit up as well, with a lot of awkward and infectious lines. Shoemaker’s delivery often shifts from dead serious to hysterical as well, which is of course fantastic entertainment. But is Escape to Passion insane? This is definitely the kind of movie you watch and think “this is crazy,” probably numerous times. The shifts in tone, the performances, the shoot outs, the Crisco sex, this movie is packed with memorable insanity.

Nudity: 7/10

Blood: 4/10

Dialogue: 8/10

Overall Insanity: 10/10