Madman (1981)

Madman (1982)Madman opens with a camp-fire scene. A spooky tale is told by way of song by T.P. (Tony Fish) to some rather lifeless kids who couldn't look more uninterested if they tried. In fact T.P's tune only appears to be of interest to the other camp counsellors. The song is rather awful introduction and doesn't bode well for what's to come, especially as there are clips hinting as the counsellors' fates cut into the scene. You have the urge to turn off there and then. You've seen what's coming so why endure more? After all there maybe more dire songs (and there are). There's also another story to be blabbed out, this time courtesy of senior counsellor Max (Carl Fredericks). He recounts the urban legend of the aptly named Madman Marz (Paul Ehlers) a local guy who killed his whole family, even his kids! It just so happens that close to where our bunch are mindlessly recounting the guy's tale is Marz's home, now dilapidated. We learn that If you say his name out loud Marz will come and kill you and probably anyone else to hand too. Max evidently believes in the legend and is not best pleased when younger counsellor Richie (Jimmy Steele) shouts out for the madman to come and get him. This feels contradictory, I mean, Max has just been saying Marz's name out loud in recounting the grisly malnourished tale and he KNOWS what happens when you say the name out loud - perhaps Max has a death wish? Or just didn't like the kids and their counsellors and wanted to get Marz to come and clobber them all. It would explain why Max buggers off for the remainder of the movie leaving the rest to fend for themselves as the killer runs amok. Or it could be because the main counsellor in the original Friday the 13th buggered off and left the younger counsellors to fend themselves and the writer here simply cribbed it. And that's pretty much it for the set up. What follows is the usual silly people doing silly things that lead to silly killings as they individually venture out to find the same idiot that kick-started the murder spree - Ritchie!Like most genre flicks the main aim behind the making of the film was to make money rather than a quality product. With John Carpenter's Halloween raking in the money studios were naturally keen to cash in. They turned to the independents to see what horror produce they had that they could fling out into theatres quickly. And that's how Madman came about. Following its theatrical release in January 1982 Madman went on to be a sleeper hit on the US drive-in circuit before garnering a cult following on home video. In watching the disc's extras it would appear that the cast and crew are stunned to still be talking about the film so many years after its release. I would be too. It looks like the good folk involved have been looking to produce a remake/reimaging now for some years. They reason that Jason, Michael and Freddie have had remakes and franchises but fail to recognise that the characters mentioned were all from much more successful movies hence why they were franchised and remade. Madman is a cult movie and remaking a cult movie doesn't really work. It has a limited appeal.Madman is a perfect example of a film that is so bad that it's actually pretty good. It's hugely derivative and quite frankly awful. Madman constantly rips off far better slasher movies throughout often to its detriment. Madman plays like a greatest hits collection of horror clichés all covered by a lesser-known artists. There's the camp-fire tale that sets the scene (see also John Carpenter's The Fog, The Burning, Friday the 13th Part 2 amongst others), a hot tub scene (see also Halloween II amongst others) and, well you get the picture, even leading up to the ambiguous open ending screaming out for a sequel that, for this film, never comes. What Madman lacks in originality it more than makes up for with unintentional laughs and inventive, if poorly executed killings. The acting is awful but this adds to the fun. You find yourself wondering why so many adults are employed for the supervision of a handful of 'gifted' children, so gifted they never utter a word, and why oh why are the police never called when it's apparent things have gone very wrong indeed. Watching a hysterical woman, a poor attempt at aping Jamie Lee Curtis, empty a fridge in haste to hide from Madman Marz is so absurd you need to replay the scene for it to sink in that it actually did happen. Madman is a guilty pleasure, absurd, annoying but thoroughly watchable in an awful kind of way. You shouldn't like it but you do.This review and others feature on my site www.mybloodyreviews.com

"Madman" is essentially an early '80s retread of the summer camp slasher (done exponentially better by "Friday the 13th" and "The Burning" before it, and "Sleepaway Camp" after it). In the beginning of the film, a group of camp counselors and preteens are around a campfire— it's the week before Thanksgiving (who goes to camp in November?), and since the camp is shutting down, the counselors decide to tell the story of a local farmer named Madman Marz who hacked his family to death with an axe. One of the counselors decides it would be a good idea to call out his name to the surrounding woods, and lo and behold, when they come a'calling, he comes a'killin'.Hailed as a cult film by many fans, I'm halfway baffled as to why so many consider "Madman" to be as extraordinary as they do. It's not that the film suffers from being routine — that's expected from an '80s slasher epic— but there are a lot of other issues with it that leave something to be desired. The script, for one, is beyond hokey, and the villain himself is about the least scariest maniac I can recall on film— an ogreish redneck in overalls with a clearly prosthetic face? It just ain't scary, folks. Lackluster performances and truly indistinguishable characters don't help much either.The film does feature some really great photography at times, especially during the nighttime sequences in the woods, which make up the bulk of the film, but incredibly dodgy editing and an abrasive synth score detract from the moodiness of the proceedings. Even the darkness of the upstate New York forest and the musty cabins of the camp fail to establish a solid sense of atmosphere here, and the film suffers for it. There are a couple of gruesome killings, but by and large even the murder sequences are anticlimactic. Perhaps the film's most indubitable sin, however, is that it flashes the murder sequences of each character across the screen in the opening campfire scene. I mean, obviously we know that most of them are going to die anyway, but why strip any potential surprise from a virtually incredulous film?It's not that I have a bias to the summer camp/backwoods slasher either, nor did I want to dislike this film. There are dozens of films that follow this thread which I am a fan of: "The Burning," "Friday the 13th," "Just Before Dawn," "The Final Terror"— the difference with those films though is that, despite their formalities, they excel in other areas and are able to distinguish themselves because of it. "Madman" doesn't do that; the most it has to offer is some neat nighttime cinematography, a ridiculous hot tub sex scene, and perhaps the most absurd theme song in film history. Highlights: the eerie silhouette of Madman in the tree (as depicted on the 2003 Anchor Bay cover art), and the downbeat ending. 4/10.

Madman (1982): A Memorable 'Woods' SlasherReleased in 1982, Madman is another Slasher flick that features helpless campers sent to the slaughter for our viewing entertainment. At this point in the game you're probably thinking, "Again?!" Although it's difficult to overlook clichéd elements within this sub-genre some movie directors manage to get the balance right – regardless of a low budget. This is where the cult classic, already-out-of-print Madman (aka Madman Marz) makes its appearance in order to woo us over.The film opens with a varied group of campers huddled around a campfire in the dead of night, scaring each other with ghoulish stories of the macabre. Their supervisor and camp counselor, Max, entertains the small crowd with a grisly tale about a lunatic farmer by the name of Madman Marz; convicted for the crime of murdering his family, and as a result, condemned to hang by the neck. Marz escapes and remains on the prowl; widely believed to be a legend among the wide-eyed younglings. In common practice and impeccable timing, a young man by the name of Ritchie stands up and shouts Marz's name…challenging him to appear in order to prove the validity of his existence. The campers expire for the evening and reminisce about the fun times of the camping season. Waiting in the wings, however, is the 'Madman' – called forth by Ritchie and awaiting the opportunity to eviscerate the unsuspecting troupe.Madman is a competent and simplistic Slasher from the early days of the sub-genre. The film's director, Joe Giannone, would not further his career as a director. He died in 2006 at the age of 60, leaving me to wonder how well he could've sculpted his talents had he pursued show business more adamantly. Gary Sales, one of the writers who contributed his talents to the film, is currently in the works with Paul Ehlers (the man who portrayed the 'Madman') to release a second film entitled "Madman Marz"…slated for a 2011 release in 3D. It's all part of the recent remake craze. Besides, Madman has generated enough underground interest that allows a remake of this caliber to happen. Madman is definitely worth a look – from the isolated camp trails to the eerily shot Marz house, this film allows us to shut our brain off and enjoy a chilling collection of events. Think back four years ago to a splendid tale called Hatchet. There are obvious influences drawn from Madman and that's enough evidence to prove that this formula works.

Right off the bat, I consider myself a late 70's, early 80's horror aficionado, and Madman falls into the category. I wouldn't insist that anyone see this, but whoever does happen to catch this forgotten horror film from 1982 will most likely be in for an unexpected surprise. What we have is a chilly atmosphere(love the creepy blue hue throughout), an interesting killer(a cross between Santa Claus and ZZ Top), and a very effective ending, which adds to this film; otherwise, it would be your standard slasher with stupid counselors. I also liked the dilapidated house in the middle of the woods, even though I find it hard to believe that Richie would be crazy enough to hang out there, as he's the one who mocks the Madaman legend, but I digress. His role at the end is somewhat confusing, but I guess that adds to the film's charm. My biggest qualm is there's not enough Max, who was probably the most interesting character(outside of Marz)and is left at the bar playing at the world's longest game of poker.edit: I just read that Tony Fish(T.P.)recently passed away, and I'm saddened to hear that he was only 51. His character was actually integral, and I liked how he and the young boys worked together at the camp.