Director – Joe Giannone
Starring – Gaylen Ross (Dawn of the Dead, Creepshow), Tony Fish, and Harriet Bass (An Empty Bed)
Release Date – 1982
Rating – 3.5/5
Tagline – “They thought they were alone”
Slashers are really pretty fucking phenomenal if you sit back and really think about it. The golden age of slashers, late 70s throughout the 80s, followed one story with minor changes before adapting and changing with the times. Most followed a group of teens in the woods being butchered one by one by someone wearing a mask that has ties to their dark pasts.
This same story was later adapted into college campuses and high school but they all stayed close to this. However, some slashers just tossed kids in the woods and had a maniac kill for no real fucking reason other than to kill.
1982 saw the release of one such slasher. The film,Madman was recently released by the fine folks over at Vinegar Syndrome. My love of slashers drove me to reach out to VS and they were kind enough to send me over a review copy. Thanks guys!
**Spoiler Alert**The film begins as a group of campers set around a fire telling stories. After one of them tells a story, the senior counselor tells the story of Madman Marz that lives in an old house nearby. When everyone goes back to camp, one of the counselors decides to be a bad ass and goes looking for the house where he finds it. This sends the home’s only occupant, Madman Marz, on a killing spree.
When he fails to return, a few others head out to check on him and they meet their deaths. When they fail to return a few others head out into the woods where they discover their bodies and rushes back to camp. However, it is too late and Marz has a taste for blood again and will stop at nothing to kill the all.**Spoiler Alert**
Slashers are just like every other horror sub-genre and come in various shapes and form. Some like to tell a story and go the extra mile to make the film story rich while others just want to shove tits down your throat before covering you in blood. Then you get films stuck somewhere in between the two. These films typically start out slow and slowly building to a blood covered ending. Madman is just one of those slashers that has a slow beginning but makes up for it at the end.
The acting in this one is slasher fantastic. Slasher flicks have a style all their own when it comes to the acting and this is another perfect example of that. All slashers have a cast full of macho guys and overly dramatic ladies and this film is no exception. The film’s cast perfectly performs their roles in a cliched fashion and it results in an idyllic slasher setting.
The story for this one is the same tired and true slasher formula that we horror fans have come to love with a few minor changes. Like I said earlier, most slashers followed a mask killer that kills because they were wronged. However, this flick is about kids in the woods that are killed by a true sadistic sumbitch for no reason. This is something that has happened in other slashers but it is not as common as the first and true slasher formula. This mixes it up a bit and turns up the carnage.
Also, the film has several bloody and gory on screen kills that are straight up slasher alley. The kills are not that original but they are what we come to love and expect from a solid slasher. The effects for these are decent as well and work just enough to pull the gag off. They may not be Savini quality but they do their job.
Finally, this release from Vin Syn several great special features. It has interviews with Paul Ehlers, Gary Sales, and Jimmy Steele. A documentary titled The Legend Lives along with commentary, music inspired by the film, still gallery, tv spots, trailers, and subtitles. The film has also been remastered and looks amazing. Overall, the Vinegar Syndrome release ofMadman is a must own for any self-respecting slasher fan. The film is required viewing for slashers and this is the perfect release to add to your collection. I highly recommend this one!
