Madman is a 1982 horror film, released at the height of the “stalk & slash” boom. Originally set to be a take on the “Cropsy” legend, the producers changed the story after learning that “The Burning” was in production. But is Madman any good? Read on, Fiends, to find out…
Madman Synopsis
LIke many of it’s contemporaries, Madman takes place on a summer camp. A rather deserted one at that, with seemingly as many counsellors as campers. Anyway, the film begins with a spooky stories around the campfire scene, similar to the one in Friday The 13th Part 2. Here, we are introduced to our main characters, and the titular madman. Madman Marz is the local legend who killed his family, and was lynched for it. Only, his corpse vanished, and was never found. Now, he returns to stalk and slaughter the camp counsellors. And his reason for doing this? One of them boorishly smashed a window on his ramshackle house. Cue a round of slaughter and screams as he works his way through the counsellors.
Analysis
Like many other films in the early 80s slasher craze, the story for Madman is slight. It exists purely to set up the murder scenes for pretty much the entire adult cast (no surviving final girl here, folks). Yet, the film is eminently watchable. The cast are of a standard similar to that of it’s cinematic peers, watchable without being annoying. And the script isn’t as clunky as some, which is a pleasant change.
The film has a decent look, not being too grainy despite it’s low budget and predominantly night shooting. Indeed, the cinematography is really rather good in places. Audio is as expected (i.e. serviceable), and the music fits the mood nicely. The effects work is pretty good, albeit limited compared to many slasher films. A big shout out goes to the makeup for Madman Marz himself. The work is far better than I expected from a film of this budget.
Extras
Like most Arrow releases, this is a stacked set. You get the following:
- Brand new 4K transfer from the original camera negative
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
- Original Mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
- Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Audio commentary with director Joe Giannone, Madman stars Paul Ehlers and Tony Fish and producer Gary Sales
- Audio Commentary by The Hysteria Continues
- The Legend Still Lives! Thirty Years of Madman a feature-length retrospective documentary on the slasher classic including interviews with various cast and crew
- Madman: Alive at 35 Sales, Ehlers and star Tom Candela take a look back at the making of Madman, 35 years after it was filmed
- The Early Career of Gary Sales the Madman producer discusses his career in the film industry
- Convention interviews with Sales and Ehlers
- Music Inspired by Madman a selection of songs inspired by the movie, including the track Escape From Hellview from former CKY frontman Deron Miller
- In Memoriam producer Sales pays tribute to the some of the film s late cast and crew, including director Giannone and actor Tony Fish
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spots
- Stills & Artwork Gallery with commentary by Sales
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin
- Collector s booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic James Oliver, illustrated with original archive stills and posters
Overall, I would reccomend this set for any slasher movie fan. Whilst not a “top tier” slasher, it certainly sits just beneath those that are, and is well worth your time.
4/5 Fiends.
Buy Madman: https://arrowfilms.com/product-detail/madman-blu-ray/FCD1483
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