Madman (1982)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Director:

Joe Giannone

Writers:

Joe Giannone (screenplay)
Joe Giannone (story)

Release Date:

January 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

They thought they were alone.

Plot:

At a summer camp for youths, cockey pre-teen calls out the name of mass serial killer "Madman Marz"...

Plot Keywords:

Summer Camp | Legend | Playing Footsie While In Bed | Blood | Axe Murder

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Gaylen Ross	...	Betsy (as Alexis Dubin)
Tony Fish	...	T.P.
Harriet Bass	...	Stacy
Seth Jones	...	Dave
Jan Claire	...	Ellie
Alexander Murphy Jr.	...	Bill (as Alex Murphy)
Jimmy Steele	...	Richie
Carl Fredericks	...	Max
Michael Sullivan	...	Dippy
Paul Ehlers	...	Madman Marz
Tom Veilleux	...	Tommy
Stephen Clark	...	Jimmy
Vicki Kenneally	...	Mary Ellen
Shelley Mathes	...	Shirley
Lori Mathes	...	Jeanie

Also Known As:

Madman Marz (USA) (working title)
The Legend Lives (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | Norway:18 (cut) | UK:18 | USA:R | Iceland:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Fish Cove Inn, Southampton, Long Island, New York, USA

Company:

The Legend Lives Company

Trivia:

Jan Claire, who plays Ellie, assisted with casting the film and was brought on to play the role of Ellie at last minute when the original actress dropped out.

Quotes:

[first title card]
Title Card: It all started during a campfire at North Sea Cottages, a special retreat for gifted children...

Movie Connections:

References Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

Soundtrack:

I Don't Need Words

Yet another forgotten gem

The Plot = It's the final night for the season at a summer camp, and all of the counsellors and children have gathered around the campfire to tell ghost stories. The old man who runs the camp tells the story of Madman Marz, a deranged man who killed his family with an axe, not far away from the camp. Naturally one of the kids make fun of the story, but what no one realizes is that the legend is real, and that Madman Marz is still lurking around in the woods by the camp...

I think Madman is definitely one of the best backwoods/camp slasher films to come out of the 1980's, It's got a big, bad villain with a huge axe, it's got a semi attractive cast and it's got a decent amount of gore. Most surprisingly however is the cinematography. While most slashers from this era were pretty low-budget, Madman looks incredibly good. The use of dark blue colours works great and really manages to create a good atmosphere.

Even though it's pretty obvious who's going to die and who's not, this movie tends to drag out on it to keep the suspense level high, and it really does work. The story may not be original but it still packs a punch but it's still a movie to be watched more than once.

All in all Madman is definitely underrated and doesn't deserve to be forgotten.