Entry 128: Madman (1981)

Madman (1981)

Dir: Joe Giannone

"Deep in the woods lurks a hideous evil...Don't even whisper his name!"

 

For obvious reasons, October is a special month here in the Basement of Sleaze, so...Welcome to my October kickoff!  Every entry this month will focus on a horror film; no porn, no action movies, no B-grade sci-fiers, nothing but ghoulish cinema designed to thrill and chill!  I'm hoping for a bit of an increased output this month; I've got a few flicks "in the can" that I just need to find the time to write up.  

Madman takes place at North Sea Cottages, a "special retreat for gifted children," which makes it sound suspiciously like the X-Men's headquarters.  Kids sitting around a campfire are told a spooky tale about a local farmer who went mad and murdered his wife and children, before being lynched by the townsfolk...Predictably, his body disappeared.  The farmer is one "Madman Marz," but the narrator refuses to say his name during the story because, as the legend tells it, he appears whenever his name is uttered to claim new victims.  Punk-ass "gifted child" Richie (the most excellently-named Jimmy Steele, who rocks a sweet white guy jheri curl) calls bullshit on that and screams into the night for Marz to come and get them.  Meanwhile, T.P. (the late Tony Fish), who is in charge of the male students, is all pissed off because Betsy (Gaylen Ross, from Romero's Dawn of the Dead and Creepshow), chaperone for the female students, is reluctant to return his amorous advances.  After a counselor who goes off on his own to explore an abandoned farmhouse in the area is brutally murdered, T.P. and Betsy make up and engage in some freaky hot tub fornicating (Ross appears topless, which may explain her eventual use of the alias "Alexis Dubin" in the film's credits).  When Richie disappears, T.P. goes looking for him and gets hanged by Marz for his trouble.  As the other counselors (one of whom looks a LOT like John Oates!) wander off to search for T.P. and Ritchie, they're hunted down and dispatched by Marz in various ways (Axe through the chest, back-breaking, a particularly memorable decapitation via car hood), until shotgun-packing Betsy becomes the final girl, forced to defend the "gifted youngsters" from the brute.  This movie doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel, folks, but it DOES feature an uncharacteristically bleak conclusion.

For the most part, Madman is just another derivative slasher; it's clearly inspired by Friday the 13th, but its look, pacing and story beats owe more to Halloween.  Having said that, if you're predisposed to enjoying the pleasures of the slasher film, Madman has a lot to offer.  Despite being filmed independently by a first-time direct, the movie looks better than many of its contemporaries; Giannone's prowling camera and the cinematography of James Lemmo (Ms. 45, Maniac Cop) give the film a great, misty gothic atmosphere.  Ross is a capable and appealing lead, and, while none of them went on  to do much of interest to genre fans, the rest of the cast turn in likable, naturalistic performances, a real treat in a genre dominated by stilted acting.  The hairy, deformed, barefoot, overall-clad Marz is a memorable monster and the kills are bloody and effective.  Speaking of kills, the final counselor to die before Ross is left alone isn't even killed by Marz...I won't spoil it, but it's a great gut-punch moment that'll stick with you.  If you're in a slasher mood, definitely give Madman a shot!