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

Color:

Color

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:

Although passed uncut for UK cinema by the BBFC the VRO pre-cert video was briefly seized by Hampshire police during the 1980's video nasty scare, though without any prosecutions made. It was later released fully uncut on DVD by Anchor Bay in 2002.

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 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Soundtrack:

Song of Madman Marz

Dow Dow Dow.. Eh Eh Eh Eh Eh

The last night of Summer Camp finds a group of badly-dressed pubescent teens and over-sexed counselors deep in the woods telling ghost stories by the fireside. A story is told about a local farmer (Marz) who decided it was rather appropriate to hack his family to pieces while they slept in their beds. After discovering this, the locals hung Marz from a tree-branch and left him for dead. However, his body disappeared and now it is said that when his name is uttered, he appears and randomly hacks around for a while.

From here, a story emerges about a psycho killer, aptly named Madman Marz who likes wielding various sharp, heavy implements - chiefly an axe. You always know when madman's about to hack into someone because you hear the creepy bars of music that closely resembles "dow dow dow...eheheheheheh".

The film is straight from the teen horror text book and features the obligatory hot tub scene (featuring a man with a rather strange belly button and a buxom blonde ripe for a horror film hacking). Despite some inane killing, Marz shows true compassion when saving characters with a bad 70s/80s 'do from additional shame and embarrassment by mashing their head right into a car's engine and jamming the bonnet down on their shaggy mess of hair (that's one shonky sounding starter motor).

While it won't win any awards for originality, you have to admire the simple fun that Madman offers. Whether it be watching the "special" campers get separated and randomly massacred in the woods or the screaming blonde try to hide in a refrigerator, there is no doubt that Madman is a very under-stated horror classic.