At a recent panel discussion of the film MY BLOODY VALENTINE
director George Mihalka noted that current horror fare was filled with
beautiful people. Male models with six packs, female models who were gorgeous,
all took the place of ordinary people in horror films. Reflecting at the
current spate of horror films I found that his statement was true. It wasn’t
that people in horror films of the past were ugly but they were so, well,
perfect looking. The use of the beautiful people has made horror films ones
that most of us can’t relate to. It’s as if the victims were no longer us but
indeed actors portraying roles instead. In watching MADMAN I felt the same
thing. But the biggest difference was that both of these older films were more
frightening because of that simple reason as well as the fact they were made
with heart as opposed to dollar signs.
MADMAN opens with the remaining kids at camp and their
counselors sitting around the campfire on the last night telling ghost stories.
Max (Frederick Neumann) tells the story of a killer who lived in the abandoned
house a stone’s throw from their fire. A farmer who murdered his wife, his son
and his daughter. The townspeople upon discovering the deed went after him and
during the fight to capture him he was scarred after being hit by an axes. They
took him to the woods where they are now and hung him from a tree only to find
him missing the next morning. The legend says that you should whisper his name
if you dare mention it at all, the name of Madman Marz.
Of course one of the teens at camp, Richie (Tom Candela),
has to yell out the name and tosses a rock through the window of the house. Sufficiently
frightened the counselors and campers head back to their cabins. The lead
counselor TP (Tony Fish) stays with the three boy campers to put out the fire
but before they return Richie sees something in the trees and remains behind.
Upon returning the kids go to bed, the counselors get
together for their last night at camp and Max heads to town for supplies and to
play cards. TP and Betsy (Gaylen Ross) cozy up in the hot tub while the others
pair off as well. When TP checks in on the campers he finds Richie missing and
heads out to find him. It isn’t long before TP is found by Marz (Paul Ehlers) and
becomes the first in a line of new victims of Madman Marz.
Whereas most movies of this genre focus on the gore quality
of the film with extreme shots of viscera on display MADMAN relies more on
suspense and story than the rest. Yes, the story is simple and familiar but the
interplay between characters here feels more real than many films of the genre.
No in depth amount of time is spent to develop these characters but each is one
that doesn’t take an enormous amount of writing to recognize. And rather than
horny teens we have horny college age students which is something different as
well.
While taking place at night the film never puts the viewer
so much in the dark that you can’t tell what you’re looking at and that’s a
credit to director Joe Giannone and cinematographer James Lemmo. Far too many
horror films have been ruined by being too dark to decipher who was who or what
was what. And specific shots of Marz are wonderful to view, giving a tease of
him in the shadows, in silhouette or as a flashlight passes over him only to
find him gone when swung back into view. All of these add to the suspense of
the film.
And suspense is more of what this film is about rather than
the typical blood fest. We watch as campers remain in cabins unaware of what it
taking place (until near the end) and counselors are picked off one by one as
they search for the missing teen Richie only to find Marz in their path bent on
their destruction. As I said, it has similarities to movies made at the time
but also is different enough to make it a film worthy of its own fan base.
Vinegar Syndrome has done a fantastic job of presenting this
on blu-ray with an amazing 4k restoration from the original negative. It’s
never looked better. On top of that the extras are wonderful as well and
include a documentary on the film that’s as long as the movie itself. That
feature is THE LEGEND LIVES: 30 YEARS OF MADMAN MARS and was made in 2010.
Other extras include a new interview with producer Gary Sales, Madman Marz
himself Ehlers and Candela, the first time Ehlers and Candela have seen one
another in 35 years, the featurette MADMAN ALIVE AT 35, a commentary track with
the producer, director and cast, a commentary track by The Hysteria Continues,
music inspired by the film, an in memoriam piece on members who have passed
away, the original theatrical trailer, TV spots and a vintage image gallery.
The movie works on all levels and this version from Vinegar
Syndrome is amazing to watch. Couple that with the extras noted above and fans
of horror need to make sure that they add this one to their collection. Forget
about the old VHS copy you still have, the bootleg version on disc or any
previously released versions. THIS is the one to own.
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