Madman (1982)

39% of users liked it
(2,008 ratings)

Set at the North Sea Cottages, a wooded retreat for gifted children, the film begins with the campfire retelling of the legend of Madman Marz (Paul Ehlers), a mean, drunken farmer who went nuts one night and hacked up his entire family with an ax. Marz was lynched by ten locals and hung from a tree… More Set at the North Sea Cottages, a wooded retreat for gifted children, the film begins with the campfire retelling of the legend of Madman Marz (Paul Ehlers), a mean, drunken farmer who went nuts one night and hacked up his entire family with an ax. Marz was lynched by ten locals and hung from a tree to die, but when they came back for the body in the morning, he had vanished. Now, the story has it, he roams the woods and will come and kill anyone who says his name above a whisper. Of course, a moronic teenaged counselor screams his name, and on the final night before Thanksgiving break, the crazed madman starts hanging and hacking the horny counselors one by one. This all might sound like it has potential to be a rousing gorefest along the lines of Friday the 13th or The Burning (both of which it slavishly imitates), but that would ignore the wretched songs, tedious pacing, bad acting, and ludicrous makeup. Leading man Tony Fish was never heard from again, and co-stars here with Harriet Bass, Seth Jones, and Jan Claire. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 28 min.
Directed By: Joe Giannone
Written By: Joe Giannone
Genres: Action & Adventure, Horror

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1981 Wide
On DVD: Feb 13, 2001
Studio: Jensen Farley Pictures

Critic Reviews

Scott Weinberg, FEARnet
At least the DVD is a worthwhile package, even if the flick is better left to the annals of your vague memory.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Frightfully inept fright film.
Dustin Putman, DustinPutman.com
Fits the '80s slasher blueprint to the letter. It's only adequately made, but it happens to feature a handful of scenes so knee-slappingly bad that the film ranks as a party favorite.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Jeff "

Madman is a much better Slasher film than most people would care to admit. Sure, the film is derivative of other backwoods slashers such as Friday the 13th and The Burning, but this film is still a very entertaining, and fun Slasher with great kill sequences. Madman is an underrated… More
Madman is a much better Slasher film than most people would care to admit. Sure, the film is derivative of other backwoods slashers such as Friday the 13th and The Burning, but this film is still a very entertaining, and fun Slasher with great kill sequences. Madman is an underrated Slasher film and doesn't get the credit it deserves. The film is very entertaining, and is a superb Slasher. The film has everything you'd expect from an effective Slasher, stupid characters, setting in the woods and of course a maniac. The film has plenty to offer a diehard horror fan bent on wanting the ultimate Slasher experience. Madman offers that. This is a well done Slasher film with good kills, a pretty good story and plenty of good chills. Sure the film has some weak moments that could have been improved upon, but for the most part, the film succeeds at having a good mix of tension, cheesiness and awesome kills. Madman is a Slasher film that horror fans should check out, and the film is definitely a satisfying film worth watching. Sure the film copies from other Slasher films. But name one film that doesn't rip-off a film that was previously released in the genre. Every Slasher film has been a clone of the previous one. Madman is good film that will appeal to the diehard horror fans. This is a must see film that shouldn't be dismissed too quickly. There are plenty of good things going on here, and there are lots of great, horrifying elements that make up a good Slasher film, and that should be enough.
Ken S

There is a grand total of 1 shot in this movie that I found effective, and that has a lot to do with smoke and back-light. I've seen EVERYTHING in this movie done before and done better. For complete-ists only.
Lee ?

Not a bad Friday the 13th rip-off, with some decent kills, even if they do lack a bit of blood. Beware the cheesy, cringe-worthy hot-tub scene though LOL! If you enjoy killer-in-the-woods slashers than this is well worth seeing. It also has a crazy but catchy theme tune too… More
Not a bad Friday the 13th rip-off, with some decent kills, even if they do lack a bit of blood. Beware the cheesy, cringe-worthy hot-tub scene though LOL! If you enjoy killer-in-the-woods slashers than this is well worth seeing. It also has a crazy but catchy theme tune too that'll stay in your head for months!
Chris W

It's pretty ridiculous, but hey, it IS a slasher film. This is decent entertainment only if nothing else is on.
Steve K

Fairly lifeless and uninteresting. Well shot, but not worth going out of your way to see.
John M

Incredibly dumb, pathetic acting in the whole cast, bad editing, and rather boring at times, but earns extra points thanks to the spooky atmosphere, some cool death and funny moment but this is not enough to watch it.