Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

This 1981 horror film stars Gaylen Ross, Tony Fish, Carl Fredericks and Paul Ehlers. This begins in the woods where a group of camp counselors tell spooky stories to some of the kids by the fire. Max (Fredericks) decides to tell one about Madman Marz (Ehlers), a crazy, deformed farmer who killed his family with an Axe. Soon, the story becomes real when Marz begins hunting and slaughtering the counselors one by one. Ross (Dawn of the Dead) plays Betsy and Fish plays T.P., her boyfriend. This isn't a bad slasher flick following in the footsteps of "Friday the 13th" and "The Burning" with gruesome deaths and a creepy score. Fans of the genre may want to check it out.

I had always heard of this film but never had an opportunity to see it. Once I saw it - I confess I fell in love with it. It is in the tradition of Halloween and Friday the 13th and that whole slew of slasher films that littered the movie scene in the late 70's and more aptly the early 80s. While not on a par with Halloween(few films like it are) I thought Madman was MUCH better than Friday the 13th. It is undeniably cheaply made but really does not show. The film opens with a wonderful red drawing of two clutching, gnarled hands whilst the titles play and this loud yet engrossing theme plays. We then go to a campfire where we see an older-looking camp counselor singing some bizarre ballad about people getting killed as he goes from person to person(the counselors out-number the children). Then the leader of the camp, an older guy named Max, tells this terrifying tale of Madman Marz and how he butchered his family with an axe and then was strung up by a group of people but escaped from being hanged where he now waits to do the like to any one who says his name above a whisper. Well, his name is said above a whisper and you can imagine what follows: deaths - many of them. While this is a very formulaic film, it has style and I was truly impressed. None of the actors except the lead female - Gaylen Ross who was one of the leads in Romero's Dawn of the Dead and Creepshow - has had any career(hers as an actress preceded this film actually). None of them are embarrassing - in fact I though everyone was pretty good, BUT it is the tension of the film that carries it. The Madman looks scary as we really see little of him through the film. The deaths are scary - from a guy being strung up and almost freeing himself to a girl hiding in a fridge to, my favorite, the hot girl(Harriet Bass as Stacy) taking the lyrics to "Keep truckin" a little too seriously. The film is mostly separate killings until the end when Ross realizes what is happening. The ending takes place in Madman Marz's dilapidated house. The direction by Joe Giannone and the story by Gary Sales and company really are quite entertaining and I am surprised more did not come out of their careers. They have obvious talent. The print I saw was by Anchor bay and was PRISTINE. I also enjoyed much of the director/cast/crew commentary provided.

The movie begins around a campfire with an older man telling a scary story about Madman Marz, a psychopath who killed his family years ago in the area. Here's the kicker - he escaped capture and legend says if you call out his name in the woods, he'll hunt you down and kill you. Of course, one of the happy campers yells out "Madman Marz" and it isn't long before all hell breaks loose. After a camper goes missing, our main camp counsellor characters go out and search for him one after the other. And as per rules of slasher films, they are murdered when they go out in the woods leaving us with a remaining female counsellor.So the plot sounds a bit similar to Friday the 13th, and it is (except for the legend of Marz). Madman is an above average backwoods slasher, it's flaws are some unrealistic things such as why are their only ten kids at the camp...and why, after seeing shadows of a large creepy guy, would the characters go out into the woods and into Marz's creepy deserted house? And about those characters; They seemed so out of place for this movie. The counsellors looked to be in their thirties playing supposed twenty year olds and most of the campers were older teenagers who looked way too old for camp. The gore is decent, I may have watched a cut version though. We get some beheadings and some broken necks, but none of the gore is too over the top. What I liked about Madman was the use of shadows and the glimpses of Marz that were shown just before he'd attack. I thought that was done well. There was of course a big chase scene like in almost every horror movie. This one involved Marz chasing Ellie through the entire woods and back to the campgrounds where she hid in a refrigerator. I thought it was pretty cool. There were some awkward moments like the "jacuzzi sex scene", the cheesiest music ever used in a slasher, and some of the interactions between the counsellors and the campers. The acting wasn't good at all from pretty much everyone. But while it doesn't provide the higher quality of The Burning or Friday the 13th, Madman is an enjoyable camp slasher film that should be seen by every horror fan at least once.7/10

Exceptional cinematography (blue and black always works in backwoods slashers), raw death sequences (all about the NASTY hanging of T.P.!), cheesy moments (all about the kitsch romantic dance followed by sex inside a jacuzzi!), a creepy villain, a spooky song about the legend of Madman. Those are the principal elements that make this slasher a winner.Although cheesy and at some points slow-moving, "Madman" deserves a chance because it surely is a damn entertaining slasher. Sure, it steals plenty of moments from "Friday the 13th" but also delivers unique moments of madness. WTF? about the girl hiding in the fridge?! This moment can be ignored when Madman pays tribute to "Black Christmas" (you know, the "eye" scene).What about showing the demises of all the characters when a guy is singing the spooky song around a campfire?! Neat!I recommend this one for those who love slashers flicks. I can't say more.P.S. R.I.P. T.P.!