Madman (also known as Madman Marz and working title: The Legend Lives) is a 1982 American slasher film directed and written by Joe Giannone. It stars Gaylen Ross (Dawn of the Dead) under the name of Alexis Dubin, plus Tony Fish, Harriet Bass and Paul Ehlers as Madman Marz.
A group of counsellers at a summer camp gather around and one of them tells the story of Madman Marz, a farmer who one night butchered his wife and kids and disappeared into the woods never to be seen again. Rumour has it that if you say Mr Marz’s name out loud, then he will come and get you. So that’s exactly what one bright spark does, and sure enough, the young things soon have an axe-wielding maniac on their hands.
Although passed uncut for UK cinema by the BBFC the VRO pre-cert video was briefly seized by zealous Hampshire police during the 1980′s video nasty scare, although no prosecutions made. It was later released fully uncut on DVD by Anchor Bay in 2002.
Originally Madman was suppose to be based on the Cropsy killer legend, but when word reached the production that the film The Burning was being based on the same legend the script was re-written.
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“Yeah, I know, the ’80s, particularly the early ’80s, were awash with low-budget slashers, but even in this glutted field, Madman stands out as something special, a slasher film with heart. A solidly old-school, above-average entry in an often-maligned genre.” Tom Becker, DVD Verdict
“Story and structure wise, Madman is pretty much a by the books slasher film with the bulk of the time spent with the killer stalking his victims and disposing of them in creative ways. And while some may be turned off by the simplicity of what transpires on screen, the basic premise is strong enough and the kill scenes feature an ample amount of gore are all well executed. Also the film moves along at a brisk enough pace that it never lags.” Michael den Boer, 10k Bullets
Post by Will Holland
