Madman

MADMAN

A slasher film from 1982, Madman features a simple tale that seems to be missing a third act.  The narrative ends abruptly with a brief epilogue after the final murder with no resolution about the fate of “Madman Marz” (the killer of the piece).  The project opens with some camp counselors and their charges sitting around a campfire.  Max, the head of the camp, tells a story about the former inhabitant of a nearby dilapidated house.  Seems the fellow went mad one day and killed his family with an ax.  A lynch mob tried to hang him, but his body was missing the next day when they went to cut him down.  Legend has it that if you say his name above a whisper, he’ll find and kill you. 

Naturally one of the campers bellows “Madman Marz” and throws a rock through the window of the “abandoned” house.  The rest of the film consists of a handful of kill scenes strung together by typical “life at camp” moments (counselors having sex and such) as Madman Marz goes on a murderous rampage and picks off some victims one by one.  At the end, one counselor (Betsy) gets all the campers (except for one who has been wandering in the woods all night) onto a bus and sends them to the police station while she stays behind to check for survivors.  Check out the final minutes of this movie if you must know what happens next.

The Overlook Film Encyclopedia of Horror describes Madman as “well-photographed, reasonably suspenseful, and boasting good special effects.”  That’s a fair assessment.  I don’t know if the abrupt ending was meant as a setup for a sequel.  The actress who played Betsy has a unique face and eyes.  The concept of a killer in the woods stalking camp counselors is not unique, but Madman has a certain charm as a representative slasher from the early eighties.  Some of the deaths are unique (one counselor is decapitated by the hood of her vehicle as she checks the engine), and the special effects are indeed above average for a low-budget piece.  Madman does not demand repeat viewings, but it’s worth a look on a chilly October night.