Over the years Madman has gained a minor cult following and is considered one of the better of the glut of slasher movies to flood the market in the early 80's. Well, it's not that bad really and there are a few memorable moments (like the nasty "car hood" scene), but the entire thing is just too routine to be anything more than a bearable, if skippable, effort.

It all opens with the usual slasher set-up by having a group of counselors at a camp for gifted children sitting around a campfire and trying to scare each other with spooky songs and tales. That's when the story of "Madman" Marz comes up. Seems Mr. Marz was a farmer who went nutty and killed off his entire family one night only for him to haunt the woods ever since and staying hidden unless someone says his name above a whisper. You just know someone was going to and soon enough the deformed farmer is back in business killing off his young adult victims one-by-one.

Madman has a decent musical score and does get to the deaths fairly quickly; but there's a lot of dumb dialogue (one character philosophizes about killing his fellow counselors), it relies on false scares a bit too much, and it's fairly bloodless making us sit through a few mildly dull stretches before people start to die.

There are a few alright stalking scenes scattered throughout and a few of the deaths aren't bad, but as these things go it's just too "been there, done that" to make much of an impression. (Chris Hartley, 1/26/05)

Directed By: Joe Giannone.
Written By: Joe Giannone.

Starring: Alexis Dubin, Tony Fish, Harriet Bass, Seth Jones.

aka: The Legend Lives; Madman Marz.