Madman

[domino harvey]

Release Date: 3rd August 2015
Format: Dual Format Blu-ray + DVD
Starring: Gaylen Ross, Tony Fish, Harriet Bass
Directed by: Joe Giannone

Synopsis: THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE ALONE.
Gather around the campfire, and hear the tale of Madman Marz: an ill-tempered old farmer who, one dark night, chopped up his wife and two children into pieces. When the locals caught wind of his heinous crime, they meted out revenge – sinking an axe into his head and hanging him from a nearby tree. But the next day, Marz’s body was gone…

Thus the camp counsellor finishes his tale, closing with the warning never to say Marz’s name above a whisper, lest the hideously-deformed farmer comes looking for them… Naturally, of course, the first thing that one of the young campers does is to call out Marz’s name – precipitating a terrifying night of murder, mayhem and sexy Jacuzzi vignettes!

Inspired by the same Cropsey urban legend which informed its slasher peer The Burning, Madman stands as one of the very best of the camp-based terror flicks and was a clear influence on Hatchet, Adam Green’s love letter to the slasher genre.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
Brand new 4K transfer from the original camera negative
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
Original Mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with director Joe Giannone, Madman stars Paul Ehlers and Tony Fish and producer Gary Sales
New Audio Commentary by The Hysteria Continues
The Legend Lives: Thirty Years of Madman – 90 minute documentary featuring interviews with cast and crew
New Interview with producer Gary Sales
New Interview with actor Jimmy Steele
New Interview with Madman star, Paul Ehlers
New Rare Acoustic Recording of the song inspired by his first viewing of Madman, ‘Escape From Hellview’, written, produced and performed by former CKY frontman, Deron Miller
Theatrical Trailers
TV Spots
Stills Gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Griffin
Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film, illustrated with original archive stills and posters
PLUS MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED!

[domino harvey]

Considering Vinegar Syndrome is putting this out in a couple weeks in the US, it's safe to say this will be a UK exclusive

[manicsounds]

DVDBeaver

[Finch]

4K upgrade in June



4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

4K transfer of the film from the original camera negative
4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in High Dynamic Range
Original uncompressed mono audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with director Joe Giannone, stars Paul Ehlers and Tony Fish and producer Gary Sales
Audio commentary with The Hysteria Continues
UK-exclusive introduction by Sales and Ehlers
I’m Not A Screamer, a 2022 interview with star Gaylen Ross
The Legend Still Lives! Thirty Years of Madman – a feature-length retrospective documentary on the slasher classic including interviews with various cast and crew
Madman: Alive at 35 – Sales, Ehlers and star Tom Candela look back at the making of Madman, 35 years after it was filmed
The Early Career of Gary Sales – the Madman producer discusses his career in the film industry
Convention interviews with Sales and Ehlers
Music Inspired by Madman – a selection of songs inspired by the movie, including the track ‘Escape From Hellview’ from former CKY frontman Deron Miller
In Memoriam – producer Sales pays tribute to the some of the film’s late cast and crew, including director Giannone and actor Tony Fish
Original theatrical trailer
TV spots
Stills & artwork gallery with commentary by Sales
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin
Collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by critic James Oliver, illustrated with original archive stills and posters

[What A Disgrace]

Definitely one of my favorite 80s slashers. Never a dull moment (if you're into this sort of thing), cheesy synth theme song, and a color palette closer to Suspiria than Friday the 13th.

[Finch]

Arrow asked Geoff to look over the encode for their 4K and the only issues he had were inherent in the source material.

[Finch]

I found the film frustrating. It has a decent electronic score and often uses silence to good effect where other filmmakers or producers might have smothered every scene with music to "create tension" because they think an audience raised on jump scares might get fidgety. The movie sometimes goes against expectations

SpoilerShow

(Richie who doesn't believe the campfire story and openly dares the farmer to come get them survives the movie; like many other horror movie characters, he enters a dark, spooky house and he explores quietly instead of hollering, "Hello? Anybody there? Hello?" like someone in other movies might have done; one of the couples engages in Jacuzzi sex and is watched by Marz, yet he doesn't kill them on the spot)

but then falls back on contrivances in the second half like non-starting trucks. The occasional shot of Marz being hinted at in the shadows is more impacting than seeing him in action. He doesn't feel like a force of nature like Leatherface. I can easily picture worse 80s slashers (but I don't have dom's stamina!) than Madman but I would also rather rewatch Just Before Dawn or maybe The Burning.

[What A Disgrace]

I can't argue with that, but Just Before Dawn and The Burning are absolutely the A listers of the genre in my opinion, at least in the 80s, alongside The Slayer and Nightmare on Elm Street. Madman is perhaps a lower B lister title, but I still have a lot of fondness for it (as well as the also flawed but enjoyable The Mutilator and Blood Rage), and revisiting it is an unguilty pleasure of mine.

[Finch]

Of the few 80s slashers I've seen I also remember liking The Prowler if not quite as much as Just Before Dawn.

[domino harvey]

I can easily picture worse 80s slashers (but I don't have dom's stamina!)

Oh man, yeah, quit now! Madman is in the top ten percent of slashers, so if you didn't like this, imagine how much you'd love some of the true dregs out there

[Finch]

I mean, it was a passable way to spend my Saturday morning and it gets enough things right to be disappointed that it's not better still.