Its a generic un-scary blend of Jason, Leatherface, Michael, The Prowler and all the early slashers. Its a lot more serious and better shot than later slashers, but not as entertaining or fresh. It starts strong but runs out of story midway. The strongest element is the cinematography. The sound is super cheap and the abrupt and cringey ending only works because its so bad that its funny.

Not as popular even as it is a straight slasher made in the full bloom of hack 'n slash. But it still has it's fan base and it's worth picking up for the effects used. But the story is rather simple and the ending isn't the next big thing.It do contains the typical elements of a slasher and I was surprised that Gaylen Ross (Besty) of Dawn Of The Dead (1978) fame went naked but it's rather slow and doesn't make sense all of the time. But if you are a slasher geek then it's a must see and you need this in your collection. A typical example of a slasher.Gore 1,5/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 2,5/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5

"Madman" is essentially an early '80s retread of the summer camp slasher (done exponentially better by "Friday the 13th" and "The Burning" before it, and "Sleepaway Camp" after it). In the beginning of the film, a group of camp counselors and preteens are around a campfire— it's the week before Thanksgiving (who goes to camp in November?), and since the camp is shutting down, the counselors decide to tell the story of a local farmer named Madman Marz who hacked his family to death with an axe. One of the counselors decides it would be a good idea to call out his name to the surrounding woods, and lo and behold, when they come a'calling, he comes a'killin'.Hailed as a cult film by many fans, I'm halfway baffled as to why so many consider "Madman" to be as extraordinary as they do. It's not that the film suffers from being routine — that's expected from an '80s slasher epic— but there are a lot of other issues with it that leave something to be desired. The script, for one, is beyond hokey, and the villain himself is about the least scariest maniac I can recall on film— an ogreish redneck in overalls with a clearly prosthetic face? It just ain't scary, folks. Lackluster performances and truly indistinguishable characters don't help much either.The film does feature some really great photography at times, especially during the nighttime sequences in the woods, which make up the bulk of the film, but incredibly dodgy editing and an abrasive synth score detract from the moodiness of the proceedings. Even the darkness of the upstate New York forest and the musty cabins of the camp fail to establish a solid sense of atmosphere here, and the film suffers for it. There are a couple of gruesome killings, but by and large even the murder sequences are anticlimactic. Perhaps the film's most indubitable sin, however, is that it flashes the murder sequences of each character across the screen in the opening campfire scene. I mean, obviously we know that most of them are going to die anyway, but why strip any potential surprise from a virtually incredulous film?It's not that I have a bias to the summer camp/backwoods slasher either, nor did I want to dislike this film. There are dozens of films that follow this thread which I am a fan of: "The Burning," "Friday the 13th," "Just Before Dawn," "The Final Terror"— the difference with those films though is that, despite their formalities, they excel in other areas and are able to distinguish themselves because of it. "Madman" doesn't do that; the most it has to offer is some neat nighttime cinematography, a ridiculous hot tub sex scene, and perhaps the most absurd theme song in film history. Highlights: the eerie silhouette of Madman in the tree (as depicted on the 2003 Anchor Bay cover art), and the downbeat ending. 4/10.

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