I, Madman

Released by: Scream Factory
Released on: July 21st, 2015
Director: Tibor Takacs
Cast: Jenny Wright, Stephanie Hodge, Randall William Cook
Year: 1989
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The Movie

This late eighties horror flick is a mish mash of pulpy noir aesthetic with a plot not entirely dissimilar to the Nightmare on Elm Street series from Wes Craven.

I, Madman stars Near Dark actress Jenny Wright as Virginia, a book store clerk and aspiring actress whose obsession with a horror novel turns deadly when real life murders begin to occur around her, all mimicking instances in the titular I, Madman publication. A mad doctor-played by Randall William Cook, a visual effects wizard who continues to work today, having assisted Peter Jackson on the Lord of the Rings trilogy-is cutting up L.A. residents, in the hope to impress Virginia and gain her love.

The idea of a literary character jumping into the real world does smack a bit Krueger-esque-particularly the second entry in the franchise, which coincidently had the same writer, David Chaskin-but I, Madman isn't so much a slasher as it is a really morbid mystery of sorts; a right homage to the lurid pulp fiction tales with which Virginia spends so much of her time. There's an excellent sense of style to the film, with each murder set piece drenched in brilliant lighting, shadow and smart shot framing. Cook's mad doctor is straight out of a giallo film, decked out in a dark trench coat, mask and wielding a razor-sharp scalpel with grace and deadly precision. Meanwhile, his physical transformation as he keeps grafting new body parts to his skin possesses a look straight out of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

The film's director Tibor Takacs gained early fame amongst 80s horror kids for her work on the seminal 1987 flick The Gate, with I, Madman being the first follow-up to that success. This film is substantially more adult in nature, but possesses a similar amount of love and care put into the production by cast and crew. Sadly, Jenny Wright's acting and line delivery are awkward, rarely approaching the believability necessary to project her character to the audience, while her on-screen cop love interest is played with serviceable, but unremarkable concern by a little-too-young Clayton Rohner. It's clearly Cook's show here, and he's firmly in control of the screen whenever his villain appears, while Wright as a heroine struggles to keep up the pace.

This keeps I, Madman down a bit throughout its running time, with the film as a whole coming across more of a great original idea that probably could've been a minor classic, but instead is somewhat of a cult film, rediscovered here by Scream Factory for a new audience.

Video/Audio/Extras

Scream Factory's Blu-Ray of I, Madman looks excellent, making the most out of the film's bright and stylish photography. Colors are brilliantly saturated and pop exactly when they should, particularly during the more extravagant set pieces. There's some healthy grain, and overall the Blu-Ray is top notch. The DTS-HD sound could be boosted a bit in the mix-some of the dialogue isn't always easy to make out when the characters are whispering or muffled by the soundtrack-but there's no static or drop outs to impede any enjoyment on the part of its audience.

There is a nice array of extras here on the disc, including a full audio commentary with Takacs and Cook, where both the director and actor/artist reminisce about production and toss jokes back and forth, with Cook in particularly being a verbose and charming personality. There's also a "making of" featurette which features similar recollections from Takacs and Cook, this time joined by writer Chaskin and co-star Stephanie Hodge-who some might know from the sitcom Unhappily Ever After-who played Virginia's co-worker at the book store, Mona.

There's also some behind the scene footage of the film, presented here with more commentary from Cook, who describes all of the hard work which went into shooting the stop motion sequences which occur during the film's final act. It's a brief, eleven minute piece, but it's a fascinating look into the filming process on set. Cook also provides audio commentary for the disc's still gallery, while original theatrical and video trailers round out a nicely packed disc of extras.

The Final Word

I, Madman is an enjoyable B-movie horror flick from those late days of the 80s video boom, but some stilted acting and a general lack of real, nail-biting excitement keep it from being one of those titles which commonly spring to mind when discussing stone cold classics of the genre. Shout/Scream Factory fans and obscure fright fans could be advised to pick this one up, but the oblivious or mildly curious are likely to be a little disappointed with I, Madman.

Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!