gavin6942 Virginia (Jenny Wright) works at a used book store and is into horror novels when she discovers an engrossing book from an estate sale. It is called "I, Madman" and it is about an insane doctor (Randy Cook) who cuts off people's noses, ears, and hair and puts them on his face to please a girl he likes.This film never achieved a wide audience in its day, which is unfortunate, and is not as well remembered as the other film featuring the collaboration of Randy Cook and Tibor Takacs, "The Gate". Heck, writer David Chaskin had previously done "A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge" and "The Curse" (with Wil Wheaton), so he has a good pedigree, as well. Maybe with the new Scream Factory release, this will change.The movie is a lot of fun, with all the slasher touchstones, plus some excellent cinematography that brings out a variety of lights, darks and vibrant colors (particularly in a flashback scene). Even early on, we have some visual cues to "Nosferatu" which were clearly intended: the mad doctor who looks like Max Schreck, and the hotel employee going up the stairs following his own shadow... not to mention Cook "ripping off Lon Chaney" (his words) in the creation of a villain.The special features on the Scream disc really show how much work and love went into this. A short (roughly ten minute) behind-the-scenes feature has Randy Cook explaining how he had to act, apply his own makeup, and also be responsible for the animation. So after hours on set, he would still be up until two in the morning working on making the creatures fit the scene just right. It is impressive, especially the Jackal Boy, and shows a real dedication (no wonder the man has three Oscars).If that alone was not good enough, there is also a full commentary track with Cook and interviews with various people involved with the picture. Scream has taken a better than average slasher film and made it one of the must-own Blu-rays of 2015: any horror fan will delight in seeing (and hearing) how films such as this are made.

The_Void I, Madman is a rather odd little film. The story straddles a line somewhere between art and absolute rubbish, as we have the idea of fiction and reality coming together; but the fiction side of the story is far from art, as we follow a psychopath who has seen fit to tear his own face off. Furthermore, the production values are really good considering the sort of film; yet it doesn't do it any favours, as it always feels like a high quality B-movie, and films like this do better with an appropriate style to them. The plot is pure hokum and unlikely to be taken seriously by anyone. We follow Virginia; a young woman who works at a used book store. She's into horror literature, and is pleased with herself one day when she happens across a certain book. She soon wants to read the author's only other work, and is surprised when it ends up on her doorstep. She begins to read the novel entitled 'I, Madman' - a macabre tale about a man who ravages his own face in the hope of getting a girl to like him (...). However, the horror of the book becomes more real when Virginia begins to see the title character murdering people for real...Director Tibor Takács made the silly horror flick 'The Gate' two years prior to this film; and if you asked me he should have stuck to films like that. It's not that I, Madman is essentially not fun; but the way it comes together doesn't feel very fluid or logical. The acting is decent, however, with Near Dark's Jenny Wright taking the lead role and doing well with it, while supporting cast members provide decent feedback. The central villain is a fairly clichéd creation, as similar ideas of deformed maniacs killing people have been used many times before. The special effects aren't too bad for most of the film, and it's nice to see a few gory sequences in any horror film. At the end, however, a sub-plot involving a half man, half jackal comes into play; and we get treated to some spectacularly awful stop motion effects, and it brings the film crashing down on it's head as any credibility it has built up so far is lost. Still, most of the film isn't too bad; and while there are a lot of inconsistencies and unlikely character choices - I, Madman is worth seeing if only to marvel at how bizarre it is.

tedg The setup here is a typical fold. An actress has a day job in a book store. She reads horror books and imagines herself in them. One day, she comes across an author who, when writing, had the story and real life merge. In reading the books, they "come alive."Her actor and book friends (plus a pianist) are murdered to provide parts of the writers face. This is such a clever idea that it attracted me to dig out this old project. The writer even understood the redhead thing: the first murder is to get the red hair of an actress we see playing Desdemona. Natch, the boyfriend is a police detective assigned to the case.What we see is simply turning the crank, but when do poor production values bother kids? The idea is the thing. It isn't a folded gialli, instead a dim reference. But its better at root than "Stay Alive," a similarly folded kiddiething with which I saw this.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

Paul Andrews I, Madman starts in a hotel during the 50's. A guest named Dr. Kessler (special make-up effects man Randall William Cook) leaves the building as the front desk clerk (Raf Nazario as Rafael Nazario) receives a phone call from the room next to Dr. Kessler's complaining about animal noises, the manager (Bob Frank) goes to investigate & is attacked by a monstrous half man, half jackal creature which Dr. Kessler had created. Virginia Clayton (Jenny Wright) stops reading her horror novel entitled 'Much of Madness, More of Sin' by Malcolm Brand at this point. Virginia works in a used bookstore & enjoys reading, recently she has discovered Much of Madness, More of Sin & has been engrossed. The next day at work Virginia tries to find the other novel by the same author called 'I, Madman'. Virginia has no luck but when she returns home she finds a copy waiting for her outside her apartment door, she starts to read as the book once again features Dr. Kessler who is madly in love with an actress named Anna Templar (Jenny Wright again) who doesn't return the sentiment saying that he is ugly. As an offering to Anna, Dr. Kessler slices off his facial features with a scalpel & starts to collect various bits 'n' pieces from unwilling donors that he grafts on his own face. Of course this is all fiction & the book goes on to describe him brutally murdering a woman & scalping her. The next day Virginia sees a report in a local newspaper which tells of the murder of an actress & one of Virginia's friends named Colette Berkowitz (Michelle Jordan), after this event & a face to face meeting with Kessler before he kills & slices the ears off a pianist (Bruce Wagner) who lives near her, Virginia is convinced that the character of Dr. Kessler is responsible & comes to life when she reads I, Madman. Virginia's boyfriend Detecitve Richard Channing (Clayton Rohner) is on the case but has a hard time believing Virginia's story about character's from a horror novel coming to life & committing murder's, as the murder's of people connected with Virginia continue in the same vein as I, Madman she realises that the novel ends with Anna, whom she think's she is in reality, having her heart cut out by the deranged Kessler...Directed by Tibor Takacs I was pleasantly surprised by just how good I, Madman was, I'd never previously heard of it but I think I've uncovered a bit of a hidden gem. The script by David Chaskin has a lot more depth than you might expect & offers a little more originality than most. At heart I, Madman is a slasher but it tries to do something different with the premise & tries to stay away from the clichés which was both refreshing & something I wasn't expecting. It does a nice job of blurring the lines between the fantasy world of the novels & the reality in which Virginia lives. How a character from a novel can suddenly become real isn't explained that well but the story felt solid still & it didn't really matter to me that much as I, Madman just seemed work. The killer's motives are actually quite good & have at least some thought put into them, his connection with Virginia & why he focuses his attentions on her is also believable & not just coincidental like her being in the wrong place at the wrong time, there's a method to all the madness in I, Madman. It takes a while to get going but I never found it boring or felt my interest was waining, the characters are pretty strong & enough happens to satisfy & entertain. There isn't much blood or gore but what's here is effective & quite brutal looking as Kessler runs around killing people with his straight razor, there's a scalping, someone has his ears sliced off, someone's lips are cut off too & a gruesome scene where Dr. Kessler reveals his face early on minus his nose, ears & lips. There is a monster in I, Madman as well brought to life with stop-motion animation which looks impressive considering the budget, I believe the people involved in making I, Madman had enthusiasm & cared about the finished product which goes a long way. Technically the film is very good & well made, director Takacs manages to create some really good sequences especially the ominous moodily lit & shot murder set-pieces which are more effective than they have any right to be. The acting is very strong throughout which also helps give I, Madman a certain credibility that other cheap horror/slashers simply don't have. Overall I didn't think I would but I actually rather liked I, Madman, don't like that title though. A bit of a sleeper & I highly recommend I, Madman to horror fans, as for everyone else I still think it's a worthwhile film & definitely worth watching.