Rating: ***1/2
Starring: Jenny Wright, Clayton Rohner and Randall William Cook
In a way, I am a great admirer of pulp fiction; from hardboiled detectives to high-flung adventures, the books are a charmingly campy way to spend a rainy afternoon, or a quick read before bed. Director Tibor Takacs, who many of you remember as the man behind the cult classic horror fantasy The Gate (1987), concocted a little slasher out of this medium, resulting to a menacing, underrated murder-mystery of the odd kind.
As any bibliophile, Virginia has an author that she greatly admires. Said author is Malcolm Brand, a pulp fiction writer who only wrote two books in his life, best-sellers that Virginia owns a copy of each: "Much of Madness, More of Sin", a creature feature that features an abomination that's part human, part animal, and "I, madman", a story about a failed surgeon-turned-poet whose love for a certain actress have him mutilating parts of his face and replacing them with better ones, those that he sliced off from other people. It's all just stories for Virginia, until a series of bizarre killings start to plague her life. Those around her are dropping dead like flies and every time she picks up the book, the killer from I, Madman materializes to show off the parts he took away and sewn unto himself. Could it all be in her head? Or is there something otherworldly and stranger at play here?
I, Madman (1989) is a friendly nod to the decades of old-school horror, picking up clichés and elements from 50s pulp fiction, fusing a bit of 80s horror into the pile. There's a few pacing problems, some underwritten script and a curveball of an ending that nobody saw coming, but as far as obscurity for entertainment matters, these are minor setbacks than major flaws that hinder the movie dead. If anything, the odd scripting and fantastical elements are all what make this movie a good popcorn companion, one with a bit of variety in its plotting.
The film also benefits from a capable set of cast; Jenny Wright played our heroine with much bookish character that she comes out as vulnerable yet strong-willed, and Clayton Rohner as Richard, Virgina's lover, gave an equally likable performance that managed to save his character from being an annoying skeptic by adding some warmth to his persona. Of course, we also got our killer, Dr. Alan Kessler, played by Randall William Cook, a threatening yet charismatic maniac who acts as a dangerous third wheel of this rather estranged love triangle. His Modus Operandi of stealing parts isn't entirely new, but why he does it is something worth noting; while we do have slashers making masks out of the skins of their kills for the purpose of either expressing themselves or hiding their faces, Kessler does it to improve his previously mutilated face, one that he himself purposely wronged while offering bits to a beloved woman. This is rather a relevant plot point that makes this maniac a tad more unique, if not creepy.
While the mystery of the movie is played around on who's killing who, or whether Virginia is imagining all of this or not, the climax only answered very little and failed to make sense. A lot. Then again, I, Madman (1989) is still enjoyable run until then. Sometimes campy, Sometimes serious, aiming less on graphic kills and visceral horror, but more on cerebral shlock and a lingering tone. It's certainly not going to be for everybody, but it's a worthwhile feature and a sleeper cult hit for those who like their slashers weird!
Bodycount:
1 male attacked by a monster, eaten (story)
1 female attacked by a monster (story)
1 female scalped with a razor
1 male stabbed with a razor, ears sliced off
1 male had her nose sliced off with a razor
1 female found with her lips cut off
1 monster sliced in half by a broken glass pane, crashes through a window and disappears
1 male attacked by a monster, crashes through a window and disappears
Total: 8
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