The plot = Julia (Trish Everly) a school teacher who works with deaf children, is haunted by memories of her twin sister Mary (Alison Biggers) who has since been institutionalised several years ago, and Julia hasn't seen her sister in seven years, but when her uncle persuades her to see her sister as she has been stricken by a rare and possibly fatal virus that has caused her face to become horribly deformed. Julia visits Mary in her hospital room, but Mary is sent into a jealous rage at the sight of her sister, who isn't suffering the same disfiguring ailment as she is. Mary threatens to make Julia suffer like she did in the past and reminds her that their birthday is only days away. However Julia's fears are confirmed when Mary escapes and starts killing off all her friends.
I have recently watched this movie after reading rave reviews for it online and when I got round to seeing it, well I was a bit half and half. Madhouse does start off rather slow but uses elements of the standard slasher formula along with a few unique touches. One of the most obvious innovations is the use of a trained Rottweiler as a weapon, which is something different I suppose, but the effects weren't really up to that much, like the scene when the dog starts ripping the door apart, you can tell it's a stuffed toy and looks ridiculous and laughable which takes the tension right out of the scene. Not that any of this makes it a bad movie, there are good elements to this movie like The main location, the mansion where Julia lives, provides the essential creepy backdrop for the film's proceedings. And what I liked about this movie is that it's rather unsettling and doesn't hold back, rather mean spirited, I didn't like the fact that a deaf buy gets killed in this but other than that no-one is safe even the land-lady gets it, thank god as I found her a terrible actress and rather annoying, her chase scene had no suspense whatsoever, I just wanted her to die quicker. The finale Julia's nasty surprise party was done effectively, a morbid set piece that is very similar to the birthday party scene in Happy Birthday To Me, which was made in the same year. It is a disturbing sequence which is only lessened in intensity of maniacal laughter which I found rather unsettling.
All in all an okay time-waster, a definite must see for all fans of slasher movies.
I have recently watched this movie after reading rave reviews for it online and when I got round to seeing it, well I was a bit half and half. Madhouse does start off rather slow but uses elements of the standard slasher formula along with a few unique touches. One of the most obvious innovations is the use of a trained Rottweiler as a weapon, which is something different I suppose, but the effects weren't really up to that much, like the scene when the dog starts ripping the door apart, you can tell it's a stuffed toy and looks ridiculous and laughable which takes the tension right out of the scene. Not that any of this makes it a bad movie, there are good elements to this movie like The main location, the mansion where Julia lives, provides the essential creepy backdrop for the film's proceedings. And what I liked about this movie is that it's rather unsettling and doesn't hold back, rather mean spirited, I didn't like the fact that a deaf buy gets killed in this but other than that no-one is safe even the land-lady gets it, thank god as I found her a terrible actress and rather annoying, her chase scene had no suspense whatsoever, I just wanted her to die quicker. The finale Julia's nasty surprise party was done effectively, a morbid set piece that is very similar to the birthday party scene in Happy Birthday To Me, which was made in the same year. It is a disturbing sequence which is only lessened in intensity of maniacal laughter which I found rather unsettling.
All in all an okay time-waster, a definite must see for all fans of slasher movies.