[yasr_overall_rating]
Julia, a teacher in a school for the deaf, has a hideously deformed and deranged twin sister that resides in the local looney bin. She escapes to gate-crash a surprise birthday party for Julia.
I’ve been contributing an article every three or four months to a zine about video nasties, which are a group of films that were designated for prosecution in the United Kingdom due to graphic content. “Madhouse” is a film on that list and is the first of several films I’ve seen in advance of writing essays that are much more expanded in length than my reviews here. I knew nothing about “Madhouse” prior to watching the film. I was aware, however, that there have been several new and old films with the same title. This particular “Madhouse” is an Italian slasher that was recently produced on a remarkably well-packaged Blu-ray by Arrow.
While some of the films on the video nasty list are remembered due to their disturbing concepts (like “The Last Orgy of the Third Reich” and “Killer Nun”), “Madhouse” doesn’t have much of a unique plot. Much of the writing emphasizes that the film can even be viewed as an amalgamation of various concepts that were better used in other horror movies.
The film tells the story of a young woman in Georgia who works as a teacher at a school for the deaf. The woman’s twin sister is hospitalized in a home for the mentally ill. The deranged twin sister escapes and begins to kill a number of individuals. “Madhouse” was likely placed on the video nasties list because of the scenes involving the chaos created by the twin sister. These sequences include several attacks, like a dog attack sequence as well another moment in the film when an electric drill is used as a weapon.
While “Madhouse” borrows much from other horror films, the film is ultimately not terrible and the violent scenes are memorable. Fortunately, the main actress is particularly talented and is able to carry the less-than-stellar plot. One of the other selling points of this film is the reversal that occurs towards the end of the film, which is so strong that it elevates the quality of the movie as a whole.
Anyone who likes bad horror films will likely enjoy this movie. While there’s enough gore to satisfy people who like slashers, there’s not so much violence as to repulse viewers from the film.
Available now in a 2-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray + DVD
