Hate to say this, but it's awful

I'd have to agree.

I've been looking for a number of 80's B-horror or campy movies, and stumbled across this one because some top lists mention it.

I could not get over how horrible the acting & direction was. It was simply lost on me that I couldn't concentrate on the plot. Their facial expressions were worse than zombies. I couldn't tell if they were confused, lost, scared, excited, or happy. It was completely emotionless. They, one by one, get lost in the woods looking for the previous person that got lost, and what appears they found something creepy, was actually them just trying to not look at the camera as they were moving about through the woods.

The acting itself was atrocious. I've seen bad acting, but not like this, even for a budget movie. It's no wonder I never heard of any of these actors.

The plot itself, however, had potential and the main madman villain was not half bad, but I couldn't get past the horrible acting. It's no wonder that this was Joe Giannone's only film.

I've only seen this once years ago, but I remember liking it and thinking it was entertaining.

5/10. It had a couple cool kills but the pacing killed it for me.

I only kept the DVD cause it's a collector's item.

We home now. This is the realness.

I agree man, can't believe this is a cult classic in the horror genre. Not as bad as Pieces though, that movie is The Room of Horror films haha!

Seeing “Madman” (1981) makes you realize the excellence of “Friday the 13th” (1980). It has the same basic setting and plot with a promising opening that borrows from “The Fog” (1980), not to mention a crazy ax-wielding killer that recalls “The Shining” (1980). But it never rises above a flat experience, although it has some nice nocturnal camp mood.

The fact that everything takes place within a few hours on the same night doesn’t help because there are no daytime scenes; and so the story’s just too one-dimensional for a movie that runs almost an hour and a half. Some dull scenes unnecessarily drag on and could’ve been cut in half. Another negatory is that the director/writer has no eye for capturing women on film; and I’m not talking about nudity or sleaze (although slashers are known for that).

Still, if you favor the “Friday the 13th” flicks and don’t mind a subpar copy, “Madman” should fill the bill, although that’s about it. At least the titular character’s make-up is well done. He’s sort of like Bigfoot if he were human and liked axes.

My Grade: 4.5/10

Yep. Incredibly bad, and not in a charming way. Started skipping through around 20 minutes in. No idea how this has achieved cult notoriety.

Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy it. Personally I think it’s great and has amazing atmosphere. Perhaps not as good as Just Before Dawn or the original Friday the 13th, but I prefer Madman to The Burning for sure. That’s the one I would say is a bit disappointing.

I agree.