Madhouse (2-Disc Special Edition) [Blu-ray + DVD]

The Arrow blu- ray release's extras are incredibly good, consisting mostly of very insightful interviews with DP Roberto D' Ettore Piazzoli, Mrs. Edith Ivey and the man himself, Ovidio G. Assonitis; all who did an great job in this movie. Just like The Last House on the Left, which is probably the most imitated film ever made, this is yet another take on Brian De Palma's Sisters. An extremely influential film, there are at least three other movies that owe a debt to it, including this one, Happy Birthday to Me from the same year, by J. Lee Thompson (who made the original Cape Fear, among many others) and the Initiation. Cronenberg's Dead Ringer's does hint at De Palma's movie, too. As is the case with Craven's film, each derivation is not entirely unoriginal and is, to a certain extent, usually a good flicks in its own right.Riz Ortolani, one of the great Italian composers ever, does the music here. Even though the incidental music resembles very much his recent work for Ruggero Deodato, he comes up with the creepiest version of rock-a-bye-baby ever made, from which the movie benefits a lot. The atmosphere created with just a couple of settings, mostly what was supposed to be a rundown, hunted funeral parlor where Fulci shot some of The Gates of Hell, works pretty well. D'Ettore Piazzoli's, whose work in the underrated Curse II: The Bite and Beyond the Door I was already familiar with, color coordinates and does a soft focused, textured, multi-angled and panoramic job that provides the film with much style and quality. Assonitis, creator of Beyond the Door which, as most of his gigs as a producer had no other reason to exist but to rip successful American films off, is a truly frightening experience that this hard, cold fact doesn't ruin for me in the least. It may well be the best Exorcist rip off ever made, which is no easy feat whatsoever. In spite of the several loose ends, Madhouse succeeds at doing what it sets out to do: being scary and disturbing. The lack of logic in his hands works, again, in favor of the film. In fact, the outlandish human element resembles Tobe Hooper's first two works and adds to the viewer's sense of not having anything to grasp on and the jump scare quotient. Also, never have I been so frightened of a dog in a movie! Assonitis knows his movie language well, much better than the average director for hire, even though he clearly sees himself as a businessman more than anything else, as is clear in the sequence where Sacha plays Frisbee in the park or Amantha's chase, which I thought were original and accomplished, even.A movie that being such a big fan of horror, I had never heard of before. Modest, but quite effective and even stylish shocker. Somebody mentioned in the interviews that Georgia was the third major movie state in the Union. I remember Antonio Margheriti's Cannibal Apocalypse was shot there, too. The scenery, as in this one, helped a lot there. By the way, that's one of the most wildly outrageous, no-prisoner-taken, and well- remembered (and dismembered) Italo- horror flicks ever made. Why hasn't anybody put it out on blu-ray yet?

It was OK

A girl and her doggie woggie kill some 💩

with a cult following

Thank you!

When it comes to horror films, slashers in particular, there was one country that was churning them out nearly as fast as the US in their heyday of the 80s. Italian cinema at the time was rife with movies of this sort with directors like Dario Argento taking the lead but there were more as well. One of them was Ovidio Assonitis who produced more films than he directed but left his mark on the horror genre. Having directed BEYOND THE DOOR and TENTACLES his next film was this one, MADHOUSE.Julia (Trish Everly) is a teacher in a school for deaf children, a much loved member of the staff and a woman who cares for those in her charge. As she nears her birthday she has a sense of dread due to the memories of her childhood with her sister Mary (Allison Biggers). Her fears pan out when it turns out her sister, long held captive in a mental hospital, has escaped. Having tormented her sister in their childhood she now has plans for Julia on her upcoming birthday and they don't involve heartfelt gifts.Only a friendly Catholic priest, Father James (Dennis Robertson), has spent much time with Mary. He offers Julia hope that nothing bad will come of her escape and does his best to calm her. But then Julia's neighbors begin getting killed, attacked by a mad Rottweiler. So does her most favored student. As the body count begins to rise we begin to wonder, is Mary responsible for the murders or is it all in Julia's head? A final birthday party does indeed take place and the usual mayhem ensues. The blood flows freely and the solution to our question is answered.The movie is an interesting film but moves slowly at first. Gorehounds will be slightly disappointed that the body count doesn't involve more bloodshed early on but if they stick around to the end they'll get their fill. The movie relies more on suspense than flat out gore and for me that makes it a more interesting picture.The movie was released in 1981, the same year the more famous HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME came out, a movie with similar themes. It is impossible to tell which began with those themes but the pair make an interesting look at how they were handled by two different sets of film makers. They might make a great double feature to run on someone's birthday if they love horror films.Arrow Video has done their usual bang up job here with a tremendous looking 2k transfer of the film. Extras include a brand new audio commentary track with The Hysteria Continues, new interviews with the cast and crew, alternate opening titles, the theatrical trailer and a reversible sleeve featuring new artwork by Marc Schoenbach.Fans of Italian films will want to pick this one up but my guess is it will be the horror fan that gets more from this release. It's a solid film that will keep you guessing until near the end and entertain from start to finish.