Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Onlinewsma Absolutely Brilliant!

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Mark Turner 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.

Scarecrow-88 The plot..a school teacher for deaf children, Julia(Trish Everly), whose life has developed swimmingly since detaching herself from a malicious, demented twin sister, Mary(Alilison Biggers), must contend with the crazy, diseased bitch when she breaks from the mental hospital which held her. It seems this freak kills anyone who is associated with her sister in any way..the poor maintenance worker, for instance, or even a deaf male child she wishes to adopt. This twisted psycho is preparing for their birthday, and has this mean-ass rottweiler which tears the hand off/throat out of the asylum security guard, in turn allowing her to escape.Oh, and Julia has this relative, a priest, Uncle James(Dennis Robertson), always preaching to her about the treatment towards her wackjob sister, as if the terror she was put through as a child should be brushed aside. Father James also seems little concerned with Mary's departure from the asylum, as if it wasn't anything to worry about. Along with James, Julia's boyfriend, surgeon Sam(Michael MacRae) doesn't buy into her frightening theory that Mary's behind the murder of student Sasha(Richard Baker).Like other movies, Julia seems all alone in her suspicions, worried about her safety. There's even one of those scenes where Julia gives strict instructions to not open her door to her best gal pal, Helen(Morgan Hart), and guess what she does anyway? Helen decides to even walk up stairs to find an escaped cat, and so fill in the gruesome details. There's quite a twist, regarding a third character involved in the madness, seemingly sane, and anything but.The lush cinematography(camera work and lighting are top notch) by Roberto D'Ettore Piazzoli, provides this movie with a fantastic look, the impressive wide-screen transfer only compliments Madhouse..simply put, technically this is superior to many of it's ilk. I think many slasher fans will have problems with the pace. Director Ovidio G. Assonitis seems interested in applying a more methodical approach, building suspense(..when will strike and how long does Julie have before sis makes her presence known?). There are knife stabbings and vicious rottweiler attacks which should appease the slasher faithful, although the predatory attacks(..or two specific ones)are rather lengthly. I was quite amused at how the screenplay adopts it's strategy for providing Julia help when it appears she's in deep, deep trouble. This has one of those maniacal finales where the "birthday celebration" commences and Julia is treated to it, unprepared for what awaits her. This finale, set in the basement where the "party guests" are present, with Julia and Mary meeting face to face(..along with another who was also important in setting up the festivities), is beautifully lit with candles and blue Christmas lights, off-setting the macabre atmosphere of it all. Dog lovers may find a particular scene rather grueling.

Bloomer And so the Video Nasty train that I'm on arrived here, at the MADHOUSE. And it's proved to be quite a scenic stop. In the context of Video Nastydom, it's a shock when you come across a title from the list of thirty-nine which mobilises production values as high as this one does. By any standards, this 1981 Italian psych-horror flick (though shot and set in America) is a film of remarkable aesthetic beauty. The widescreen photography is crystalline, the framing immaculate and Riz Ortolani's 'Cannibal Holocaust'ish score is well used. Ostensibly, this film could almost give Video Nasties a good name. The 'madness' is that it was banned in the first place. There are several scenes of strong gore that leap out, including the best dog attack scene since Suspiria, but for the most part this is a serene, slowly tense film, with a heroine who teaches deaf children. In keeping with the production values of this film, the school for the deaf children is sensitively and authentically portrayed.Reading all this is potentially enough to make you forget that this is supposed to be a horror film. A horror film about identical twin sisters, one good - the teacher of deaf children, Julia, played by gorgeous Trish Everly - and one BAD! The bad one's in the local madhouse-cum- hospital, felled by multiple diseases and physically deformative medical problems, but she wants out for her birthday to wreak vengeance on the good sis. Her main tool of violence is one of the worst dogs in cinema history, a trained rottweiler who just loves tearing out human throats. If you're dog phobic in general, this is probably a bad film to see. Everything's suspenseful and well acted for the first half of the film, but some extremely odd developments and pacing in the second half (a completely minor character being stalked by a villain turns out to be the longest setpiece in the film - stuff like that) drag proceedings down somewhat. This makes Madhouse less satisfying overall than I'd expected, but it definitely has enough fine qualities that I still think of it with a degree of favour. It's also nifty that the gory moments, as spaced apart as they are, are very gory.Note that Film 2000's DVD edition of this film has exceptional picture quality but godawful sound.

wkduffy Taste—and what it reveals about a person--is a funny thing. For example, there are flicks I simply like, regardless of what others say, regardless of critical reviews. In fact, all of us have favorites that might not hold much sway with the general public. In these films, there may be stupendously bad acting, scenery, costumes, sets, and narrative—but nevertheless there's something "ineffable" about them that jibes with our personal tastes and personal aesthetic in some inexplicable way. We just LIKE them, even though those around us say we have no taste at all. (I hear this a lot.) So, a strange taste-related revelation occurred to me recently as I watched the UK R2 DVD release of "Madhouse" (aka "There Was A Little Girl"—a MUCH better title, by the way). As I watched, I thought to myself, "Sure the 'Crazy Deformed Twin Sister is Going to Kill Me' plot is derivative, but it is nicely composed. As I watched, I also thought the photography was carefully done, with good use of colors, and nice use of the scope format. The mood was unbearably somber and tense. The denouement was appropriate, and I jumped accordingly at a few spots. Finally, I wondered to myself, 'Who made this film?' As I turned the DVD box over to find out, I saw…Ovidio Assonitis! And that's when I realized my tastes were somehow inextricably linked to this director/producer and his aesthetic. Just about every knockoff horror film he has made in his career, I simply love, love, LOVE! Beyond the Door (Exorcist Clone), The Visitor (an Omen Clone], Tentacoli (Jaws Clone), Who Saw Her Die?—though my friends shake their heads in disbelief, I have that same taste-related, inexplicable, unwilling gut-reaction to all these films: I like this! I like the way it is photographed. I like the pace. I like the way the plot rolls out—or the way the plot disappears entirely in some cases. I like the characterizations, the effects. I like the outrageousness of some of the scenes. The music works just right. I just like his films. Ovidio Assonitis is all-right by me! Not surprisingly, known as the "Rip-Off King," Assonitis is railed against hither and thither. Even those who are appreciative of his films feel obliged to say things like, "You know, it wasn't so bad," or "It wasn't as horrible as I thought it might be" (just look at some of the reviews right here).But I think I just discovered that I am an unabashed Ovidio-junkie. He makes the perfectly derivative, low-budget (but nevertheless big-minded, carefully-made, professionally shot) crap I absolutely adore. On the surface, the films are nothing but a cash-in on whatever is trendy at the time. No one disputes that. But these films all saw major theatrical release because, simply put, they are extremely well-made, seriously photographed, professionally acted and scored flicks. They take what they do seriously, even though it's all been done before (and with bigger budgets). These films are great products, including "Madhouse." The UK DVD is also impressive and it shows Ovidio at his film-cloning best. As I mentioned, a great use of the scope format; nice authenticity of settings and background actors (the female protagonist who is being stalked by her deformed twin sis works in a school for the deaf, and real deaf-kid-actors are used to incredible effect in the film); nice use of colors; a nutsy ending. Hey maybe, I'll start an Ovidio Fan Club. In the meantime, though, check this out.And, by the way, when the heck is Ovidio's apocalyptic "The Visitor" (Lance Hendricksen, John Huston, Shelly Winters) ever going to see the light of day on DVD?