Rating: 
Summary: Frightening film with suspense at every corner.
Review: Brilliant movie with fantastic script. The cinematography looked as if it came right out of a pulp novel. Five stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Would be 5 stars but i have 2 problems
Review: first let me say this is a very well made underrated movie with a wonderful story and lush scenery. You must see it since i am sure many havent. Might be more a drama however is quote horrifying. Now my 2 problems. 1 is that the lead actress is terrible. Her acting is very phony, however she can pull it off cause shes very pretty. 2 is the ending. Cheap special effects for such a well made movie and the ending left alot to be desired. I would dream of this movie being remade with like Nicole Kidman or someone to that affect playing the main part and with a suitable ending. All said though DEFINATLEY worth buying
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, considering the budget, and era it was made.
Review: For what it is, (a low budget, theater/movie channel nonentity) "I, Madman," is pound for pound the best movie of it's genre from the late 80's and early to mid 90's. One can tell that this movie was a labor of love, if not from the actors themselves, then from those behind the scenes. Jenny Wright is hit or miss in her scenes, as is Clayton Rohner. Not that this really detracts from the movie, they both do an adequate job. The real star of this show is the "Madman" himself, Randall William Cook. Cook, (Dr. Kessler/Malcomb Brand?) steals every scene he is in. There has not been, in my opinion, a villian of his caliber since Dr. Hannibal Lector. Now, about the DVD itself. There are no extras other than one movie trailer, which bills the movie as "Hardcover," and subtitles in French, English, and Spanish. If you want to watch an innovative movie that is rich on suspense, with a good portion of horror, buy this movie. You will not be disappointed. Plus, the cover looks pretty cool, in a pulpy kind of way.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, considering the budget, and era it was made.
Review: For what it is, (a low budget, theater/movie channel nonentity) "I, Madman," is pound for pound the best movie of it's genre from the late 80's and early to mid 90's. One can tell that this movie was a labor of love, if not from the actors themselves, then from those behind the scenes. Jenny Wright is hit or miss in her scenes, as is Clayton Rohner. Not that this really detracts from the movie, they both do an adequate job. The real star of this show is the "Madman" himself, Randall William Cook. Cook, (Dr. Kessler/Malcomb Brand?) steals every scene he is in. There has not been, in my opinion, a villian of his caliber since Dr. Hannibal Lector. Now, about the DVD itself. There are no extras other than one movie trailer, which bills the movie as "Hardcover," and subtitles in French, English, and Spanish. If you want to watch an innovative movie that is rich on suspense, with a good portion of horror, buy this movie. You will not be disappointed. Plus, the cover looks pretty cool, in a pulpy kind of way.
Rating:
Summary: "I'll have your heart one way or another!"
Review: Growing up in the 70's and 80's I was constantly bombarded with television commercials that proclaimed `Reading is Fundamental', or RIF, for short...I suppose it was a concerted effort by some group of well meaning individuals to get us cartoon addicted youngins away from the magic box and into the library...but what they failed to mention is that, besides being fundamental, reading can also have serious detrimental effects to your health, possibly resulting in a slight case of death. Don't believe me? Then I would recommend watching I, Madman aka Hardcover (1989) for conclusive proof...you may be shocked at what you learn...directed by Tibor Takács (The Gate), the film stars Jenny Wright (The Wild Life, Near Dark), Clayton Rohner (Just One of the Guys, April Fool's Day), and Randall William Cook, who worked on all three of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films (not in the capacity of an actor, but as effects artist). Also appearing is Stephanie Hodge, whose face I recognized but couldn't place until I looked up her credits and learned she's not only a comedian, but also appeared on the Fox television show "Unhappily Ever After", along with the amply bosomed Nikki Cox, who does not appear in this film.
Wright plays Virginia, a literate, attractive woman and aspiring actress who makes ends meet by working in a used bookstore, and has an affinity for seedy pulp fiction novels from the 50's, particularly ones penned by an author named Malcolm Brand. The trouble begins as Virginia notices that the horrific events in the novel start to translate into real life, as fiction becomes fact, and she's somehow centered in the middle of it...soon she starts seeing the villain from the story, a skulking, darkly garbed killer (Cook) who wears a mask over the lower part of his face (looking much like The Shadow), is a whiz with the straight edge razor, and seems to have the ability to appear from nowhere. The police are baffled by a recent spate of strange and unexplained murders, but Virginia notices the similarities between the events in the book and those in real life, and believes she can predict the killer's next move. She offers this information to her boyfriend Richard (Rohner), who's a police detective, but Richard and his colleagues are a little skeptical (okay, a lot skeptical) and think her like a Snickers bar, you know, a bit nutty. As the police investigation eventually goes nowhere, they become more inclined to listen to Virginia, but it may be already too late, as the killer's motives and intentions are revealed, along with a few interesting facts about the now deceased author Malcolm Brand.
At a time when slasher films were run of the mill, I, Madman presented a clever and interesting story tinged with a bit of the gothic, but I think it ended up getting lost in the shuffle as the genre grew stale, as studios had bled it to the point of anemia (the lame trailer didn't help any). The movie has the slight feel of a Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street) film (the mixing of realities), but director Takács avoids Craven's style as a blueprint. He knows how to set up a scene and creates a level of tension and suspense that kept me drawn into the story throughout. I really liked how he handles the violence in the film, as it wasn't shown very often, but you always knew what was occurring. There is a good deal of violence in the film, but it is rarely shown on screen. An example of this is when Virginia is watching from her apartment window the killer stalking a victim in a building across the way. The killer draws the shades, but the silhouettes of him and his victim are clear, as is the subsequent actions, and the audience is left to fill in the rest in their imagination. There's another scene where a woman is getting attacked in her bathroom, and while we know what is going on, the violence is obscured as the scene is shot from behind the killer, but it's clear what's happening due to the killer's almost exaggerated movements. I really liked the use of color and atmospheric elements throughout the film, as they helped create a feel, a mood that other films in the genre lacked, or tried to develop but failed miserably. Also, his transitioning between time periods (the main character would often imagine herself as part of the stories she read) was flawless. I thought the actors all did very well, most all playing their roles within character, never really hamming it up or going overboard. The makeup on the killer (done by the person who played the role) was exceptional and quite gruesome, giving the character a realistic quality. Were the flaws in the film? There may have been, but I really didn't notice...I feel if the effort is there, and there's enough solid material and decent performances, I find myself willing to overlook certain superficial elements that may work against the movie. I suppose if I were to pick on something it might be the stop motion work. Most parts looked good, but there were one or two moments where it didn't feel entirely lifelike (given the probable limited budget of the film, picking on this would be an easy target). Takács usage of stop motion in his previous film, The Gate (1987), looked much the same as here, but since I liked that story as much as I did this one, it was easy to dismiss any perceived faults.
My only disappointment of this film was in its' lackluster DVD release. Presented is only the fullscreen format. Why MGM couldn't have dug up the original wide screen format and included it also is beyond me. The picture quality is decent, and the vibrant colors come through most of the time. The only extra is the lame theatrical trailer.
Cookieman108
Rating:
Summary: Scary and imaginative
Review: I bought my VHS copy of I Madman from AMAZON.COM a couple years ago. "Much of Madness, More of Sin" was Malcomb Brand's first book. Jenny Wright's character becomes hooked on these stories. She also works at a local bookstore and realizes that Malcomb Brand is crazy. She realizes first hand that he is crazy when she sees his face (all the skin is cut off and replaced). At one time he murders a beautiful redhead so he can scalp her and wear her hair. Some pretty scary creatures pop up in her room. Funny special effects. Too bad my tape contains Spanish subtitles.Her boyfriend Clayton Rohner is a one of the cops who think she is crazy and has lost her marbles. I liked Jenny Wright better as a Vampire type sort-of in Near Dark.
Rating:
Summary: Faceless Fear
Review: I can't believe this gem of a thriller isn't better known. Reclusive secondhand bookstore shopper Jenny Wright finds an obscure paperback original horror thriller, and loves it so much she hunts down the unknown author's only other title, "I, Madman." Its story is about a psychotic surgeon scorned by the object of his affections, who, in order to please her with the perfect visage, novocains himself, cuts off his own face, and murders other people to steal their features and sew them onto himself. But no sooner does Wright begin reading the story, than a bizarre, masked stalker begins following her around, enacting the story in real-life, killing her friends to steal their features and get closer to her. The author of "I, Madman," it seems, wasn't writing a thriller - he wrote his autobiography. This one's a beautifully produced low-budget winner, benefiting from solid performances, a good script, gripping suspense and just the right amount of graphic gore. It even has a nice opening and closing surreal special effects sequence, used probably to help diminish the intensity of the film so viewers will be reminded that it's just a story, after all, and not have as many nightmares after watching as they might otherwise. Definitely not for the faint of heart or squeamish of stomach, but lovers of thrillers and horror flicks will be more than satisfied.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, but...
Review: I can't top the kudos given to the film by other reviewers here. I do have to give MGM two thumbs down though, for shipping this baby in full screen format only. Shame on you. Given this is the only way to get this gem on DVD though, we gotta shell out the money. Even in full screen this movie can't be beat. - J
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, but...
Review: I can't top the kudos given to the film by other reviewers here. I do have to give MGM two thumbs down though, for shipping this baby in full screen format only. Shame on you. Given this is the only way to get this gem on DVD though, we gotta shell out the money. Even in full screen this movie can't be beat. - J
Rating:
Summary: Bizzare and different
Review: I had almost forgotten about this movie. I watched It a few years back, and I must say I havent seen anything like it since. Its more weird than scary, though it does have its moments. Its about a woman who reads an old novel, about a dentist who disfigures his face out of love for a woman. The dentist then starts killing off the friends of the woman, collecting parts of their faces. As the Woman reading the book, reads each chapter, the murders begin happening to her friends. The ending is one of the most creative, I have seen in a movie. This film just goes to prove, you dont need a big budget, or big stars to make a good movie.
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