Search - Madhouse on DVD

Steve C. (coligno1) from GILBERT, AZ
Reviewed on 1/24/2012...

Okay, the movie was creepy...I will give it that. If you are looking for a decent scare, this will do it. As for content...it was definitely lacking. The story was foolish, and they missed a few opportunities for great plot twists. There was a decent ending that sort of brought the story together, made it slightly exciting, but the last minute of the movie hurt the real ending...when they should have stopped (quit while you're ahead!!). The acting wasn't bad, surprising for mostly unrecognizables. A few character actors, but they didn't make or break the story. I would suggest this movie to someone looking for a scare, but not if they are looking for content or a story they will remember. A cheap thrill, you have it with Madhouse.

SPOILER ALERT (sort of), if you've seen this move...when they announce that Drake has escaped police custody, you're waiting for something to happen. Yet this goes unaddressed...where the heck is Drake and why do I care that he escaped?

2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Jefferson N. from BLAIRSVILLE, GA
Reviewed on 10/28/2011...

Madhouse is one of the best mental asylum movies I have ever seen...period! A young intern gets a job at a mental institution and soon finds everything is not as it seems. There seem to be problems with the patients wandering around when they shouldn't be...and someone is killing the staff. Yes, this sounds like every other asylum movie out there...but the difference is this one is wonderfully directed, very nicely paced, and the actors do a top-notch job in their performances! Lance Henriksen plays the warden who seems to believe that ghosts are behind the problems at the hospital. And the lovely Jordan Ladd is an intern who wants to help, but doesn't want to risk her job. Jordan is every bit as beautiful as her mom, Cheryl, and is, if I do say so myself, a much better actress. And she proves it in this one. The movie will keep even the most jaded horror/thriller fan guessing. I won't reveal too much about what's going on because you should see it for yourself. If you're a fan of films such as Shutter Island, watch this one. It's a heckuva lot better. Just be warned...it's pretty gruesome and filled with disturbing scenery...if that doesn't turn you away, dive in!

4 of 4 member(s) found this review helpful.

Cat got your tongue? Wait...that's not the cat...

Schtinky | California | 09/01/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"'Madhouse' is a visual treat for those who love horror flicks. It begins with a flashy, fleshy kaleidoscope of images that hooks you even during the intro; surreal, insane images that tease your madness.



Young Clark Stevens (Joshua Leonard) arrives at Cunningham Hall, a Mental Health Facility, for his internship. He is full of clever ideas to make the facility cleaner and more functional. Dr. Franks (the talented Lance Henrikson) doesn't receive Clark's ideas pleasantly. He informs Clark that things are fine just the way they are, and that Clark will be expected to do his job and nothing more.



Clark meets Dr. Morton (who reminded me of Henry Gibson but is played by Leslie Jordan), an absentminded, likeable guy who's been at Cunningham Hall for 25 years. There's Head Nurse Hendricks (Dendrie Taylor), who is a little like Nurse Ratchett in 'Cuckoos Nest'.



Showing Clark around the facility is pretty co-worker Sara (Jordan Ladd) who has an easygoing temperament and shrugs off Hendricks gruffness. When Sara's tour takes Clark to the basement, you, the viewer, are in for a treat. This is a spooky place. It's lockup time down here, where the "patients everyone wants to forget about" goes.



Right about the time Clark begins to witness some pretty unsavory events happening around Cunningham Hall, people begin to die. For the aficionado, there is a lovely, grisly tongue-severing scene not to be missed. The patient in Cell 44, down in the basement, begins to talk to Clark. He has some unsettling things to say, and seems to know an awful lot about the gruesome events upstairs. About the time Clark decides he's had enough, it's too late.



Lion's Gate Films has been putting out some very good films lately. 'Madhouse' was good enough for theater release; I don't know why it went straight to DVD, other than possible competition from 'Saw'. While the plot was predictable and not terribly unique, there are some nice twists involved. The atmosphere is excellent; phenomenally creepy and dark. The acting is good and the gore is satisfyingly present, with decent FX. Not as good as 'Saw', but far, far better than 'The Grudge' or its ilk.



Rent it first, but you may find yourself buying it. Enjoy!



"

One of the best direct-to-video horror films I've ever seen

Daniel Jolley | Shelby, North Carolina USA | 05/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Madhouse proved to be quite a pleasant surprise for this horror fan. I really liked a lot of what first-time writer-director (not to mention former horror actor) William Butler tried to do here. It was also something of a kick to see Joshua Leonard of The Blair Witch Project fame once again (he's left the woods outside Burkittsville far behind, trading up to a rather geeky new look for this film). There's a fair share of gore, a nicely claustrophobic feel to the whole experience, quite effective ghostly manifestations, some wickedly deft plot twists, and a really cool, darkly surreal opening montage to start things out on the right foot. Jordan Ladd is a delight, and the intimidating presence of Lance Henriksen is put to pretty good use. I also found the plot to be surprisingly complex and methodically laid out. I for one had my expectations altered a time or two when the final scenes rolled around. Some people talk about the ending being obvious (I disagree) or the film trying to do too much, but Madhouse, in my opinion, succeeds admirably in setting itself apart from other lunatic asylum-based horror films. This thing has a look and feel all its own, and I honestly don't see how any horror fan could not enjoy this film.



Joshua Leonard plays Clark Stephens, a super-smart student doing his internship at a mental institution. He is sort of a know-it-all who is less than impressed by the condition of Cunningham Hall and the way its patients are treated. The man in charge, Dr. Franks (Henriksen) doesn't really care about making improvements, though; as a matter of fact, he doesn't even seem to care about curing anybody. The other two doctors are friendly enough, but the head nurse is something of a battleaxe. Fortunately for Clark, there's a young nurse named Sara (Ladd) who, besides being cute as a button, shows him around and clues him in on how things work around there. By and large, this is not a healthy place, and some of the "caregivers" don't belong anywhere near the mental health profession. Clark gets off on the wrong foot, and things basically go downhill from there.



Cunningham Hall seems to have a little bit of a problem with people dying ugly, violent deaths there. A consistent outward flow of body bags filled with colleagues tends to raise the stress level among the staff, and the fact that Clark keeps seeing a ghostly little boy running around the place doesn't do any wonders for his state of mind. Besides Sara, Clark's closest confidante becomes a mysterious patient dwelling in the shadows of a cell down in the high security ward. Obviously, a mental health professional should not take the words of a caged schizophrenic too seriously, but the guy seems to know things and makes more sense than the men in the white coats. All of this lends an air of suspenseful mystery to the story. As things work their way toward a conclusion, the writer-director does a wonderful job of giving us false leads and turning the whole story around on a dime; as I said, he kept me guessing until the very end. I can't imagine why some would say the ending ruins the film; as far as I'm concerned, the ending makes what might have been a good horror film into a well-nigh great horror film.



As a gorehound, I appreciated the blood and gore that this film threw my way, but I was most impressed by the plot. Maybe there's a weak spot or two here or there, but overall Madhouse gives us a plot that is much more complicated than your average horror film - once you know the whole story, you instantly think about certain earlier scenes that contained clues you might not have picked up on at the time. This is a much more intelligent script than I'm used to seeing in horror films. That is just one of many reasons I personally give Madhouse five stars."

Let the insanity begin.

Puzzle box | Kuwait | 05/27/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This film was pretty good to say the least, I think the way the scenes were shot are great and it was very suspensful it stars Joshua Leonard who you may recognise from the blair witch project he plays the character of Clark who is an intern that arrives at the mental health facility that seems to be run down. He soon gets to see the patients when Sara gives him a tour of the facility, but then strange things happen as it is found out that the place might be haunted, I know this might sound cheesy but its not. A nurse then endes up being murdered and Clark seems to be determined to uncover the truth, there is a nice little twist at the end of this film just as I thought when I could figure it out the plot all of a sudden changed and I couldn't figure out who the killer was. And Dr. Franks played by Lance Henrikson is a character who is hiding something from the staff of the facility, this was a really good low budget horror film but it doesn't seem like it the way it was shot, the gore and violence was kept to a minimum level as the story kept things more interesting but there were a few things that I thought were stupid but then I didn't care, I deffinently recomend this to horror fans."