I, Madman (1989)

 I'm including my IMDb user comments from July 2008. This was MGMHD channel, I recorded the film during a free preview, just now getting to it this week. I want to say I also saw it available on Tubi. It came on my radar when I noticed I, Madman (1989) was directed by Tibor Takacs of The Gate (1987) starring Jenny Wright of Near Dark and Rohner from April Fool's Day (1986). The use of old pulp novels with a killer and novelist from the 50s emerging in late 80s LA as a deeply invested reader gives the stories form while her hardboiled detective boyfriend listens to her reluctantly, much to his fed-up lieutenant boss' chagrin is a refreshing break from how almost everyone else were making horror films at the time. The supernatural aspects were outrageous, sure, but the patchwork face of the killer and his grisly activities are quite effective. And Wright was absolutely stunning. By 1989, the genre was waning in terms of innovative content, or, at the very least, a different take on slashers. Lovers of books and the literally word might just dig it. Very deserved of discovery. 4/5

Librarian book-worm(Jenny Wright), who enjoys reading horror stories which she invests all of herself into, finds that a sadistic alchemist, from a "non-fiction" book titled "I Madman" has emerged from the literary page believing she is Anna, his muse for whom he wishes to please with the "perfect face." In the novel, Malcolm Brand(Randall William Cook, who looks like Noseferatu with a scarf around his face, hiding a missing nose)removes his facial features because the one he longs for found him repulsive. Virginia(Wright)finds that Brand has somehow manifested into modern Los Angeles and is murdering people she knows, grafting a part from each victim's face after slicing them away with a razor. Following "I, Madman" as a source for where Brand will strike next, the difficult part is getting her boyfriend/detective, Richard(Clayton Rohner, with a light beard and jacket, resembling a hard-boiled PI from a noir film)and the police to believe her cockamamie story. Virginia is often visited by the maniac before and after he kills his victims.

Tibor Takács(The Gate)brings us quite a startlingly original slasher with imagination to spare, if the viewer can give over to the supernatural aspect of the story. In regards to the madman's ability to manifest from words to flesh, committing his grisly deeds on the streets of Los Angeles, I felt derived from the reader's complete belief in the printed material. He wasn't real until the fear of him become so vivid, Virginia, in essence, gave him life..his shape and form evolve from a written work into a true being. Perhaps it took both the reader and the writer himself to make this unbelievable situation come to fruition. When delving into the author's life of "I, Madman"(..and another novel, which featured a created monster by a Dr. Kessler, who actually leaps from the printed page to kill Malcolm Brand)Virginia finds that Brand himself believed wholeheartedly that what he wrote was real not fictitious...so perhaps the killer without a face, was given birth thanks to the writer and reader's complete faith in what was written.Besides all that Freudian jazz, the film has a wonderfully morbid atmosphere, and I thought Tibor Takács' film was very much in the Argento vein...a grotesque killer wielding a blade, slicing and dicing, with a baffled police force working all hours to catch him and a female character everyone believes is nuts caught in the whirlwind of a surreal nightmare helplessly finding all those she knows being killed, skillfully photographed(..while his credits aren't eye-popping, Bryan England's sophisticated camera-work and vibrant color, I felt hearken back to Argento films like "Suspiria" and "Inferno", and there are several stunning shots of the killer from afar using shadow and light)with a visual flair and intoxicating energy. Not to mention, there's some dark humor to spare, including a hilarious interrogation scene where Virginia attempts to tell the police about the one responsible for the murders and their priceless reactions to what she's saying. I think the premise might have viewers scratching their heads, it is indeed quite an outrageous story, but I ate it up. I loved the use of Los Angeles and I found the way Tibor Takács edits the novel sequences(..based in the 50s)into the modern story, strikingly integrated. It was great seeing the lovely Jenny Wright get a rare lead role, and she ably fills it nicely, projecting a frightened woman who knows that the truth about her killer is as far-fetched as they come, doggedly pursuing his capture, and often finding him one step ahead of both her and the police. The creature which makes a grand entrance at the end will remind fans of Tibor Takács' kiddie horror outing, "The Gate", for it resembles the demon minions from the hole in the backyard of that film.

The library scene(..where the police stake out the WRONG library) is a doozy which only makes life harder for Virginia, who must somehow, someway, convince her boyfriend that the psychopath is indeed from some horror book she reads. Love the book store Virginia works in..books are stacked and scattered in clusters all throughout the building and the climax works wonders in this setting.