I, Madman

I, Madman has an interesting premise: Virginia (Jenny Wright), a young woman who works at a used book store, comes to realize that the killer from one of her horror stories has somehow crossed over and is committing murders in the real world.  However, the film fails miserably in its execution.

David Chaskin also penned A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, which, while it can hardly be called a classic, was at least entertaining.  That is not the case with I, Madman.  This script is just plain boring, as none of the characters are developed, so we know absolutely nothing about them and do not care when they die.  The madman himself looks somewhat menacing, with a hideously disfigured face which he hides beneath a hat and scarf.  Unfortunately, director Tibor Takács (who also directed The Gate, which I remember enjoying but am scared to revisit after watching this film) fails to build up any tension.  A cheesy stop motion animated claymation monster makes appearances at the beginning and end of the movie, but is largely forgotten in between.  Disappearing for long stretches of the film turned out to be a recurring theme; when a bit player reappeared, I thought that perhaps he would be the murderer, but that was not the case.

Randall William Cook, who plays the madman, isn't especially good, but he stands out amongst the rest of the actors, who seem incapable of conveying any sort of emotion.  Even the climax, which involves the firing of gunshots, a drawn-out struggle to move some books to retrieve the gun, the reading of another novel, the re-emergence of the claymation creature, and a battle between the madman and the monster, fails to elicit much of a response from the actors.  Their characters remain bored, as if this is something they see every day.

I did enjoy the scene in which Virginia describes the killer to the police, making no attempt to not sound completely crazy.  When pressed for a visual description, she replies, "He doesn't have a nose... yet."  And I must mention the most baffling moment in the entire film; before the real-life killings start, Virginia is completely turned on by her horror stories, leading to awesome sex with her boyfriend, yet when the dude spots a copy of a new horror novel at her apartment, he looks disappointed rather than excited.  Just another thing that doesn't make sense about this stupid movie.  Avoid I, Madman at all costs.