Madman(1981) Vinegar Syndrome (1 Viewer)

I can't wait to get a look at this. I have a couple other Blu discs from Vinegar Syndrome(Runaway Nightmare, and Night Train To Terror) and they look fine to perfect. Madman has never looked good on home video. I have the Anchor Bay release, and the Code Red also. Blah, and better blah. While the creature called Madman Marz doesn't look quite scary enough for me, some of the chase/ suspense moments in the film are better than any of the Friday the 13th films in my opinion. The lodge scene in the wooded camp is always a standout to me. No quick cuts here, just pure nail biting suspense of the creature hunting the helpless gal. One of my favorite slasher films. Low Budget, and wonderful. A first day purchase. I will report back if there isn't a review here on HTF.

I'll be picking this up. VS' Graduation Day and Christmas Evil both looked great too so I'm hopeful that Madman will be good.

4k seems... a bit much for Madman.

One of the better killer in the woods flicks, though Just Before Dawn is still my fav.

bgart13 said:

4k seems... a bit much for Madman.

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Yeah. A 14-year-old non-anamorphic transfer on DVD is good enough.

I'm yet to see a bad blu from Vinegar Syndrome. Their recent SexWorld disc is a revelation, looking better than many big studio transfers of much larger budget films. Their disc for "Don't Go In the Woods... Alone" arrived last week, I plan to watch it this weekend.

cineMANIAC said:

Yeah. A 14-year-old non-anamorphic transfer on DVD is good enough.

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The disc I have is anamorphic and only a few years old. Anyways, you missed my point.

I think Code Red re-did this on DVD (and perhaps Blu) a few years ago. I think some of the extras on this release are from them.

bgart13 said:

4k seems... a bit much for Madman.

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If you are implying that the film isn't worth the effort, I don't agree.

Amazon just dropped their pre-order price to $18 so I jumped on it for that much.

Michael Elliott said:

Amazon just dropped their pre-order price to $18 so I jumped on it for that much.

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Thanks for the heads up! As much as I want this, I was resisting pre-ordering it for $22 even though I know Amazon could've lowered the price at some point.

$14.99 currently at Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Madman-Blu-ray-Combo-Gaylen-Ross/dp/B00UB0QIQE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426706329&sr=8-1&keywords=madman

Top VS Blu-Code Red dvd underneath






Code Red on Top VS underneath





VS Top-Code Red below





Code Red Top-VS below


Overall I am very impressed with the new Vinegar Syndrome transfer. It is beautiful, and the color timing is more natural and better than the previous Anchor Bay, and Code Red releases.

I spun this one and the extras over the weekend. Really enjoyed it and thought it looked great. It might be the best release VS has done (though I liked their Sexworld blu better, now OOP I believe).


The Twilight Times, Olives and other independents in the world should take a look at this package and it's price point as an example on how to do a release.

Russell G said:

The Twilight Times, Olives and other independents in the world should take a look at this package and it's price point as an example on how to do a release.

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Not to take away from the great results that Vinegar Syndrome has achieved with Madman, Synapse is another company that goes the extra mile too. Look at the effort that Synapse put into locating the audio for their upcoming release of Popcorn: https://www.facebook.com/synapsefilms/posts/1047272315300773

TravisR said:

Not to take away from the great results that Vinegar Syndrome has achieved with Madman, Synapse is another company that goes the extra mile too. Look at the effort that Synapse put into locating the audio for their upcoming release of Popcorn: https://www.facebook.com/synapsefilms/posts/1047272315300773

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I agree Travis. I have Prom Night, their Hammer releases, and Demons/ Demons 2. The work they do is fantastic.

Happy Fourth Of July Weekend all.

This is the best release of MADMAN yet. The blue tint missing from the Code Release is back and the 4K laser xfr from the original 35mm negative really shines. A few negative scratches on a couple of scenes that existed even on the original 35mm print are still there and pose no problem. In fact, they even add to the genuineness of this classic 80s slasher gem.


And the disc is jammed with extras of all kinds including the Richie character showing up for an interview for the first time in 35 years and a brand new, rare acoustic track of "Escape From Hellview" from CKY frontman, Deron Miller. And yeah, the Amazon price point is great for a 2 disc set and a reversible art cover that includes the original poster that was designed by the Madman himself, Paul Ehlers. There's even video roaming around his personal lair that's full of MADMAN art gifted to him by adoring fanz. Worth it, f'sure!

Here are some more comparisons between the Code Red DVD and VS Blu-Ray

What a difference a cooler color scheme makes(Vinegar Syndrome Blu)

Blu-Ray caps are top, DVD beneath them:

I've purchased every version of this film since the first Anchor Bay DVD way back in 2001. Each successive version has been an "improvement" over the last one, even if I wasn't too crazy about the brown hue replacing the blue one. Still plan on picking up Arrow's version since I'm an obsessive completest and I do love this film to bits - does anyone have it and can tell me if there's any difference?