Horror

Thriller

I, Madman

Sarliu/Diamant

Trans World Entertainment

United States of America

English

Jenny Wright

Clayton Rohner

Randall William Cook

Stephanie Hodge

Michelle Jordan

Vance Valencia

Mary Baldwin

Raf Nazario

Bob Frank

Bruce Wagner

Kevin Best

Steven Memel

Vincent Lucchesi

Murray Rubin

Tom Badal

Roger La Page

Nelson Welch

James Quincey Hendrick

Jeff Yesko

Mary Pat Gleason

David P. Lewis

Christopher Kriesa

Marty Levy

Stan Roth

Tibor Takács

Paul Mason

Moshe Diamant

Patti Meade

Eduard Sarlui

Helen Szabo

Bryan England

David Chaskin

Michael Hoenig

Rafael Eisenman

Marcus Manton

Tori Nourafchan

Christine Bonnem

Judy Saunders

Frank Bertolino

David A. Koneff

Robert Janiger

Stephen Rocha

Duane Journey

Caris Palm

Gregory Irwin

Jerod Lazan

Bill Myer

Sandra van Duyne

Frank Ceglia

Sylvia Vega-Vasquez

Rory Flynn

Richard Holiday

Wally Crowder

Randy Bishop

Fima Noveck

Ariel Nachmann

Corinne Villa

William Wistrom

Keith Bilderbeck

Jon Johnson

Mace Matiosian

Miguel Rivera

Barbara Issak

Wilson Dyer

William H. Angarola

Ron Fish

Leigh French

Richard Whitfield

Bob Hunka

Chris Haire

Doug Davey

Richard L. Morrison

Ed Mitchell

Robert Litvak

Bob Manning

Steve Cohen

Ron Wilson

Matthew C. Jacobs

**_An infatuated Frankenstein-like killer is loose in the City of Angels_**

A secondhand book store clerk & aspiring actress (Jenny Wright) becomes aware that what she sees in her imagination while reading books by a weird pulp author is coming to life in the form of a madman who murders people for body parts. Clayton Rohner plays her detective beau and Stephanie Hodge the owner of the book shop.

Shot in November, 1987, but not released until 1989, “I, Madman” mixes elements of the Frankenstein story with the popular slasher genre along with the milieu of an attractive bookworm in downtown Los Angeles. In short, don’t expect a formulaic or one-dimensional slasher.

Also, while the titular madman is grotesque and his slayings are shocking, don’t expect grim seriousness. The artistic proceedings are decidedly cartoonish, which is to be anticipated with the colorful pulp fiction angle. The remake of "Maniac" (2012) was obviously inspired by it, just grimmer and more arty.
 
Jenny Wright is a highlight as the protagonist. She was a rising star in the 80s with “Near Dark” (1987) to her credit, but “I, Madman” was her last major role, although she had a memorable part in “Young Guns II” (1990). Her career fell apart shortly after due to substance abuse, but she thankfully overcame eventually, although she lost interest in acting.

Michelle Fozounmayeh is notable in a bit part.

The film runs 1 hour, 29 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles.

GRADE: B-

I'm a bit shocked that this doesn't have a cult following, but it is yet another example why Tubi is my favorite of the streaming services.  I can just subsist off of what Tubi has to offer and have most of my entertainment needs met.

It's low budget as all get out, but what it lacks in budget it makes up for in atmosphere.  You really get sucked into it on that... and a bit on the lack of budget too, the snippets you get of the book while our protagonist is reading it are just off enough, just staged enough to work as someone's imagination.

And despite the budget you have little details, cop cars parking outside the window of a police station, little moans coming form the adult theater on the street, etc, that let you know there is more thought behind each scene than your average B-Movie.

The acting is fair to middling. It has just enough camp to fit the budget, none of it seems to take itself too seriously they are all aware of what sort of movie they are making, what genre it's going to fill, and approach it accordingly.  It's never too much camp to loose you and never too serious to seem out of place.  It walks that line.

The idea isn't new, book and reality merging, but it's not so overdone that you've seen it a thousand times so even decades on it still feels fresh enough to enjoy.

This is a movie that is screaming for a cult following, but, unfortunately, doesn't have one yet.  Hopefully Tubi will change that and it will get the following it deserves.

I, Madman Official Trailer #1 (1989)

Best Movies

I, Madman

Cast & Crew

Videos

Cast

Jenny Wright

Clayton Rohner

Randall William Cook

Stephanie Hodge

Michelle Jordan

Vance Valencia

Mary Baldwin

Raf Nazario

Bob Frank

Bruce Wagner

Box office

More Like This

Blue Velvet

The Omen

Se7en

Diabolique

Strangers on a Train

The X-Files

It Happened in Broad Daylight

Sliver