Madison County

Madison County's biggest fault as a horror film is not what it does but, what it doesn't do. And that is deviate at all from the backwoods horror sub-genre formula. The movie follows the cliché' blueprint of getting five attractive twenty-somethings to a secluded rural area where they can be placed in proximity with the trademarked deranged locals. In this case they are going to research a book about a serial killer who may, or may not exist in secluded rustic Madison County. Director/writer Eric England seems to have seen enough of these films to put one together competently on a technical level. There is some nice production value for a flick reportedly made for around $70,000. The visuals are fine and creepy and he does create some nice atmosphere and some tension.His cast of young attractive characters are likable enough and there is some blood once things get going. But, England follows the formula so closely that there aren't many surprises. You know the locals are suspicious and strange for a reason and that there really is no question as to whether the killer really exists. His leads while likable are not overly interesting. The locals are generic creepy hillbillies and the villains are never given enough screen time to build their characters and thus aren't that frightening. They never rise above the cliché' evil redneck stereotype and we just can't generate enough interest in them to care or be afraid. Even the pig masked killer, Damien Ewell, that is the main nut job, is very ho hum even when on the attack. It's as if England thought a pig mask was enough to create character and menace. And, as far as these films go, Madison County is bit too tame. In this case a little over the top would have been welcome as nothing grabs us, shocks us or horrifies us. There is blood but, it is basically some routine stabbings and ax wounds. And since we've waited till the last act to get to the good stuff, we feel a bit cheated by what little we get and how soon it's over. (With credits County is barely over 80 minutes.) If you are going to present a classic scenario like this, shake things up a bit (ex. Cabin In The Woods). Or at the very least, throw all the classic elements at us with a bit of good old fashioned ferocity. For a horror flick, Madison County is far too laid back. No, I don't think Eric England is a bad filmmaker, he can create tension and atmosphere and I've seen far worse then his Madison County but, he needs to learn that innovation is far more effective then imitation when it comes to the horror movies he obviously enjoys. And if you can't innovate, throw some blood and carnage in our faces to keep us awake. Madison County is still a mildly enjoyable horror but, I think England has the potential to deliver much more.

Do YOU like disjointed, nonsensical films where the characters behave stupidly and unrealistically, where the "plot" is an excuse for some highly unimaginative killings of tedious bad actors whom you won't care to root for, and which end abruptly without any sense of closure? Well, then, Madison County may just be for you! Even by slasher movie standards, this is extremely weak. When the end credits popped up, I strongly felt that the word "written" in "Written and Directed by" should have been in heavy quote marks, as the script and continuity feel quite haphazard.

Low budget horror can be more inventive and interesting than its A-list counterparts, or it can be ... well, this.

This is actually a pretty decent slasher with a decent story. Myself, I haven't really been a big fan of slashers since the 80's because they're all mostly repetitive with predictable plots. Still, every once in awhile something comes out worth watching. Madison County is worth watching.

Madison County is different in that it does have a story that was well written with good actors and decent production and sets. It doesn't have to resort to trying to become a comedy to keep the users attention. The mystery of the well written story does that which makes this movie stand out on its own.

The couple of complaints I do have is the lack of any serious gore. Could've used way more of that seeing as its target audience will definitely want to see some gore. My second gripe was the ending which seemed rushed and lacking.

Other then that the ride itself was great. The Old woman was delightfully creepy and the mystery of it all kept me interested though out the whole movie.

6/10 stars. Slasher fans should be proud. Had the ending been acceptable and gore had been more I would've given it more. Oh well, still worth a watch if your a genre fan!

Just got done watching this. I'd been looking forward to it for awhile. Synopsis sounded good, trailers looked decent, I'm disappointed. The acting was OK, in the beginning before it goes horror it was actually decent then it went downhill. It's an old plot, teens in the woods, backwards hillbilly town so there's nothing new or different but I've seen it done much better.

My biggest problem with this movie though is the editing. From the knocks on the door not matching up with James hand to the sharp cuts and jumps. I did find out the disc I watched was defective and missing about 6 minutes so I'll up my rating a slight bit although I can't imagine 6 min could change my mind dramatically about this film.

Or was that away from the mill? There's no mill here of course. This still fits perfectly in the slasher genre formula. The teens, the baddie and a few other "surprises". The story is not really something to get too excited about. Unfortunately the gore/blood scenes are not that top notch either. Combine that with below the average acting from most connected to this and you get something you don't really have to watch.

Don't start to wonder why character behave certain ways or why logic and reason will never apply to those kids/teens depicted in most of those movies (especially the ones at the bottom of the barrel). If it has to be a slasher movie, there are far better ones out there for you to choose from.