Madison County

Madison County doesn't have an original plot, or anything special in terms of effects or storytelling. What it does have is capable acting, good cinematography and sound, and a decent score on scares and gore without really resorting to exploitation. If you adjust for the low budget, Madison County is massively successful in what it tries to do. If you don't, it's still fine as a slasher-y version of Deliverance.

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.

When will American college students ever learn? All they seem to do is constantly drive off to remote towns in the mid-west in groups of four or five and get killed.

The five of this batch of kids has obviously never seen a slasher film (as perhaps has the writer, otherwise he might realise how 'borrowed' every element of this movie actually is) as they stop at an out-of-the-way diner where every snaggle-toothed yokel stares at them menacingly. They pay for food, but never eat (I didn't get that bit!) then leave, only to be threatened by another knife-wielding nut-job.

So, what do they do? All decide to split up. No sooner does this happen than a psycho in a pig mask hunts them down one by one as they run, screaming through the woods in random directions. Sometimes one of the teenagers manages to fight back and knock out the killer, but they never bother finishing him off - only knocking him to the floor so he gets straight back up to chase them down again. Oh, and they never bother finding or keeping a weapon.

What you have here is nothing you haven't seen a hundred times before in the slasher genre. The only way this film would be any good is if you invented a time machine, sent it back to the early seventies and showed it to people then. Therefore, Madison County would be the 'film that started it all' and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre would just be a poor imitation. Sadly, in the real world, it's the other way around.

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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!