There Was a Little Girl

This is a fun 80s horror movie. It's a bit unpredictable because it doesn't make sense. But it has such a zany energy that it's forgivable imo. Dennis Robertson's performance stands out as being memorable. I will reiterate - you'll have to turn your brain off to enjoy this one. It's creepy and well-made. And it will not answer the questions it raises. It doesn't care about logic.

Okay, I admit this film isn't a masterpiece by any stretch, but slasher aficionados should find it enjoyable. I certainly did and was rather surprised by all the negative reviews I'd previously read. Granted, it's slow going in places, but the murders are genuinely creepy, as well as performances by Dennis Robertson as the twisted Father James and Allison Biggers as the deformed sister, Mary. Some ample doses of blood (in the unrated version) also add to the proceedings. While the film may not appeal to erstwhile horror fans, anybody with a taste for slashers will surely appreciate this entry in the genre.

Note: Some reviewers have condemned this film for lifting a scene out of HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, but the the fact of the matter is that both films were released in the same year (1981), so it's debatable as to who stole what from whom. Personally, I preferred the scene as it was staged in this film, regardless of which came first. See it for yourself and you be the judge.

Madhouse stars Trish Everly as Julia Sullivan, a teacher at a school for the deaf, whose hideously disfigured and sadistic twin sister, Mary, resides in a nearby mental hospital. Four days before Trish's birthday, Mary escapes in order to arrange a special party for her unsuspecting sister...

In the United Kingdom in the 1980s, movies released on home video became the target of a hate campaign led by Britain's über-vigilant defenders of moral decency: the press, bored housewives, and Conservative politicians. As a result, a list was compiled of the films they deemed to be most offensive; these titles became known as 'Video Nasties' and were seized from shops before they had a chance to work their evil influence on an unsuspecting public.

Ovidio G. Assonitis's Madhouse was one such 'nasty'.

Featuring a bloodthirsty rottweiler, a frenzied axe attack that reduces the victim's back to a bloody pulp, and a messy canine lobotomy by electric drill, it quickly found itself added to the list of titles most likely to corrupt and deprave. It didn't matter much to the moral crusaders that the film was also a well-crafted psychological chiller that delivered plenty of atmosphere, memorable performances, and some lovely cinematography; no... this film featured a dog receiving a drill-bit between the eyes, and we can't have people watching that kind of stuff, can we?

Two decades on, and Madhouse is now available uncut on DVD; it seems that the people of the UK have since developed to a stage where they are able to handle such horror without it turning them into murderous lunatics (either that, or the authorities have actually realised they were wrong and the film was never that disturbing in the first place). Oh well, better late than never, I suppose...

Ironically, Assonitis's film is perhaps a little too slow and lacking in gore for today's casual horror viewer, but for seasoned fans of the genre, it offers plenty to enjoy: there's the mystery of the identity of a second killer (not too hard to guess, but fun nevertheless); a great OTT performance from Dennis Robertson as Father James, Trish's nursery-rhyme singing uncle; a likable heroine; a brief performance from Morgan Hart as very tasty, blonde rottweiler fodder, Helen; and a ghoulish final scene that is remarkably similar to that of a Canadian slasher, Happy Birthday To Me (who stole from whom is debatable, since both films were released in the same year).

Madhouse (1981)

** (out of 4)

Julia (Trish Everly) suffers from various mental issues due to the abuse that she suffered from her twin sister. Years later the sister is deformed with a skin virus but before their birthday someone shows up at Julia's school and begins killing her friends.

Director Ovidio G. Assonitis will always be remembered for THE EXORCIST rip-off BEYOND THE DOOR as well as TENTACLES and to a lesser extent for firing James Cameron on PIRANHA PART TWO. Before he fired Cameron he was directing this film, a bizarre mix of American slasher and Italian giallo. I must admit that I wasn't overly familiar with the picture until Arrow Video announced its release and afterwards I'm a bit confused about what I watched.

For the most part if you're a horror fan you'll want to check this film out, although it falls well short of what I'd consider a good movie. I'm really not sure what the film was trying to do other than to show off some gory death scenes every fifteen-minutes or so. The story itself is, I think, supposed to be some sort of mystery but it's pretty easy to figure out what the twist is going to be. With knowing the twist, that pretty much takes away any suspense or mystery. Another problem with the picture is the fact that the death scenes are so spread apart. It's too bad there either wasn't much more of a story or perhaps the body count jacked up.

I thought Assonitis managed to create a nice setting and there's some nice cinematography as well. The film kept me mildly entertained through the first hour but things just really started to drag during the finale. I won't spoil who the killer is but I must say the murder of the killer is quite excellent. It's too bad the rest of the film wasn't as good. I did also enjoy the subplot dealing with the murderous dog. CUJO didn't have anything on this mutt! Again, MADHOUSE isn't a great movie or even a good one but there are enough interesting moments to make it worth sitting through.

The opening is good and creepy. There's pretty good atmosphere throughout the film. I would say for the most part they pull off the evil sister + rottweiler combo pretty well. The kills in the film are decent as well. The biggest downside to this movie is that the effects are not the best. You'll see what I mean. They work for the most part, but the opening scene makes you wonder whether it's supposed to be a doll or a human she is hitting in the face.

One other complaint is that there are some (movie) deaths of animals on screen which not everyone might tolerate, even if it isn't real. Other than that, can't complain about much else. The acting was actually quite good. For the most part the film is well executed and makes a fine contribution to the roll of 80s slasher films. I do think this is one of the better ones, and would definitely recommend you see it if this is the kind of film you seek out.