Reviews & Ratings for
Madhouse More at IMDbPro »

Page 1 of 5:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

29 out of 39 people found the following review useful:
An intense, painful feeling of fear, 5 August 2004

Author: spook-19 from United Arab Emirates

I went and saw Madhouse last night and I wasn't expecting half of what I actually saw.

Madhouse is a good scare. It is a movie filled with horrific images that kept me entertained all the way thru. There are a lot of cool death scenes. The crazies were really creepy. But the major minus is the fact that you hardly ever really get to see them as much as you'd like to. Only in very short shots and they never really play a big part in the movie! Joshua leonard acted really well.

Not at all what I expected, but that's a good thing. I was expecting a lot of senseless blood and screams. While it had its fair share of gore, I was glad it did focus more on the plot.

Overall, this is a good horror flick. I give it a 7/10

29 out of 40 people found the following review useful:
A Good Scare......, 21 February 2005

Author: astonishedfilms1 from United States

I knew nothing about this film going into it, other than the synopsis I read on the back of the DVD. It sounded interesting so I thought I'd give it a shot. I wasn't expecting much from it at all, but I was quite pleasantly surprised. It is one of the best thrillers I've seen in awhile. I enjoyed the twists. They were intelligently done and the plot kept me guessing. And it has some good performances by actors I wasn't familiar with before. If you've grown tired and weary of the predictable "thrillers" that have come out lately, give MADHOUSE a shot. This is definitely a good rental on a weekend if you're in the mood for good scare.

24 out of 34 people found the following review useful:
Surprisingly Good, 21 February 2005

Author: Tim from Richmond, VA

I first rented this movie, expecting only the typical cheesy low budget B-movie, but was surprised to discover a good movie that could have played first run in the theaters. Basically, a young psychiatric intern comes to this backwater rundown mental hospital and discovers a chamber of horrors. There is a mysterious kid/ghost running loose in the hospital (unfortunately, this actor's name was missing from the credits) and a string of murders taking place, as the intern attempts to piece together what is going on. There were several recognizable stars (such as Lance Henrickson) in the movie, most of whom had small parts in favor of the lesser known actors. There was a fair amount of bloodshed in this movie, and a very good turn around in the plot towards the end of the movie that makes all of the previously hard to follow elements crystal clear to the viewer as the identity of the killer is realized.

29 out of 45 people found the following review useful:
one of the hidden surprises of the year, 27 September 2004
Author: sowyau from movie review at www.sowyau.blogspot.com

i have seen it. i always like movie theme like horror cum mental institution. e.g. session 9, house of haunted hill remake springs to my mind. lance henrikssen has only a small role here. anyway, in madhouse, i found it creepy, disturbing and scary throughout the movie especially the first time we see the "basement lock up patients" scenes. the sound design/effect is very very vigorous. this is another movie which got a 'clever' ending, it's not a 'scratching my hairs' kinda ending but rather a 'WoW" ending. i truly recommend it.

to anyone who wish to know my selection of favourite horror movies, here it is: - the shining - psycho - the ring remake - the grudge (original) - jaws - the exorcist - the eye (hong kong) - dead end .......etc etc

14 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
Functional, if predictable., 17 March 2005

Author: ZombieKilla81 from Hawaii, USA

There is a twist to this horror tale; all modern horror films seem to be required to have a story twist. I won't tell what it is, but I will say careful viewers will have no trouble figuring it out.

A young grad student arrives at a mental institution to begin his internship and from the start notices that the hospital is not up to standard. Patients are not given proper (sometimes not even humane) treatment, doctors and staff seem uninterested, facilities are nearly defunct, and (of course) the place just might be haunted.

The movement of the film is nice and brisk, with scare scenes coming at a fairly steady pace. The cast is capable and it's nice to have a couple horror regulars on board (Lance Henrickson and Jordan Ladd). The scripting is also adequate, but lacks punch; most everything seen here can be seen elsewhere. And then there is the twist, which while not a 'deal-breaker' will still influence your opinion of the film as a whole.

For some decent and classical scares this works just fine, just don't expect anything new or unique.

7/10

13 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
S10 Reviews: Madhouse (2004), 20 April 2005

Author: suspiria10 from The Void

Clark (Joshua Leonard) is a young and idealistic new intern at a run-down and out-dated mental health facility. His aspirations for cleaning the place hit a snag when he butts heads with Dr. Franks (Lance Henrikson) who seems to not mind that the patients never seem to get any better. Shortly Clark begins seeing things and death and mayhem invade the reality of the "Madhouse". Together Clark and Sara must uncover who or what it is that stalks the asylum and survive the massacre.

"Madhouse" is a slick-looking production. Nicely filmed and directed it adds some nice visual pizazz to a relatively standard script. The three leads are all veterans of horror films and do very well in their parts. Excellent sound design and above-average photography make "Madhouse" a solid horror-thriller.

13 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
Ambitous yet lacking organization, 8 December 2004

Author: cocciakittie from United States

This movie is admittedly better than the usual fare horror fans are offered, however it was still missing something. The majority of the characters were interesting, though at times they seemed too perfectly tailored for their roles.

The movie is suspenseful for the most part and keeps you guessing. At times, things seemed kind of corny (worms and men with eyeliner don't scare ME, for instance) and certain plot points are never explored to their full potential.

All in all, it's a movie worth seeing (especially if you're into the genre). Reminded me a little of a juvenile version of Session 9... but if given the choice between the two, I'd choose Session 9 again!

12 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
An intense and smart thriller... but not without flaws., 10 June 2005

Author: shanfloyd from India

The horror/thriller is about a rookie intern who checks into a mental health facility and discovers its darkest secrets as well as his own ones. Excellent sound effects, above average photography and smart script filled with plenty of shock moments make this film real fun to watch for fans of this genre. Joshua Leonard, a veteran in such films, acts quite well as the lead character.

But there are loopholes in the plot. One can clearly see them after a single viewing. The ending is catchy, but utterly unnecessary. Jordan Ladd hardly looks like any medical personnel. But most of all, the actions of the patients are very much exaggerated and overtly dramatic. Apart from these points, 'Madhouse' is worth renting, because the 'thrill' element is in right proportions in the film.

8 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Great Unknown Horror B-Movie, 5 June 2005

Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The psychiatric intern Clark Stevens (Joshua Leonanrd) comes to Cunningham Hall, a mental healthy facility administrated by Dr. Franks (Lance Henriksen), for a training period before his graduation in medical college. He gets close to the resident Sara (Jordan Ladd) and to Ben London, a dangerous patient lodged in cell 44 in the basement of the clinic. Clark becomes intrigued with a boy, who seems to be a ghost, and finds that Dr. Franks does not use real medication in the patients. A further investigation shows hidden dark secrets in the clinic.

"Madhouse" is an unknown low-budget movie with a surprisingly great gory story. The direction is sharp, the screenplay is very well tied up and in the end it is a worthwhile horror movie, highly recommended to be discovered by fans of this genre. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Casa dos Horrores" ("The House of the Horrors")

3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Madhouse, 9 March 2008

Author: Scarecrow-88 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Clark(Joshua Leonard)is a meek student intern looking to earn a credit so that he can finish his degree taking an employee position at a poorly ran mental institution, overrun by the stern and irritable Dr. Franks(Lance Henriksen). When Clark poses the idea of making conditions better at the institution, immediately Franks shows aggravation and resistance towards him. When mysterious brutal murders begin to occur to the staff of the institute, Clark joins forces with a co-worker Sara(cutie, Jordan Ladd), who herself has secrets regarding her own bouts with slight schizophrenia, to uncover what exactly is going on. Who is committing the murders and is the good Doctor Franks hiding something. Clark confides in a "patient" in a cell block on the bottom floor, a darkened hall of prisons for lunatics and psychos, named Ben who seems to know about specific details regarding the murders and history of the institution. Also, Clark sees the ghostly apparition of a little boy. How does Ben know about details being that he's locked away in a cell and who is this little boy? And, who exactly is the murderer doing in hospital staff members and a certain mental patient who seems healthy enough to leave the facility?

I thought for the first hour, this was quite a nifty little asylum terror tale, but the twist conclusion, as the reveal of the killer is established, really opens up Pandora's box where the logistics of everything we've seen and the possibilities of how an identity of someone could be taken so easily. I'm not sure the twist can hold strong on close scrutiny. The opening sure belts you for a loop..we get an explosion of bizarre, grotesque images of creepy characters within the mind of a child patient who escapes out the third story window of an asylum who is hit by a car intentionally. It certainly sets up the story in an unusual way. I'm drawn to horror films set in asylums because crazies make for interesting subjects..that's what the genre's all about. Natasha Lyonne is wasted as a patient named Alice who sees a boy yet no one believes her. Dendrie Taylor is Nurse Hendricks, who appears as about as loony as the ones under her watch. Leslie Jordan is the eccentric Dr. Morgan who informs Clark of the place's unusual history regarding the escape of the boy and how buildings such as the specific institute they reside has secrets which continue to live on through the place. Leonard ably fulfills the role of Clark, a young man trying to set things right in his pursuit of the killer. He's geeky, yet attractive. He's a bit naive, yet doggedly determined enough to continue his search for the truth. Jordan Ladd sets up Sara as someone with troubles, who has finally found a possible soulmate in Clark. There's an air of mystery about her and the film goes with that offering up a possibility that she might be the one responsible for the slayings. But, the film gives you clues within the story to guess who is committing the ghoulish murders taking place. Those who have watched enough of these kind of twisty movies will probably guess who the killer is. I'm not sure I completely bought into the twist, but I found the flick entertaining enough. I might've actually have enjoyed this more if it had followed the possible supernatural path, concerning a possible haunting to the institution, instead of the psychological direction it eventually takes. Henriksen fans might be disappointed in his rather underwritten role..he's merely here to provide a possible figure of higher authority with secrets to hide, who might just know the answer to what's going on under his watch.

Page 1 of 5:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Add another review

Related Links