The Mad (2007)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

John Kalangis

Writers:

Kevin Hennelly (writer)
John Kalangis (writer)

Release Date:

2007 (Canada)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Thriller

Plot:

A horror-thriller in which a doctor and his teenage daughter are terrorized by flesh-eating zombies at a truck stop. |

Plot Keywords:

Mad Cow Disease | Dark Comedy | Cow | Zombie | Flesh Eating Zombie

Cast

Billy Zane	...	Jason Hunt
Maggie Castle	...	Amy Hunt
Shauna MacDonald	...	Monica Tepper
Evan Charles Flock	...	Blake MacNaughton
Jordan Madley	...	Steve
Ian McPhail	...	Arlen Sutter
Rothaford Gray	...	Charlie
Matthew Deslippe	...	Johnny Sutter
Christopher Gross	...	Tommy
Angela Maiorano	...	Connie (Waitress)
Kara Wooten	...	Restaurant Mad Woman
Allan Price	...	Elderly Man
Michael Rhoades	...	Sheriff Aldershot
James Binkley	...	Restaurant Madman / Bandana Madman
Sean Orr	...	Gap Dad

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:Unrated (DVD rating) | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Canada

Company:

235 Films

Goofs:

Continuity: Close to the end, when Jason switches the lights on to discover Johnny’s father, Johnny’s plaster on the forehead is gone, leaving the wound open. Seconds later, its there covering it again.

How now mad cow

Uptight doctor Jason Hunt (Billy Zane), his girlfriend Monica (Shauna McDonald), his daughter Amy (Maggie Castle) and her boyfriend Blake (Evan Charles Flock) take a trip to the country to relax and get to know each other better. They stop at a diner that specializes in local organic beef, but they are unable to get a burger. That turns out to be a good thing however as the burgers are infected with a virus that turns people into zombies.

"The Mad" is a very good zombie comedy. It has a nice and lively pace through out and it doesn't take long for this to really get going hitting all eight cylinders. The acting from the four leads is very good, especially for a low budget independent production like this. Billy Zane is perhaps the best, but the others are good as well. I was particularly impressed with Maggie Castel who goes toe to toe with Zane with apparent ease. The characters they play are pretty quirky, but that just adds to this movies charm. "The Mad" delivers quite well in the splatter department as well with lots of blood and guts flying around throughout the film. And then there is the wonderful and infectious sense of humor prevalent throughout the film. "The Mad" has lots of great gags, both verbal and visual. "The Mad" also has a few inbred rednecks on hand, so needless to say as an avid fan of hixploitation I enjoyed the hell out of their presence. I also really enjoyed the opening credits song. "The Mad" does have a few flaws though, namely a lot of filler stuff involving footage of cattle that goes nowhere as the absence of any nudity, which is a real shame as both McDonald and Castle are beautiful. Despite those flaws though, "The Mad" is still a fun zombie horror movie.