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Madman
Betsy's final summer as a camp counselor at North Sea Cottages was supposed to be one long farewell to the only life she'd ever known. But her world takes an ominous turn when a campfire story unwittingly unleashes a crazed killer. While Betsy contends with a complicated love life and the pressures of an uncertain future, the chilling legend of Madman Marz- a psychotic farmer with an axe to grind- is reborn, targeting Betsy and her friends. One by one the counselors are stalked across the sprawling campground, and Betsy is about to discover that her problems are nothing compared to the evil waiting for her in the dark of the woods.
- GenresHorror
218 pages, Paperback
Published January 20, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 2, 2024
It was a no-brainer I was going to enjoy reading the novelization of Madman because I am obsessed with the movie, but I LOVED this book! The first 50 pages or so breathes so much life and backstory into the camp, counselors, and the legend of Madman Marz that makes the rest of what happens so much more tragic and enticing at the same time. There's a nice epilogue to give you that "Well what happens after the credits?" vibe. And ALL that is in between? Pure slasher horror magic. Matt Serafini was able to capture the eerie woodsy vibe, the joyful counselor banter, and the terrifying Madman himself all throughout. There were slight POV shifts that enabled me to either be more scared or more empathetic -- I truly felt so much more deeply for Betsy and TP in this book. And Madman Marz was just as horrifying as I know him to be. Reading this is just an excellent time and a monumental success for slasher horror fans all around.
Matt Serafini has a way with novelizations that can make you feel like you're experiencing a story for the very first time. It's so much more than just a novelized version of a script or screenplay. I would trust him with any novelization he wants to create and look forward to what's next!
Matt Serafini has a way with novelizations that can make you feel like you're experiencing a story for the very first time. It's so much more than just a novelized version of a script or screenplay. I would trust him with any novelization he wants to create and look forward to what's next!
August 24, 2024
When writer/director Joe Giannone and his crew filmed Madman over forty-years ago, they could have imagined the shelf life their little film would have. Largely forgotten for two decades before being rediscovered on DVD by genre enthusiasts in the 2000s, Madman has enjoyed a kind of resurgence that is rare amongst low-budget horror titles. And it’s not hard to see why: the film embodies the kind of simple and cheesy 80s horror aesthetics that both entertain and fascinate. For all that the film fumbled — amateur actors too old to play their cardboard cutout roles, a limp script with illogical motivations — it made up with inspired creativity — a pulsating synth score, artistic cinematography and lighting, and a memorable villain.
Matt Serafini’s 2024 novel based on Giannone’s film expands upon the elements that made Madman work in the first place. Rather than approaching the story with an eye for camp or mockery, Serafini enjoys stretching out the creepier mythology and deepening the characters to make their strange decisions less befuddling (i.e. hiding in a refrigerator to avoid an wielding killer, or even circling your lover in a jacuzzi rather than doing the deed). As such, the novel succeeds as a kind of remake/reimagining rather than a straightforward retelling, something that makes it enjoyable for fans new and old.
Serafini’s greatest contributions to the Madman mythos are those not touched upon in its cinematic counterpart: the mythology of the haunted woods where evil seems to have always inexplicably lived, the superstitious town living on the edge of the forbidden forest, and the summer camp counselors’ own reshaping to give them motivation, backstory, and personality. Anyone who has seen the 1981 film knows the campers are designed to be nothing more than slasher fodder, but the novel gives them aspirations that provide pathos to their grisly tragedies.
A large critique of the first printing released by Vinegar Syndrome Press is not the content of the novel but rather than numerous spelling mistakes and, most glaring, the misprint of repeating a whole chapter. Hopefully this flaw gets fixed in future editions to make the experience of Serafini’s intention more seamless. Maybe one day the edition with the misprints will become sought-after collector’s items.
If you are a fan of 1981’s movie, or if you are a more general fan of slashers and retro horror, Matt Serafini’s Madman is more than worth the read. The packaging is great, and it makes a nice display next to your Madman blu-ray. It would be nice to see more cult horror films get 21st-century novelizations.
Matt Serafini’s 2024 novel based on Giannone’s film expands upon the elements that made Madman work in the first place. Rather than approaching the story with an eye for camp or mockery, Serafini enjoys stretching out the creepier mythology and deepening the characters to make their strange decisions less befuddling (i.e. hiding in a refrigerator to avoid an wielding killer, or even circling your lover in a jacuzzi rather than doing the deed). As such, the novel succeeds as a kind of remake/reimagining rather than a straightforward retelling, something that makes it enjoyable for fans new and old.
Serafini’s greatest contributions to the Madman mythos are those not touched upon in its cinematic counterpart: the mythology of the haunted woods where evil seems to have always inexplicably lived, the superstitious town living on the edge of the forbidden forest, and the summer camp counselors’ own reshaping to give them motivation, backstory, and personality. Anyone who has seen the 1981 film knows the campers are designed to be nothing more than slasher fodder, but the novel gives them aspirations that provide pathos to their grisly tragedies.
A large critique of the first printing released by Vinegar Syndrome Press is not the content of the novel but rather than numerous spelling mistakes and, most glaring, the misprint of repeating a whole chapter. Hopefully this flaw gets fixed in future editions to make the experience of Serafini’s intention more seamless. Maybe one day the edition with the misprints will become sought-after collector’s items.
If you are a fan of 1981’s movie, or if you are a more general fan of slashers and retro horror, Matt Serafini’s Madman is more than worth the read. The packaging is great, and it makes a nice display next to your Madman blu-ray. It would be nice to see more cult horror films get 21st-century novelizations.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews