Silent Madness

Director - Simon Nuchtern (Savage Dawn, Snuff)

Starring - Belinda Montgomery (The Scarecrow, Phantom Town), Viveca Lindfors (Creepshow, The Exorcist III), and Solly Marx (Phantasm II, Neon Maniacs)

Release Date - 1984

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "He's out now..."

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     Many months ago horror fans in the Vinegar Syndrome collector's group on Facebook was speculating that Vin Syn would be releasing Simon Nuchtern's Silent Madness on blu.  I love collecting movies and Vin Syn is one of my favorite companies but I rarely put stock into what people say in these groups.  However, it looked like this time they were right.  The film, which was a 3D release, looked like a standard slasher but I'm always on the look out for slashers I've never seen.  I couldn't watch the 3D release of the film but Vin Syn's new blu release also included the 2D release.

     The film follows a doctor at a mental hospital that discovers that a violent patient responsible for a massacre at a sorority house has been accidentally freed.  She travels to the small town where the sorority is in order to do some research on him in hopes of finding him before he can kill again but she's too late.  

     When the rumors spread through the Vin Syn Facebook group many people admitted that if the rumor was true that they would be buying this one immediately.  I'm an avid slasher fan so I was very curious about this one especially after seeing it had so many fans that looked like they shared the same tastes in film as me.  After seeing the movie I now see just why so many horror fans enjoy this one.  The acting in this one is better than most of the slashers that were coming out of the early 80s but so was Soap operas of the time.  The cast does a phenomenal job and the characters really make this slasher stand out.  The film has a few characters that are your typical slasher cliche but the main cast goes against the mold which was very unique especially for an early 80s slasher.  This gave the cast a little something more to work with and they did a fantastic job.  The story for this one is a slasher at heart but doesn't follow the typical look and feel of the college slashers that was becoming popular of the time.  Most of slashers that were following sororities and fraternities of this time put helpless teenagers in their home as they were getting stalked by an unknown killer.  Silent Madness uses this to an extent but a house full of college students is replaced with just a few while the killer is not limited to murdering those in the home.  We then have the smart and somewhat strong female doctor trying to stop him which hints to the John Carpenter classic Halloween.  The viewer knows the outcome but it was nice seeing a different path to get there.  Finally, the film is not an overly bloody slasher or filled with gore but the deaths were very imaginative and fun.  The kills sometimes take place off camera but does a great job using the viewer's imagination but it works.  I was really impressed with these kills and how they were not your typical slasher slash and slice.  Overall, Silent Madness was a fantastic slasher that has slipped by me for sometime.  I'm really enjoy this release Vin Syn.  The transfer looks absolutely amazing and this release is a must have for slasher fans.  Be sure to pick this one up!