The Mad (2007)

Let's be realistic.

Instant Favorite.

Good start, but then it gets ruined

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

I think I can safely consider myself to be a fairly open-minded and tolerant horror fan, but there's one thing I honestly can't stand: horror comedies that are not funny, nor gory. And unfortunately we happen to see a lot of those lately, especially in the sub genre of 'zombie movies' ever since a British instant classic called "Shaun of the Dead" successfully mixed humor with splatter. By now everybody seems to think they're capable of making a horror comedy and this naturally results in a huge pile of stinking, inept, insufferable and redundant straight-to-video crap. All these untalented filmmakers don't seem to realize that "Shaun of the Dead" was actually the exception that confirmed the rule: zombies, people coming back from the dead to hunt the flesh of the living are no laughing matter. Like the case in "The Mad", there's absolutely nothing even remotely funny about family members getting killed by walking corpses that died after consuming beef infected with the mad cow disease. People will not start to make jokes or have discussions about the definition of a zombie moments after their beloved partners have been reduced to a pile of blood and intestines on the floor! "The Mad" really tries to be hilarious, with its absurd & stereotypical character drawings and clichéd father-daughter-stepmother-punk boyfriend relationship jokes, but it miserably fails. The other elements to create comedy are either totally pathetic (spontaneously attacking hamburgers) or utterly derivative (inbred farmers and banjo music). "The Mad" can't even distinguish itself from the majority of lame-ass low budget horror junk with a good amount of nauseating splatter, as the make-up effects and massacres are nothing exceptional at all. It's not a gore-soaked bloodbath and we're only treated to a couple of mundane zombie-attacks and relatively bloodless annihilations. And then there's Billy Zane, the "famous" name parading the DVD-cover; hoping to attract more viewers with it. To my surprise I encountered a lot of reviews claiming that his performance was awesome but I, on the other hand, have rarely seen someone acting so uninterested and hammy, and no, I don't misinterpreted the fact his performance was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek. Zane more than obviously wasn't interested in starring in this piece of junk and he can't hide it. For crying out loud, Billy! Maybe you desperately needed the money, but if you really don't want to star in garbage like this, then don't sign the contract! "The Mad" is a terrible film, not funny, not horrific, not gruesome, nothing to recommend.

WOW, the Zombie comedy genre sure seems to be in style lately. I'll say this much, The Mad had a lot of firsts in it, and definitely entertained me, even though it wasn't quite as perfect as some reviews have made it out to be. first off, Billy Zane is a great actor, in fact this is totally his movie. I did laugh at his dialog, even though I felt his performance was a tad uneven at times. Some of the death scenes were just plain hilarious. I won't spoil it for you with specifics, but I will say look for a funny decapitation scene, as well as an attack from a possessed Hamburger Pattie.... Now that has to be a first. The Mad certainly has B movie classic potential. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good campy horror film.Spoiler Warning- I do have some mild criticism. For one thing, I didn't care for the climactic portion at the farm. I felt the villainous father and son duo, were just kind of dumb, and pointless. I didn't find them funny, and certainly didn't find them threatening in any way. Second although the film did have a few generally laugh out loud moments, the comedy, and performances were a tad uneven at times, and just didn't consistently hit for me. But hey I can't complain to much about a film that has freakin Hamburger Patties attacking people. If you enjoy this check out the numerous recent entries in the Zomedy genre like Dead and Deader, Shaun Of The Dead, Stink Of Flesh, Dead and Breakfast, and an early example of the genre, Dead Heat.

You are what you eat... THE MAD was fast, funny, had some terrific gross-out moments, and snappy dialogue. The main cast was great - you could transplant the central characters (a family) into any other kind of film (romantic comedy, say) and they would work just as well - they weren't just stereotypical horror movie fodder. Loved seeing Billy Zane in a comedic role. Get your zombie fix and see the movie!One weird thing: The upcoming DVD cover looks as if it is for a completely different movie - I'm pretty sure the picture on it isn't even from The Mad - it looks like a stock photo of a generic zombie. Why on earth would they do that? Why misrepresent a totally fun movie?

In the increasingly popular movie genre of zombie comedies, The Mad is an excellent entry. I saw the premiere of this film at the Canadian Filmmaker's Festival last week and it was a bucket of fun.The film stars Billy Zane (Dr. Hunt) and Maggie Castle (his daughter Amy) as they attempt to navigate the usually rocky terrain of a family road trip, complete with Amy's boyfriend and the Doc's girlfriend (played to bitchy perfection by Shauna MacDonald).I can't say too much without giving the premise away, but suffice it to say, when the zombies appear, there's a pleasant amount of blood and gibbets of flesh to go around.Zane does well in a comedic role, and the supporting performances are strong.This movie does exactly what it's supposed to do: makes you laugh, frightens you, and leaves you feeling satisfyingly entertained.One additional thing I have to mention: saw the cover art for the upcoming DVD and it doesn't really speak to what the movie's about: this is a zombie comedy, not a purely gruesome horror flick. Just my opinion.