Well the first thing I have to say is kind of a personal pet peeve I have with horror movies that take place out in the countryside or wilderness. I notice in most horror movies where our main protagonists are placed in a very rural setting they also tend to act as if the residents of such places are ignorant hicks with no education and nosey. Madison County also suffers from this a bit when they arrive into the small community of Madison County.
Hey film makers, here is a note to take. Just because people live in non-urban places and don’t have the latest technology doesn’t mean they are dumb or backward. Many people from these types of communities are very hard working, smart and kind people. I think it’s time for people who don’t live in such places to do a little research or at least know a bit about people from such backgrounds instead watching Beverley Hillbilly or Green Acres Episodes as a reference guide.
With that out of the way did Madison County offer anything for the horror fan? Well…there isn’t much offered here that hasn’t been seen before and in some cases the delivery is worse. We start the movie with a woman waking up in the back of truck then running for her life when the truck stops and the driver gets out. Woman yells for help then gets her skull cracked with a shovel.
Next we are offered our main characters of the movie who are going on a trip to Madison County where one of our main guys is going to interview an author about a serial killer the county has been very hush hush about.
What we have unfold is standard by the book horror cliché’s but also some things that didn’t make sense even for a horror movie. There were some scenes where I either blinked or looked away and it was obvious something had transpired that didn’t make sense, or the editing was bad. There was one case where a character was able to get away from the killer and find her friend. The character was in no way injured and she was shaken up. I understand her being distraught, but suddenly it was if she couldn’t walk without help from her friend. This seemed like it was all used just so we could see the killer sneak up behind them.
The film is filled with several of these kind of moments that just didn’t make sense from a common sense perspective and more of a let’s find a way to show what we want instead.
On the plus side, the film’s slasher I found was visually cool looking and could see how he could be terrifying if used right. I was reminded of a skinny version of Piggsy from the Manhunt video game.
I feel Madison County could have been a good movie if it was written better and delved a little more into the story of the killer but ultimately we are left with strange plot holes and decisions from the characters that just lead to more poor writing and vice versa.
Rating: 2/5
TJ
Hey Ty,
Thanks for checking out our flick and appreciate you taking the time to throw down your thoughts.
I am of the opinion that everyone is entitled to their own, I know I personally don’t like everything, lol.
I do just want to point out two things, because I feel they are worth nothing.
First one deals with your mention about people in these rural setting and the stereotypes often placed upon them through TV or cinema. We all understand, and as a person of Latin background, I see it daily in stuff I watch.
I’m not sure if you had ever come across our trailer for this movie before watching the feature itself, but we mention it is inspired by true events. It wasn’t just a clever tag we used to pump some fake value into the movie. Assuming you didn’t, I will just say, our writer and director is FROM that area you speak of. In fact, his family is FROM…MADISON COUNTY. That is why we shot there, and moreover, why he chose to tell that story. We also experienced first hand, what some of the things were we see in the movie. In fact, people from the area warned us about them before we filmed there. Now obviously we take liberated, such is entertainment, but it wasn’t too far fetched I assure you.
Lastly, you mentioned, “There were some scenes where I either blinked or looked away and it was obvious something had transpired that didn’t make sense, or the editing was bad.”
I don’t think I have to go into detail there, really, but it’s clear to me that perhaps you weren’t paying the most attention. Perhaps it was because the film had already been lost on you, and your interest wasn’t there– that’s fine. In that case, I appreciate you sticking it out, truly. I for one an notorious for falling asleep during movies. In fact our close friends joked that I would do so during a premiere of one of my own movies, lol– however, even if this happens, I wouldn’t comment on a movie overall, because in fairness, I didn’t see it.
I just want to say, if its something that didn’t hold you from start to finish, and you did check out at moments, but still wanted to honor us or the movie in some way, by finishing, you just keep in mind what you offer as part of your critique because I trust your readers are looking for the most honest feedback they can get, and it doesn’t seem like “looking away for some scenes” will give that to them.
I look forward to more of your write ups, and hope our film ROADSIDE can one day inspire some thoughts from you!
Sincerely,
Ace Marrero
Apologies–
TJ, I meant.
Hello Ace,
Thanks for responding to my review. I like the points you make back to me about my review. I had not seen the trailer and i also know some people from those areas can be strange as I also do come from such a place. Also, the criticism is not directed just at your film about rural people…I just see a lot of it in films..kind of like how religion being evil is getting to be overplayed a lot in films.
As for the “Me Blinking and missing a scene” I paid attention throughout the movie except at one part where I swear I barely looked away and it seemed like something really important had transpired or I missed an entire scene so I was a bit confused a bit…but yes I will agree at that one point I was distracted so I may have missed something.
It was at the barn scene where the author drives the one character there and then knocks him out. When he wakes up the author and the guy are both tied up? I know there was someone else there too but I didn’t really see what happened? And then when the main character escaped and got outside..the pig guy was laying down out there…as if there had been a scuffle I hadn’t seen. So it was around the scene at the barn I got confused a bit or “blinked”.
Thanks again for your feedback I really appreciate it.
-TJ