Development In 1979, filmmakers Joe Giannone and Gary Sales, both graduates of
Richmond College, were inspired to make a horror film after the commercial successes of recent low-budget horror films. In developing a screenplay, Sales recalled the
urban legend of the
Cropsey maniac which he had heard as a child and suggested it as a possible basis for the story. The two devised the
working title Madman: The Legend Lives, with Giannone writing the screenplay, while Sales attempted to find an investor to help fund the production. After numerous failed attempts at attracting an investor, producer Sam Marion agreed to help fund the picture. By 1980, Giannone and Sales had secured enough financing to enter production; it was during this time that the filmmakers became aware of
Harvey Weinstein’s
The Burning (1981), also featuring the Cropsey maniac. Because the two films resembled each other too much—which would lead to a canceling effect for both projects—Giannone decided to halt production and rewrite the script. The idea of Cropsey was changed to the fictionalized "Madman Marz," a farmer who had massacred his family and lynched by an angry mob, whose presence is claimed to still haunt the woods near his home. With a
Frank Sinatra tour entitled
Frank Sinatra: The Legend Lives being produced around the same time, the filmmakers also decided to alter the film's name to simply
Madman.
Filming During the summer of 1980, the producers had begun location scouting, eventually settling on Fish Cove in
Southampton, New York, which provided all of the required locations in the script. Principal photography commenced in November 1980 at Fish Cove Inn in Southampton, for what was to be all-night shoots. According to actress Gaylen Ross, as the leaves were starting to turn brown and fall from the trees, the production were forced to find as many as possible and paint them green to give the impression that the film was set in summer. However, Frederik Neumann's character Max states early in the film, around the campfire, that there is only "one weekend left before Thanksgiving" and his "winter vacation down South", so it must be assumed then that the action does take place in a cold November night and not during Summertime. Fish Cove not only provided a large house to film in but also twenty-five cabins that the cast and crew could stay in. As it was out of season, the filmmakers had to hire out the entire camp. For the room and board that the complex offered, the crew was charged only $25 per head, with the staff having to work nights to accommodate for their guests. The special effects in the film were created with practical methods, some of which were dubious and demanded the scenes being filmed quickly: The opening scene, which sees Max tells the story of Madman Marz around a campfire, actor Tony Fish was given only one night to memorize the song that he sings in an effort to creep out his fellow counsellors, as the
prosthetics for Madman Marz were late arriving on set, and the director was forced to rethink his shooting schedule. Other practical effects included dummy heads made of
condoms with
fake blood, which, when hit with an axe, created the image of a skull being crushed. On December 8, 1980, towards the end of the shoot, filming was abandoned for one day when news came over the radio that singer
John Lennon had been murdered in New York and so as a mark of respect, the filming was put on hold for the day. ==Soundtrack==