Silent Madness 3D (1984)

Death by carpenter’s gun! Paddling in the boiling room!  Hot water scalding!  Sorority girls get their comeuppance when a paranoid killer is accidentally released from a small asylum which is apparently also run by a lunatic in Silent Madness.  Time to get your 3D groove back on when you pop in this Drive-In flick from the 1980s!

"Time to get your 3D groove back on when you pop in this Drive-In flick from the 1980s"


Directed by Savage Dawn’s Simon Nuchtern and starring Miami Vice’s Belinda Montgomery, Creephow’s Viveca Lindfors, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’s Sydney Lassick, with Phantasm II’s Solly Marx as the accidentally released psychotic killer Howard Johns, Silent Madness originally arrived during the short-lived, early 80s revival of 3D movies.  It disappeared just as quickly, too, thanks to its rather familiar slasher plodding.

Thankfully, its ArriVision 3D camera system handles the depth-plunging well as axes, hammers, meat hooks, and rifles are either thrown or pointed at the screen.  Mix the 3D animation with the stylized gelled lighting from cinematographer Gerald Feil (Friday the 13th Part III) and you have all the ingredients needed for a killer 3D cult classic, even if time has sort of forgotten about it.

Silent Madness sees a heroine having to put up with a whole lot of male-led deceit when the nuthouse doctors who accidentally released the killer decide to send some assassins to take care of her for good.  Good thing that she’s taken things into her own hands and mounts her own investigation into where this giant-sized killer mute is headed.Silent Madness 3D (1984)

And it is all in an effort to stop the maniac that a computer glitch released from a small town’s mental asylum.  Dr. Gilmore (Montgomery) does the gumshoeing as she notices the clerical error and then tries to warn the small town’s sheriff (Lassick), but it is way too late in the game.  Johns has already killed two blondes and more are in his sights.  His last romp through the town was dubbed “The Sorority Murders” and now, thanks to the computer error that no one but her wants to fix, he is winding up for round two.

Thing is, both he and Gilmore have a backhistory with Sorority Houses as they were both teased mercilessly by these "Mean Girls".  It makes for an interesting connection that, ironically enough, leaves us cheering on the killer rather than rooting for Gilmore to put an end to his merciless killing spree.  The “sisters” and how they treat people don’t help themselves, you know?  And it just continues with their dumb decisions in light of the recent killings.

Now on blu-ray thanks to Vinegar Syndrome with a brand-new 4K sheen, Silent Madness is written by Robert Zimmerman and William P. Milling and features an idyllic New England getting turned on its head thanks to the psychotic mute on the prowl.  Or maybe it is just because of the enormous boiler room hiding below one of the sorority houses?  It seems quite a lot happens there in its echoing expanse of horror.

Never officially released on disc and nearly impossible to see in its original scope and 3-D version, Vinegar Syndrome presents Silent Madness on Blu-ray, newly restored from its original 3-D negative (3-D restoration and alignment performed by the 3-D Film Archive) and presented in Digital 3-D (which mirrors the theatrical experience), Flat (2-D), and Anaglyph 3-D, which you can enjoy with your custom pair of 3-D glasses, included with this disc.

Time to get your killing specs on!

3/5 beers

 

Silent Madness 3D (1984)

Blu-ray Details

Home Video Distributor: Vinegar Syndrome
Available on Blu-ray
- February 2, 2021
Screen Formats: 2.39:1
Subtitles
: English SDH
Audio:
DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray 3D' Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set; Anaglyph 3D
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

When a glitch in the computer system at an asylum for the criminally insane results in the release of the wrong patient – a giant-in-stature homicidal maniac named Howard Johns, who has a penchant for killing college coeds – it’s up to one of the institute’s top doctors to track him down. Unfortunately, it’s not just Howard she has to worry about, as the administration of the asylum has decided to cover up the error to avoid bad press, going as far as to hire a duo of thugs to permanently ’silence’ the good doctor. Soon enough, Howard finds his way back to the sorority house he once terrorized and sets out to murder the latest batch of nubile coeds who have taken up residence in the stately manor.  Offered through Vinegar Syndrome, the disc comes with two Silent Madness themed 3-D Anaglyph glasses, and the limited edition embossed slipcover is limited to the first 6,000 units only.

Video:

Newly scanned & restored in 4k from its 35mm negative, this Region Free Blu-ray looks all sorts of clean and crisp.  It is, in fact, ready for its 3D close-up!  Colors are bright.  Black levels are even.  And the effects, while leaning more toward the cheap side, work to create the illusion of a Drive-In cult classic coming to life on your television screen.  Spread over two discs, audiences have three choices for their viewing experience: Digital 3-D (requires a 3-D capable TV and player), Anaglyph 3-D (works on all TVs with included 3-D glasses) and a regular Flat 2-D screen for which the killings play out upon.

Audio:

The creepy, repetitive score tunnels its way into your subconscious thanks to the on-point DTS-HD MA 2.0 track.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • There are two newly recorded commentary tracks included with the disc.  One features a very lively director Simon Nuchtern, which is moderated by author Michael Gingold, and a fun one with The Hysteria Continues!

Special Features:

Along with the super fun 3D glasses and the reversible cover artwork, appreciative audiences get a fine collection of supplemental material which includes a 45-minute documentary that features interviews with the cast and crew of the film.

  • “Method to the Madness” Documentary
  • Deleted interviews from “Method to the Madness”
  • “Silent Stalking Grounds” - locations featurette
  • Introduction by director Simon Nuchtern
  • Promotional 3-D sizzle reel for Silent Madness
  • Promotional & behind-the-scenes still gallery
  • Multiple radio spots

Blu-ray Rating

  Movie 3/5 stars
  Video  3/5 stars
  Audio 3/5 stars
  Extras 5/5 stars

Overall Blu-ray Experience

3.5/5 stars


Film Details

Silent Madness 3D (1984)

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime:
93 mins
Director
: Simon Nuchtern
Writer:
Bob Zimmerman, Bill Milling
Cast:
Solly Marx, Belinda Montgomery, Viveca Lindfors, Sydney Lassick
Genre
: Horror
Tagline:
The Screaming Never Stops.
Memorable Movie Quote: "All right girls listen up. This is probably a simple prank. Just to be safe I want you to lock up and stay together"
Theatrical Distributor:
Almi Pictures
Official Site:
Release Date:
October 26, 1984
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
February 2, 2021.
Synopsis: When a glitch in the computer system at an asylum for the criminally insane results in the release of the wrong patient - a giant-in-stature homicidal maniac named Howard Johns, who has a penchant for killing college coeds - it’s up to one of the institute’s top doctors to track him down. Unfortunately, it’s not just Howard she has to worry about, as the administration of the asylum has decided to cover up the error to avoid bad press, going as far as to hire a duo of thugs to permanently ’silence’ the good doctor. Soon enough, Howard finds his way back to the sorority house he once terrorized and sets out to murder the latest batch of nubile coeds who have taken up residence in the stately manor.

Blu-ray art

Silent Madness 3D (1984)