The Maddening (1996)
David and Cassie Osborne have an argument one night. So the next morning after David goes to work, Cassie runs off to her sister's house for a few days with their daughter Samantha. Only they never get there. David starts looking for them, and her sister, Joanne, thinks David had something to do with their disappearance, and calls the police. Actually Samantha and Cassie are with Roy and Georgina Scudder, and their daughter Jill. Roy picked them up after their car broke down. The only problem is, the Scudders, who seem a little odd at first, won't let them leave or call anyone.
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Sorry, this movie sucks
From my favorite movies..
I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.
All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.
This starts off as quite a well spun, psychological drama, until our oblivious innocents meet Burt and his deranged family. Reynolds really does a good job of playing the madman of a deranged family, still living in denial, of losing close loved ones, until Sara and daughter step into the picture, as familiar replacements, and becoming entrapped in the nutter's house. Dickerson, is very good as the deranged wife, overacting some notches. But they do give quite scary and trying performances in a dumb movie, that becomes more preposterous, as scenes become more preposterous, with some unbefitting music scores, excluding the major one I liked, the best thing about this film. The scene early on with husband, arguing with Sara's sister, not too fond of this guy, was just laughable, where you just can't take this one seriously as a scary thriller. It's just too dumb. The little girl of the nutters, equally nutty, gets on your nerves too. There were some moments, she actually made me uncomfortable. The pudgy cop, who sort of looks like Newman from Seinfeld, was the other plus, in a film, left better on the shelves. Stay away.
I decided to watch "The Maddening" because I was intrigued by the movie's promise of showcasing Burt Reynolds in a very atypical role, that being a bad guy. But I was sorely let down by the end results. Except for some good photography and lighting for what was a low budget production, the movie goes wrong in just about every way you can think of. The story has nothing really new - you'll be able to more or less predict what will happen next before it actually happens on the screen, save for some REALLY BIG continuity gaffs. As for Reynolds (who wears an especially bad hairpiece), although he has shown he can act in other movies, here he just seems to be badly miscast; at every moment he comes across as good ol' boy Burt Reynolds instead of someone who is scary and disturbed. One last thing: While the movie got slapped with an "R" rating, it really doesn't earn that harsh rating. If you ask me, the movie is more deserving of a PG-13 rating.
This movie is truly one of my favouits. A great thriller with great acting from Burt Reynolds,Angie Dickinson,and mia sara. And very good direction from danny huston. I love this movie so much because I got to see Burt Reynolds as the bad guy. You dont often see that. I hope that he plays that sort of part again. Trust me if you havent seen this movie yet then you better see it soon.
How low is Burt Reynolds willing to stoop, during this late phase of his career? Apparently pretty low indeed, judging from this tedious thriller that was barely released theatrically. Reynolds seems miscast in his change-of-pace villainous role, and the snail-like pacing and poor production values remove most of the "entertainment value" this movie might had possessed. (*1/2)