Madhouse

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ovidio G. Assonitis directs. Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli behind the camera. Riz Ortolani scores. Angelo Curi cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Italy, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 145 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
• 2International production across 2 countries: Italy, United States of America.
• 3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
• 4Directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis, shot by Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by Riz Ortolani. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor Angelo Curi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Patricia Mickey and Allison Biggers and Michael MacRae carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "Many people visit… no one ever leaves.".
• 9IMDB entry: tt0093468 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Only 71 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
• 11Classified under 10 themes, including "birthday", "psychopath", "twin sister", "animal attack".
• 12Released under 13 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography

Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli

Original score

Riz Ortolani

Editing

Angelo Curi

Costume design

Serena Severini

Makeup / hair

Gino Zamprioli

Runtime

93 min · 1h 33m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Madhouse (1981) ↗

Also by

Ovidio G. Assonitis

• 
  Beyond the Door

  1974 · ★ 5.2
• 
  Tentacles

  1977 · ★ 4.6
• 
  Desperate Moves

  1980 · ★ 4.5
• 
  Out of Control

  1992 · ★ 4.4

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Madhouse (1981) - Trailer

  Trailer

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Wuchak2024-10-24
  ★ 6/10

  Slow slasher set in Savannah pays off with the last act A teacher of deaf kids is haunted by her upbringing with her crazy twin sister. When it’s discovered that she’s escaped the institution, people around her start dying. This builds up to the sisters’ birthday. While technically an Italian production, “Madhouse” (1981) was shot in America with American actors and is also known as “There Was a Little Girl.” While the first hour is mostly unhurried drama, this is the foundation for the crazy last act. The producer/director/writer Ovidio G. Assonitis gives hints of what’s really going on, but doesn’t spell it out. He respected the viewer to put the pieces together. The film should also be esteemed for featuring something that didn’t become in vogue until fifteen years later with “Scream,” although the contemporaneous “Just Before Dawn” did it as well. Meanwhile the ending borrows something from “The Night Strangler” from eight years prior. This was protagonist Trish Everly’s only proper film and starring role, which is strange since she’s a convincing actress. She happened to be a member of Dean Martin's singing/dancing group the Golddiggers from 1969-1971 and had bit parts in several TV series and a few TV movies. Her real name is Patricia Mickey. Also worth mentioning on the beauty front is blonde Morgan Most as Helen. Interestingly, James Cameron believed that Assonitis (listed as Oliver Hellman in the credits) would hire American directors to get funding from studios for his projects and then find an excuse to fire them and direct himself. The proof for this, it is claimed, is “Beyond the Door,” this movie, and “Piranha 2: The Spawning.” It runs 1 hour, 32 minutes, and was shot in Savannah, Georgia. GRADE: B-

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• OV

  Overseas FilmGroup

  US

Key crew

• ProducerOvidio G. Assonitis
• ProducerPeter Shepherd
• EditorAngelo Curi
• Art DirectionStefano Paltrinieri
• Makeup ArtistGino Zamprioli
• Costume DesignSerena Severini
• Makeup ArtistNilo Jacoponi
• Executive In Charge Of ProductionJacques Goyard

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• birthday
• psychopath
• twin sister
• animal attack
• rottweiler
• revenge
• mental institution
• rabid dog
• video nasty
• female teacher

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1981-03-04R
• Physical2017-06-13

Also known as

International titles

• There Was a Little GirlIT
• And When She Was BadUS
• Flesh and the BeastUS
• HullujenhuoneFI
• MadhouseGB
• Madhouse - Party des SchreckensDE
• Scared to DeathUS
• A Casa da EscuridãoPT
• MadhouseUS
• There Was a Little GirlUS
• Жила-была девочкаRU
• Плоть и чудовищеRU
• Напуганый до смертиRU