Madhouse (Joshua Leonard)

REVIEW
Those that haven’t seen a horror film in years may find Madhouse to be a hypnotic carnival spookhouse thrill ride with excellent production values. But if you’re a horror fan, there’s not much here to get excited about. You’d be hard put to find a single plot point, effect, line of dialogue, character or special effect in this movie that isn’t blunt, thudding horror film cliché. This lack of originality leaves it up to the performers to maintain interest and suspense, and while character actor favorites like Henriksen and Lyonne do what they can to hold the screen, ultimately it’s up to bland Josh Leonard in the lead role to create a character worth joining on such a familiar ride. Someone like Johnny Depp might have been able to pull this off, but no matter how many mannerisms and quirks Leonard takes the time to work into his part, he just doesn’t have the power to carry the show.