Mad Heidi review.
Swissploitation is such a perfect word to describe Mad Heidi that it can’t be improved upon. Delightfully absurd in all the best ways.
Mad Heidi heads to theaters for one night only June 21.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Mad Heidi
Directed by Johannes Hartmann and Sandro Klopfstein
Written by Sandro Klopfstein, Johannes Hartmann and Gregory D, Widmer
Starring Alice Lucy, Max Rüdlinger, Casper Van Dien and David Schofield
Mad Heidi Review
Mad Heidi serves up the good cheese. It aims its best weapons (comedy and violence) directly at the absurd. An exploitation film from the appropriately titled Swissploitation Films. You’ll never have a neutral feeling about Switzerland again.
Heidi (Alice Lucy) lives in the Alps with her grandfather (David Shofield). Her boyfriend Goat Peter (Kel Matsena) is a cheese bootlegger…a profession that does not sit well with Swiss President Meili (Casper Van Dien) and his cheese monopoly. After Goat Peter is murdered…Heidi is thrown into prison and must escape to exact her revenge.
As you can see above…Mad Heidi is absurd. Absurd in all the best ways. Absurd in the cheesiest ways. The cheese fascists are looking to eradicate any competition to their cheese dictatorship…along with their most hated group…the lactose intolerant. If you aren’t on board with this premise already…I don’t know what to tell you. Mad Heidi is full of over-the-top fun and violence…all set inside of this ridiculous world.
At its heart Mad Heidi is an exploitation film. Not content with stopping there…it’s also hilarious. There are countless puns on Swiss culture and, forgive me, cheesy one-liners to be had. There’s also a perfectly suitable revenge story holding it all together. Heidi makes for a wonderful hero. Lucy carries her journey from unassuming mountain girl to badass machine with great charisma. She plays the role straighter than you’d expect amidst the absurdity…and the movie is all the better for it.
Casper Van Dien, on the other hand, chews every bit of scenery that he can as the evil President. It’s a performance that will put a smile on your face every moment he’s on screen. He’s surrounded by evil henchmen and ridiculous decadence…but you can’t take your attention from his off-kilter performance. A performance made even more wonderful by centering around the all-important cheese-related matters.
Violence in Mad Heidi is equally absurd. People don’t just get shot in the head…their heads explode. The movie introduces an impressive and escalating rogue’s gallery. They come with the understanding that Heidi will eventually be taking them down. No matter how vile or dangerous…this is a revenge story. The fun is in watching the inevitable happen. Watching Heidi grow in power and carry out her executions is an absolute blast.
Mad Heidi doesn’t waste any time getting to the fun. Before you can blink her story has reached the revenge stage. Heidi finds herself in prison, her life sustained by…you guessed it…cheese. But one can only take so much cheese. Fortunately, Mad Heidi doles out the exact right amount to viewers. The only thing that can satiate Heidi is glorious, insane revenge.
There are budget issues that prevent the kills from always matching the intent. Not as many as you’d expect, however. This is due to Mad Heidi’s excellent visual style. It may not always be able to show you what it wants to. It’s always showing you something fun. It packs in several homages to action movies and always has its tongue planted firmly in cheek. Mad Heidi is a fun ride with a great lead character.
About that character…let’s just say that Swissploitation’s take on the Heidi character fairs a lot better than the recent horror take on Winnie-the-Pooh. It gives a bit of hope that some good can come out of twisted takes on classic characters in the public domain. Hopefully this Heidi’s story will continue.
Scare Value
Mad Heidi finds the exact right tone and never lets up. It’s as absurd as it is entertaining. As funny as it is exciting. Great characters in ridiculous situations. An exploitation movie centered around cheese. No idea is too much, every idea is implemented for maximum enjoyment. If you enjoy revenge movies…you’ll get what you’re after. If you like a side of cheese with it…you’ll be in heaven.
4/5
Mad Heidi Link
Buy tickets for the one-night only screening from Fandango
