Having missed director William Lustig’s now cult classic MANIAC upon its original release in 1980 it’s been one of a few oddities of cult horror cinema that I’ve actually avoided until now. Due to the video box cover art of the lower half of a man holding a knife in one hand and a woman’s scalp in the other I was always too afraid to rent this movie when I had no problem watching FRIDAY THE 13th or THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, among others.
For the longest time this film was just a blip on my radar until I became familiar with Lustig’s other films such as the MANIAC COP trilogy, RELENTLESS (1989), and UNCLE SAM (1997), which were all relentless horror films now cult classics in their own way. I return my attention now back to MANIAC, which I’ve finally been able to acquire courtesy of Blue Underground’s superb digital transfer.
The film is a relentless portrait of a serial killer Frank Zito (Joe Spinell) who kills innocent woman and collects their scalps in order to give his at home mannequins a bizarre sense of life. As his psyche crumbles and reality merges with fantasy Frank’s life spirals out of control and things get more complicated when he finds himself developing a relationship with his next potential victim, a photographer (played by Caroline Munro) that he becomes smitten with.
I must admit that I enjoyed the film more then I thought I would since much of what came out of the ‘80s was mindless slasher drival. This film is like an early version of HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER (1986), in which both films focus on the serial killer rather than the victims creating a psychological profile unlike anything else. The shock value of the film is also present courtesy of special make up effects artist Tom Savini who outdoes himself whenever he gets the chance. His work still outshines many of his contemporaries.
Great praise goes to Spinell who not only stars in the film but also wrote the screenplay as well (this being his only one) and it shows that he has a great connection with the material. Being a gore-drenched ‘80s film, MANIAC is definitely not for everyone but it is one of the best the ‘80s had to offer and still holds up well today.
For the longest time this film was just a blip on my radar until I became familiar with Lustig’s other films such as the MANIAC COP trilogy, RELENTLESS (1989), and UNCLE SAM (1997), which were all relentless horror films now cult classics in their own way. I return my attention now back to MANIAC, which I’ve finally been able to acquire courtesy of Blue Underground’s superb digital transfer.
The film is a relentless portrait of a serial killer Frank Zito (Joe Spinell) who kills innocent woman and collects their scalps in order to give his at home mannequins a bizarre sense of life. As his psyche crumbles and reality merges with fantasy Frank’s life spirals out of control and things get more complicated when he finds himself developing a relationship with his next potential victim, a photographer (played by Caroline Munro) that he becomes smitten with.
I must admit that I enjoyed the film more then I thought I would since much of what came out of the ‘80s was mindless slasher drival. This film is like an early version of HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER (1986), in which both films focus on the serial killer rather than the victims creating a psychological profile unlike anything else. The shock value of the film is also present courtesy of special make up effects artist Tom Savini who outdoes himself whenever he gets the chance. His work still outshines many of his contemporaries.
Great praise goes to Spinell who not only stars in the film but also wrote the screenplay as well (this being his only one) and it shows that he has a great connection with the material. Being a gore-drenched ‘80s film, MANIAC is definitely not for everyone but it is one of the best the ‘80s had to offer and still holds up well today.
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