Rating: 
Summary: MANIAC
Review: it is one the most disturbing & frightening films that i've seen Tom Savini is truly a master of horror & oh yes this film is also in dts 5.1 sound MANIAC is the ultimate horror experience buy it now
Rating: 
Summary: From MAD MAN to DATING?
Review: I want to start off by saying this movie has one of the very, BEST... HEAD EXPLODING...Scenes... ever put on film. It is also Very SURPRISING the way it happens. I really enjoyed this FILM for the first half. I started off slow and became more DRASTIC. I felt like I was TRAPED inside the MINED of a KILLER, and I had to go thru and see everything he did. It was like a WARPED DREAM that I could not ESCAPE from. Then out of the BLUE the.. VILE, SWEATY, DISGUSTING, NON BATHING, KILLER... that I had grown to love, goes completely out of CHARACTER and starts DATING? Before this secene, he just KILLED who ever he wanted to, however he wanted to. Thats not the worst part. He also becomes a CRY BABY, when his VICTIM (A very skinny woman, who weights in at 98lbs. pushes this 260lb. man) and gets away. It would be like watching HANNIBAL the CANNIBAL become a DRAG-QUEEN for no reason at all. It is too bad you can't just buy the first 40 mins. I'm not going to go into the ending because, it is just not worth hearing about.
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Summary: Great serial killer flick
Review: There seem to be 2 big camps with this movie. The people who see it as low budget exploitation..., and the people who see it as a realistic and appropriately disturbing film about a serial killer. I'm in the middle toward the latter. If you're gonna make a film about a serial killer and you want to portray a sick madman, then Maniac succeeded. Without viewers realizing it, Hollywood romanticises these characters with these rich and slickly produced tales... To be honest, Maniac FEELS sleazy, so I guess it's very appropriate on many levels. ...That's because this film has been reviled since it's release. But Joe Spinell is remarkable as this character. I guess you could say even disturbing. Spinell plays a dirty, sweaty, fat slob named Frank Zito. He looks like a guy you meet see on the subway and try to avoid looking at. But Frank also happens to be an insane serial killer. See? A serial killer flick. Almost routine now. But this film made Frank a real sicko, and Spinell just LOOKS demented in the film. Nuff said. Frank kills men and women, and he does so violently. Very nice makeup effects by the master Tom Savini. ... Watch for parts of his head flying this way and that. I don't own this DVD, but I know the film. I understand the DVD is HEAVY on the features, and hey, that's a good thing no matter what the flick. More bang for the buck. I'm debating whether to buy the film and own it though. How many times am I gonna watch this thing? It borders on the ludicrous quite often...it also border on entertainment, too.
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Summary: Disturbing for 1980..not today though..
Review: Joe is Phenomenal in this film!!! he portrays a Serial killer and makes it believeable?? (this film Isnt all that disturbing truely, compared to the stuff out now!) the gore/murder scenes are "Friday the 13th" style..., they are definetly tame by todays standards, but back in 1980 they were horribly terrifying to those seeing the film!!! think friday the 13th and psycho ...
but the death scenes arent the real gems here, its Joe Spinell's performance that makes this film worth OWNING!!! it is disturbing in the fact that he makes you Truly believe he is off his rocker!! and the whole shotgun death scene is kind of fake looking, I dont know why people focus more on this scene than Joe's acting...beyond me.....
Rating: 
Summary: Silence of the lambs it ain't - and that's great
Review: Quick comment here - if you want to see a movie about a serial killer that seems semi-realistic see this film. That said, you have been warned. This movie is unswervingly violent and disturbing, but it also avoids "hollywood-ization" and thus it is, in a strange way, quite pure considering its creator's intention. Not for the kiddies.
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Summary: Thank you, Bill Lustig...how often do you hear that?
Review: Yes, the notorious MANIAC. Bill Lustig is probably best known from such drivel as MANIAC COP, UNCLE SAM, etc. But Bill is also known as a film restorer and is the man responsible as being the DVD producer for Anchor Bay Entertainment horror films. Without Bill Lustig, most of Dario Argento's work may not be on DVD. You can thank him for that. But anyway, MANIAC could be considered either the beginning of the end to American horror films or as headway to an American fascination with the commercial slasher films. Character actor Joe Spinell plays Frank, a 40-something average guy who is dealing with his childhood abuse that his incestual (?) mother inflicted on him. Even though she has passed on, Frank releases his anger by making nightly trips within Manhattan, ...[brutally killing people] Joe Spinell's performance as Frank in his 'tortured' moments seems a but funny at first, and maybe they are suppsosed to be. How many times have we seen that crazy guy on the subway talking to himself late at night? But cast all laughs aside when Frank gets down to business and needs his trophies. ...What also helps this film are Tom Savini's special effects. The camera never uses quick editing and all of the gore is there for loving detail...almost as though you are right there... And the shotgun scene is truly the best.... If you consider yourself a gorehound or horror expert, then pick this up. And to the curious, prepare for the gross out.
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Summary: Slasher Masterpiece!
Review: Maniac, a film that has long been hailed as the trashiest piece of sleaze ever put upon the earth, is actually one of the best slashers of the 80's. It is better in the sense that it does not show an unstoppable killer such as Jason or Michael Myers. It shows a killer in the "real" sense- one that can be destroyed, and one that is killing only for the purpose of satisfying his sadistic needs. The film follows a maniac named Frank Zito (the late Joe Spinell), who walks the streets of New York, killing off all of the beautiful women. After killing them, he scalps them and places the "wigs" upon the manniquins found in his apartment. The film is claustrophobic, graphic, and sleazy. But few realize those are the good qualities of the film. It has been a long time since a film gave way to that much intensity. Sure, there have been many films that horrify and repulse, and this film does it quite well, but it is more than that. It is actually meant as a warning- it could happen, and it does everyday. Anchor Bay (Bill Lustig, who, ironically, directed this film; also works for Anchor Bay) does a great job of rereleasing this horror classic on DVD. It is packed with extras including a load of trailers, a documentary on the late Joe Spinell, and an audio commentary, plus much more. For anyone who loves this film, this DVD is a must-have, and is one of the most prized DVDs in my collection.
Rating: 
Summary: Another sick entry in motion picture history
Review: When director William Lustig had the sick idea of making
the most frightening and gruesome horror film, he should
have remembered one little thing. Less gore galore and
more suspense and a good storyline, involved with plot
twists and other surprises.
But Maniac is more of the same (like other pointless
slasher/stalker films). It shows more than it says and
really is as disturbing as offensive...
Stay away from this movie...!!!
jw
Rating:
Summary: A Landmark Horror Movie
Review: Manaic is a film for few people but its a landmark horror film for many reason's the first is Joe Spinell performance for a horror movie is brillent he really lets you inside the head of a mad man. The second reason is the violence is so graphic and strong(This film was banned in many countrys for its graphic violent content including West Germeny and Englind) That it makes all the other horror films look like nothing. The thrid reason is there is only one Manaic movie not like most of these slasher movies where the bad guy never seems to die and thats what makes the film even more disturbing. Those are the three reasons its landmark but you half to like horror to enjoy this film if you are not a horror movie fan I would not watch this movie. This film toke the slasher picture and serial killer picture to a new level. Rest In piece Joe Spinell. Warning: This film is unrated But contains Extremely Graphic prolonged Violence Including Graphic gore,Extremely graphic violent abuse towards women,disturbing images,and strong language. This film has some of the most graphic violence ever filmed you have been warned.
Rating:
Summary: Just sick or a horror masterpiece?
Review: There are a number of people who find this film to be nothing more than a pointless and unnecessarily gruesome study in pathological and psychotic behaviour. I cannot agree with this opinion. Although a very tough experience, the viewing of this film reveals in some depth the tortured mind of a pathetic Vietnam veteran (also a victim of child abuse) who is driven by his inner demons to slaughter various women in NYC in a psychotic attempt to revive the spirit of his dead mother. It is a profoundly disturbing film. Joe Spinell gives a remarkable performance as the demented killer. His verbal ramblings are profoundly unnerving. (Not to mention the hideous murders.) He manages to demonstrate the de-personalized actions of an insane "maniac" all too convincingly. The direction is very good as well. Some very fine camera work. It is interesting to note the incorporation of some themes of Mario Bava's "giallo" thrillers in this film. For example, consider the "dollhouse" effect of the main protaganist's grotesque apartment and compare this to the secret "bridal room" in Bava's HATCHET FOR A HONEYMOON. (Lustig and Spinell apparently enjoyed watching "banned" foreign horror movies in the old "grindhouse" cinemas on 42nd.) The print offered by the new ANCHOR BAY DVD is an improvement over that of the old ELITE version. The colours are sharper and the night exterior scenes (notably that concerning the gruesome murder of the Tom Savani character and his "date") are not as murky. Some good extras as well. As a horror film, MANIAC comes close to being a masterpiece.
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