Maniac

Rating:
Summary: This movie rules
Review: hahah crazy movie, i definatley recommend this crazy movie to all the horror buffs out there looking for some good old entertainment. The scene where he shoots thru the window of that car was crazy!!!!good Flick, pick it up, or at least rent it..

Rating:
Summary: MANIAC
Review: One of the best horror movies I ever seen

Rating:
Summary: rent to see Tom Savini get his head blown off, then return
Review: Director William Lustig may have had a founding hand in the creation of Anchor Bay Entertainment (currently the best home-video company out there), but as a filmmaker he's the pits. Perhaps the blame of "Maniac"--a would-be intellectual slasher pic--doesn't fall entirely on his shoulders, because the script is awful, the characters are shallow, and the movie as a whole just LOOKS ugly. Joe Spinell, who cowrote this junk, plays the title character, a chubby loser who goes about New York City killing pretty girls and scalping them for his mannequins at home. All of this is supposedly based on the "Son of Sam" murders, but even something as nihilistic as "Maniac" demands a little plot to keep your interest, which isn't forthcoming. In the end, all the excessive deep breathing, stupid "insane" monologues, and bloody murders can't make this movie anything more than the low-budget trash it is. The only thought that went through my head was why Tom Savini ("Dawn of the Dead") decided to waste his time doing the makeup for this.

Rating:
Summary: I Warned You Not To Watch This Piece O'Crap!
Review: Maniac has certain aspects to it that I would normally like to compliment- it attempts to actually get into the mind of a serial killer to see what makes him create the carnage instead of leaving it up to the audience to figure it out. And I must say that Tom Savini did a bang-up (pun intended) job in the FX of his own grisly demise.

I would like to compliment it, but I just can't. Insidious acting, awful directing and a plot line that's like having your foot nailed to the ground and running around in circles can't justify the gore. A movie that's rife with gore that also incorporates similar bad acting (Lucio Fulci movies, for example) works because it doesn't take itself seriously. That's why Fulci movies are generally successful: You finish the movie, say "Boy, that was pretty disgusting!" but you were entertained nonetheless. Maniac attempts to create a somber mood and gain sympathy for the protagonist and it goes horribly astray. It's not cheesy, gory fun. It's just plain old cheesy.

And I can't fathom how some people think Joe Spinnell did a good job as the maniac. It's hard to take a guy who looks like the overweight porn star Ron Jeremy as a serious actor battling his demons.

Rating:
Summary: disturbingly weird
Review: this movie really takes you by the balls and never let go...it's got a kind of strange aura too...after i watched it i felt strange for a couple of days....this tells you how gripping a tale this is;the dvd is top notch,with great interactive menus and good extras the picture is clear so you can fully appreciate frankie's appartment and dont let your girlfriend see it...im sleeping in the garage since sunday...

Rating:
Summary: maniac
Review: bought this film without having seen it before(the film is still banned here in the uk)and was expecting to be shocked and as is usually the case with notorious horror movies ,dissapointed and confused as to what was all the fuss,but this film was great! it delivered on all fronts,the gore scenes were well done and the film sets up a continuous tense,freaky atmosphere throughout!joe spinnell is excellent as the maniac and potrays the character in a fairly realistic way!this film was disturbing (which is it's whole point)but not to the point where it's uneasy to watch!if you like 80's horror and want something a little more than ghostface and micheal myers!buy maniac!

Rating:
Summary: You can't disguise this sort of sleaze
Review: I can't understand why other reiewers are defending this film as a well-made character study, or a deep exploration of a disturbed man...it's a slasher film of the lowest and worst taste. Not misogynistic? One of the worst scenes comes when Joe Spinelli has a girl tied spread-eagled to a bed. He mounts her, knife at the ready, and grinds away on top, while the knife bloodily fillets her and she slowly dies beneath him...How much fun is that to watch? The whole atmosphere seems dirty and depressing, all the locations, like the subway, the maniac's apartment, etc are ugly and depressing. At least Tom Savini does a good job of making the scalping scenes look real, and the climactic bloodbath is particularly nightmarish. The sleazy and grim atmosphere is right for the films content, but it turns out to be a showcase for all the worst aspects of the "slasher" genre". If you find shop mannequins scary, watch "Tourist Trap" instead, and for gore, choose one of the many other early 80's examples, but there's no joy to be found watching this.

Rating:
Summary: Strange and horrific
Review: Maniac is one of the most notorious 80's slasher flicks, and deservedly so. It's goy and quite repellant, and has a bit more plot than most entries in the genre. That's not to say it isn't stupid at times-Spinell overacts to the point of getting a nosebleed, and some of the effects look fake. But it is an interesting character study with an obviously severely disturbed man, rather than an unfeeling monster, and the shotgun scene is one of most shockingly realistic scenes in mainstream horror. It's also very eerie and claustrophobic, especially the ending, which kind of took me aback. Definately worth a look for slasher fans.

Rating:
Summary: A poor film, horrific for the wrong reasons.
Review: Maniac, everything else aside, *is* disturbing, although in this case I think this counts as a negative against the film.

If there's ever an argument for violence as entertainment, this film would be the incontestable proof for such an argument. Maniac is basically a series of bloody murders, violence against (mostly) women, and bloodshed without much motivation.

There is no story; other than the faint, underdeveloped and lopsided friendship between Frank Zito (Joe Spinell in a truly awful, laughably melodramatic performance) and Caroline Munro (charming, but empty as a character), the film simply presents a series of paratactic murders with occasional nudity thrown in. The Anna-Frank relationship is completely ridiculous because Spinell opts to play Frank as nothing but a maniac, without any shadings (unlike Anthony Perkins in Psycho, who's all about shadings). See the deleted scene (Anna and Frank talking in a restaurant) from the Elite reissue to see how unconvincing this relationship really is. Spinell's script is atrocious, with self-conscious and clumsy monologues interlaced with bits of character dialogue that provide no dramatic satisfaction. Frank for all his bulk is a complete emotional and intellectual void, his screamings and ravings ringing hollow because of the sheer ineptitude of the writing and the performance.

William Lustig's cinematic technique isn't bad, though no amount of kinetic directing can save this film. Other redeeming features -- an unusual woodwind-based score, Tom Savini's effects (except the first throat-slitting, where you can obviously see the knife dragging across flesh but no marks, poking through the "blood-spurting razor" trick that Savini often uses), and Kelly Piper playing the subway stalking victim with gusto -- fare no better. The narrative poverty at this film's core leaves it unsalvageable.

This is the film that should be put forth to demonstrate filmic sadism. Not I Spit on Your Grave, which successfully achieves a high degree of character authenticity and catharsis. Maniac is as cold-blooded as its titular character, and emblematizes the worst case of mindless slasher film I have ever seen.

Rating:
Summary: Great sfx and performance from spinell
Review: This is an excellant DVD with a great commentary from director bill lustig,sfx expert tom savini and other crew members and the sound is good in dolby digital 5.1,the committed performance of joe spinell stands out as well as the great special effects.