Maniac!

Rating:
Summary: Brutal, yet at times, ALMOST laughable.
Review: It's hard to pin-point how this movie makes one feel. There are some who would be TOTALLY offended. Others would say that it was a slasher epic. I myself must say i enjoyed it. I bought it, sight unseen, and it's by far one my favorite horror movies I own next to Two Evil Eyes. The movie involves a "MANIAC", and believe me once you see this you'll agree, who kills people for no reason other than for the thrill of it. There's a method to the madness though, and I can understand why at the time of it's release it was slammed by just about every critic out there. It is, for the most part, senseless violence...but I came to the conclusion that it was years ahead of it's time and it wiped out the myth that America was a safe society, cause stuff like this can and has happened! I place it among the most exploitive films ever made! 110% cult classic indeed! Thank you, Bill Lustig...

Rating:
Summary: Title performance better than the movie
Review: Difficult to say I 'enjoyed' this movie, but I was impressed by the performance of Joe Spinell. It was genuinely disturbing in places.

But there was one major flaw in the narrative which made the rest of the movie unconvincing for me, and that was his relationship with the character played by Caroline Munro (an attempt at a 'nice' relationship which reminded me of the structure of Taxi Driver). It was completely unrealistic. He turns up uninvited at her door, a complete stranger, and tells her he's the guy she photographed in the park. Instead of her asking 'How the hell did you find out where live? Have you been following me? Who are you anyway and what do you want?", which is how any normal woman would behave, it's "Oh hi, come on in, have a drink, sit down, of course I'd love to go to dinner!..."

It was doing alright up till then. A shame as I felt Spinell's acting was let down by the poor narrative, and I think once you destroy your audience's belief in the story, you can't get it back.

Rating:
Summary: Classic piece of disturbing gore cinema.
Review: I had heard lots and lots of good stuff about this movie before I bought it off my friend Daniel, but I never expected it to be this good. Tom Savini does awesome makeup and special fx on this movie. The head explosion bit is one of the best head explosions I've seen. It is the story of Frank Zito, a disturbed man who kills women in their twenties-thirties in order to make them into mannequins. The gore is great and the suspense is always there. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: MANIAC Barely Withstands the Test of Time
Review: Believe it or not, this film caused a huge sensation upon its release way back in 1980 due to its unprecedented level of graphic violence. Now, though, the film might be difficult for some to sit through with its bad acting and cheesy gore effects. It's not a complete loss, however. There are some tense moments when the killer stalks his victims (especially a scene involving a nurse in a subway bathroom). The DVD has some interesting extras, notably a collection of press clippings vilifying the film, a radio interview with its director and lead actors, and commentary by the Savini himself. And while cheesy, Tom Savini's effects are still great fun to watch for those of us weirdos who are into this type of stuff.

As a slasher relic, it's a worthy addition to your collection. The 3 stars rating is given within the context of the slasher genre only!

Rating:
Summary: I'M A HORROR FAN,BUT THIS IS TRASH
Review: This movie ranks down in the dumps along with the sloppy done Last House On The Left and I Spit On Your Grave(which also are [bad])too. They call this a horror movie,its not the least bit scary and the killer is some demented disocial nerd who just kills women for fun. This is pure [unacceptable material] people,it is not gory or sick so to speak,but very distastful and should be in the bargain bin ...,its that bad of movie and concept. STAY AWAY FROM THIS ...,UNLESS YOU ENJOY SOME LONELY GUY KILLING WOMEN FOR NO REASON AND TAKING THEIR SCALPS AS SOVENIORS. WORST FILM OF THE 80'S P.S. IF YOU WANT A REAL HORROR MOVIE CHECK OUT THE ORIGINAL 1978 (HALLOWEEN),1984(SILENT NIGHT,DEADLY NIGHT),(A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 1,3) AND YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID!

Rating:
Summary: The most cruel and unapolegetic slasher film ever....
Review: Finally at long last Joe Spinnel's clasic tale of a deranged serial killer has finally been released in a worthy form.

Being that many movies have used this title I must explain that this one is not only the real deal but the most vile of the pack. It is a extremely creepy low budget gore flick with absoloutely no moral perspective, So much so that even its own makeup artist wanted to be removed from its credits. Tom Savini, who would later become famous for his award winning FX as well as acting and directing many later horror films, Brings to the table some of the most realistic FX in his career and is one of the many highlights in this classic horror film.

Like it is in many real life serial killer cases, we have the late Joe Spinnel, who potrays the serial killer Frank Zito, a loner with no social grace or personality. Frank is severely mentally disturbed as a result of the emotional and physical abuse he suffered as a child at the hands of his prostitute mother. The murder scenes in this movie are extremely cruel and graphic in nature so I must warn you that this film is defenitely not for everybody.

Most casual horror fans tend to wretch at this film and see it as nothing more than a seedy slasher flick that has a very anti-woman message, but in my opinion it is much more than that. It is a potrayal of one of society's worst monsters, monsters who often walk around our every day world going unnoticed.

So in conclusion, if you are a die-hard horror fan and love gruesome effects, then I highly suggest you purchase this dvd. Out of all the DVD's that Anchor Bay has released, this would have to be the cream of the crop, boasting a plethora of special features, and a heartfelt tribute to the late Joe Spinnel.

Rating:
Summary: Gruesome and very nasty indeed, one for hard-core genre fans
Review: Minor Spoilers, though it really doesn't matter that much (who's watching this for story and character development?)

William Lustig has not had what you might call a glittering career, with the pretty flaccid 'maniac cop' probably being his directorial highlight. I'm not going to voice off too much about this sleazy little story of insanity and copious scalpings, except to say that it is very nasty and unpleasant, at times intensely so. It's also extremely graphic and the death scenes are so protacted that eventually the blood, screaming and torture just numb you. I decided to put this matter of factly, because for some people these qualities are a major incentive to see a film and for others, who were maybe looking for something a bit more light-hearted like 'Scream' or 'Urban Legend', it's a good indication that you might want to give this one a miss.

I personally didn't enjoy it very much, and I'm a big fan of exploitation and extreme cinema. This was largely due to the fact that the film is badly structured and frequently dull. The main character commits some vile atrocity (nice FX work from Savini, as always, with a particularly impressive gunshot wound to the head a la 'Dawn of the Dead'), weeps a bit then returns to his flat and conducts some kind of internal dialogue with himself. This pattern is repeated OVER and OVER until Lustig is satisfied that the audience understands that he's sincerely trying to get inside the mind of a sick weirdo and make a thought provoking psychological chiller, not cheesily exploit human misery for a quick buck.

Eventually through circumsatnce he ends up in a Graveyard, having some kind of hallucinatory conversation with his dead mother. This provides us with some of the worst voice over work ever heard in a motion picture, especially the child who repeats endlessly 'Please, mommy, don't lock me in the closet' in a monotone that even Fox Mulder would find a tad wooden. This lame-brained (make that lobotomized) attempt at cause and effect (abuse spawns an abuser) seems completely vacuous and tacked on in light of the rest of the movie's gloating sadism and lingering attention to gory detail.

On which note the movie ends with an exceedingly repellant dream sequence which may have been cut in another version (the local British VHS release) I recently saw. Certain bits of sexualized violence certainly were, particularly the strangulation of the prostitute which even when trimmed down still seems to go on for ever, and some vaguely sexual knife wounding. All of which makes Maniac sound like such a pleasant viewing experience, something for the whole family to snuggle up to after church on Sunday with a bottle of mescal and a bucket.

If you're a sick puppy (you know you are) you'll probably get a kick out of it, although you may find that you don't watch it very often (or have to start taking showers after it). Everyone else would do well to avoid it like a debilitating brain aneuryism.

The DVD package is very good for what it's worth, with the Uncut version of the movie and some nice extras, including a decent commentary track.

Rating:
Summary: One of the BEST DVD's ever produced!!!
Review: Not a masterpiece,to be sure.Maniac stands as a remarkable piece of grand guignol filmmaking and a lamentable relic of the times square grindhouse horror era.For viewers who may find Maniac's nihilistic tone oppressive,the DVD is redeemed by an exhuberant audio commentary which greatly enhances Maniac's entertainment value over repeat viewings.All the filmmakers are assembled and treat the viewer to a string of indie-moviemaking anecdotes (this disc is a MUST for film students),as well as personal stories about the cast and crew.
The film could be examined soley on the merits of its lead performance.The late Joe Spinell,a prolific character actor,embodies the repugnance and mundanity of serial murder.His interperetation of killer Frank Zito is memorably creepy.
The violence is extreme if not always realistic.The scene where Zito blows off the head of a would be lothario in a Staten Island lovers lane (played by make-up artist Tom Savini)is gross,yet more than a bit exagerated(the head pops like a water balloon).Still,Savini manages some unsettling set pieces.
The discs most impressive feature is its Spinell documentary."The Joe Spinell Story", with its testimonials from friends of the late character actor,interspersed with clips from his films as well as home movies,is as entertaining as anything ever put on disc,and elevates Anchor Bay's special edition to the very best of their releases.

Rating:
Summary: TRASH AS ART?
Review: This film is revered by cultists and fans of Tom Savini. The story of a deranged maniac who kills women and collects their scalps for his apartment full of manniquins stars Joe Spinell as the maniac and Caroline Munro as a photographer he takes a liking to. That the beautiful Munro would even give this slob the time of day much less friendship of any kind is a stretch. That's just one of the issues here. The murders and scalpings are another issue. I found them to be nauseating and difficult to tolerate. The film is very low budget and poorly made which gives it a gritty edge that makes the gore seem voyeuristic in nature. Savini's gore effects are vivid and somewhat realistic. The psychological probes into the mind of this sicko are not handled as effectively as the carnage. Had the balance been more even the movie could have had more impact. As it is, this is a film that glorifies mutilating women for the gore thrill. It at times approaches what a "snuff" film must be like. Anchor Bay devotes loving attention to the DVD with lots of extras and a tribute to Spinell. I cannot with good conscience recommend this film because I find it repulsive and distasteful. ...

Rating:
Summary: Not great as some thought would be but it's a sleazy flick.
Review: Frank Zito (Joe Spinell) is a deeply disturbed man, who's haunted by his past of being abused of mother, who's passed on for years.
Being traumized for years, when Frank snaps, he starts stalking and murdering (especially woman) people in the seedy streets of New York City. When Frank starts a relationship with an british beautiful photographer woman (Caroline Murno). Despite his pananoia sick twisted perverted mind (always hearing voices in his head), his odd behavior and his vile compulsion remain.

Directed by William Lustig (Maniac Cop Trilogy) made this disguntingly notorious Cult Classic. Which isn't a bad movie but it's oddly compelling. There's some strong effective moments in this. Good gory make-up effects by Tom Savini (Creepshow)-Who also plays a Victim in this. Spinell (Which he co-wrote the screenplay and also one of the exective producers), which he's best known for small parts in High Profile films like Rocky, The Godfather Part 2, Cruising and Night Shift. Spinell gives a fine performance but in a way, his role is put down by uglyness and the sometime failed black humor in it also. It is a depraved film but could have been better, if it had a Bigger Budget, Better Script or a Better Director. Still, it's worth seeing but this might have been a better movie, if it had a much more realistic and satisfying ending...