|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
4
|
|
 |
|
10 |
|
10
= Highest
Rating
|
|
|
Joe
Spinnell's sincere performance and the capable direction of
William Lustig (Maniac
Cop) distinguish this otherwise sordid, low-budget
gorefest. Obviously an inspiration for another notorious film,
Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer
(1986), it focuses exclusively on the twisted, nightmare existence
of one Frank Zito, a psychotic murderer who scalps his female
victims to procure take-home trophies. There are absolutely
no police procedural elements to the plot; the cops only appear
in the very last scene. This is Frank's world, and it ain't
pretty.
We never
really learn what Frank does, how he pays the bills, when he's
not killing people. Though he tells fashion photographer Anna
D'Antoni (sexy British scream queen Caroline Munro) —
a woman who incongruously
befriends him —
that he's an artist, we never see any evidence of this. When
not following Frank on his stalk-and-slay sprees, the movie
spends much of its time within the confines of his dingy, claustrophobic
apartment. Here he keeps his trophies: scalps taken from murdered
women which he lovingly adorns on a succession of lifelike department
store mannequins. When not breathing heavily (Spinnell does
a lot of this) Frank talks to himself in what was mostly
improvised dialog. We come to understand that he suffered severe
psychological and physical abuse at the hands of his prostitute
mother, who died in a car accident when he was a child. Frank
vents his internal rage when he kills, seeing his mother in
the faces of his victims. He takes their scalps home so that
a part of them will remain with him forever.
Except
for the scenes with Munro —
hastily inserted vignettes designed to pad out her pointless
role and the flick's running time —
Maniac
consists entirely of either Frank hunting and killing people
or him sweatily stewing in his crib, wallowing in madness and
despair. I really didn't see this as being all that entertaining,
truth be told. Going in I wasn't expecting an uplifting
experience, certainly, but to me all the misogynistic violence
and squalor needed to have some kind of point to it.
There really isn't one here. Still, the murder scenes are extremely
well done, with some truly harrowing gore effects by Tom Savini
(Dawn Of The Dead).
In the films' most infamous scene, Savini himself (as "Disco
Boy") has his head blown clean off with a double-barreled
shotgun by Frank. Icky-poo! That Spinnell is able to
engender even a small amount of sympathy for this repulsive
creep —
Frank does feel guilt about
his actions, but the remorse never lasts that long —
is a testament to the late
actor.
|
|
|
Anchor
Bay has truly "slit up a treat" for gorehounds with
this DVD, which was also released in a "Limited Edition"
packaged in an oversize tin box. (The standard keepcase edition
is the one reviewed here.) Rare is the case when a low-budget
independent receives such lavish treatment. Maniac
is presented widescreen (1.85:1) and anamorphically enhanced for
16x9 TVs. Though the picture looks grainy and a bit dark, it
was originally shot on 16mm and then blown up to 35 —
so it's going to look that way regardless. Otherwise this a virtually
flawless transfer. Frank's heavy breathing
and the screams and gurgles of his victims have been remixed in
Dolby Surround EX, with an optional 6.1 DTS track available for
those with a decoder. (French and Italian audio tracks are also
an option, though the only subtitles included are Spanish.)
There are
plenty of extras on hand. The disc features an array of U.S. and
international theatrical trailers, radio/TV spots, talent bios,
a poster/still gallery, and a lengthy audo interview with Spinnell,
Munro and director Lustig held at a New York radio station in
1980. A running commentary track is provided, with Lustig, effects
artist/actor Tom Savini, editor Lorenzo Marinelli, and Spinnell
assistant Luke Walker. This entertaining and sometimes funny commentary
is in direct counterpoint to the onscreen mayhem; it was interesting
indeed to learn that Lustig, helmer of such a gruesome horror
flick, has a phobia about cemeteries. (This track, by the way,
appears to have been lifted from a laserdisc release of Maniac
from the mid-'90s.) Cleverly, the DVD's producers have also included
the Gallery of Outrage, a compendium of review blurbs from
various critics (including Gene Siskel) slamming the film mercilessly
for its depictions of violence.
The DVD's most
substantial bonus feature is a 51 minute documentary, The Joe
Spinnell Story, highlighting the New York-centric career of
the late character actor. Though his involvement with Maniac
(as well as 1984's The Last Horror Film,
also co-starring Munro) is discussed, it is not the main focus
of the doc.
9/29/01 |
|
UPDATE
Both the single-disc and Limited editions have been OOP since
2004. Blue Underground is slated to reissue Maniac
on DVD in January 2007.
|
•
Home
| Reviews | Top
•
|
