Maniac

U.S.A. / 1980 Directed by William Lustig Starring Joe Spinnell Caroline Munro Tom Savini Color / 88 Minutes / Not Rated Format: DVD (R0 - NTSC) Anchor Bay Entertainment

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2007 Blue Underground edition

		Review by Brian Lindsey

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.

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