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Review
by
Doug Red
Film:5
DVD:9
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| If
you've ever been curious about just what goes on in the mind of
an crazed serial killer, Maniac is
the film for you. |
|
Joe
Spinell (The
Last Horror Film) plays psycho Frank Zito as just a regular
guy who also happens to have conversations with people who aren't
there, butchers random victims in a variety of ways, and brings
back scalps from female victims to pin to mannequins in his apartment,
so they will never leave him. Very much a character study, the
film is anchored by Spinell's acting; he allows the audience to
see that he is as crazy as a bedbug, yet he delivers a charismatic
performance that holds considerable dramatic interest. Spinell
is even able to make believable his budding romance with the great
beauty Caroline Munro (The
Golden Voyage of Sinbad, Starcrash),
a photographer who he initially meets because he's looking to
get back a photo she took of him in the park. Even as a killer,
Frank can function in society for a little while as an appealing
and easygoing guy, as referenced in scenes like visiting Caroline
Munro's pad or watching her at a photo shoot. Inevitably the dark
side always takes over and he's soon stalking and killing his
latest victim as a way to get back at his dead abusive mother. |
|
The
controversial Maniac does deliver
the goods when it comes to seedy violence. The kills are all imaginatively
shot in a gritty, realistic manner, with the editing of the bloody
sequences usually held much longer than the typical film, designed
to showcase just how brutal a murder can be (and somewhat reminiscent
of the famous 5-minute murder sequence in Hitchcock's Torn
Curtain). Necks are choked, garroted or slit, heads are
blown away or scalped, knives are jabbed through chests; the dirty
job get done in a variety of ways. Another aspect helping the
film create a memorable impression is by shooting low budget in
New York City of the period, which gives the setting an aura of
realism which increases the horrors onscreen that a bigger budget
film wouldn't be able to capture. Those were the genuine mean
streets of urban decay. |
|
Where
the film falls down is in not making the movie as a whole compelling
for audiences. Spinell delivers a more than solid performance,
and Caroline Munro gets a chance to show that she is more than
just an amazing beauty; however, there is very little driving
the story forward to make it something more than a series of murder
vignettes. There is some lip service paid to the idea that the
police are looking for the killer, but we really don't see much
of that onscreen or get to know the detectives. And Munro is only
really in jeopardy for one sequence, so the audience doesn't really
have a victim to root for either. In fact, it's possible to interpret
the film as largely taking place in the mind of Frank Zito, with
many of the murders occurring in his dreams as a wish fulfillment,
the trophies just items he creates himself to believe his kills
all took place, the police presence mere figments of his imagination,
and the attack on Munro being his first attempt in reality to
make a murder. This may be the best way to understand the film,
considering the way the narrative leaps off the cliff of sanity
in the blood & grue-soaked finale. Maybe it all happened, and
maybe it didn't, but it's all in keeping with the world of a maniac. |
|
|
| The
30th Anniversary DVD release is a two-disc affair, utilizing a
remastered 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer of the film. Because of
the way it was shot, it's always going to look grainy and occasionally
murky; this new transfer does brighten things up a bit, though.
Audio-wise the film has never been better served, with the option
of five main tracks: English-language Dolby 6.1 DTS and 5.1 Surround,
plus Dolby 2.0 Surround in French, Italian and German. New extras
are added to supplements carried over from Blue Underground's
2007 release. |
|
Repeat extras (from the previous editions) are the original commentary
track, the long featurette The Joe Spinell Story, the "Gallery
of Outrage" that showcases news reports and opinion pieces
such as two clips from Midnight Blue made at the time,
as well as the usual suspects of trailers and advertisements.
The 30th Anniversary Edition really gets started with a
series of new documentaries about Maniac.
Anna and the Killer is a 13-minute interview with Caroline
Munro, detailing her current thoughts about Maniac
and more specifically memories of her involvement. The Death
Dealer (12 min.) concerns effects master (and "Disco Boy"
in the film) Tom Savini, while Dark Notes (12 min.) spotlights
musician Jay Chattaway's score. The most unique of the documentaries
is Maniac Men (11 min.) with musicians Michael Sembella
and Dennis Matkosky. It focuses on their hit song "Maniac" from
the film Flashdance. In the best
urban legend tradition, many people (including Joe Spinell) thought
that the song was written about Maniac's
Frank Zito, with original lyrics detailing more of the killer's
obsessions. Director William Lustig tracks down the musicians
to find out for himself, because even he thought there could be
a connection. Sembella and Matkosky detail the history of "Maniac"
and ultimately tell how the song was inspired. |
|
Other great extras include the promo reel for
Mr. Robbie: Maniac 2. Apparently, Spinell was unhappy with
the reputation for misogyny that Maniac
had gained throughout its run, so he wanted a sequel to be more
female-friendly. The idea for this sequel was that Spinell would
play "Mr. Robbie", a children's show entertainer who
would have kids write into his program to talk about abusive parents
— Mr. Robbie would then take care of the parents Maniac-style.
The promo reel is basically a short film showing how the movie
would have run, including a gruesome murder, and is a great example
of the completeist nature of this anniversary set. Another enlightening
extra is a brand spanking new commentary track from William Lustig
and co-producer Andrew Garroni. (This title is also available
in a Blu-ray
edition.) 11/30/10 |
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