Maniac (1980)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

William Lustig

Writers:

C.A. Rosenberg (writer)
Joe Spinell (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 November 1980 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Run from this man!

Plot:

A schizoid serial killer randomly stalks and kills various young women in New York, which he sees as revenge for the mistreatment he got while being raised by his own abusive mother.

Plot Keywords:

Park | Mannequin | Photographer | Serial Killer | Bathtub

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Joe Spinell	...	Frank Zito
Caroline Munro	...	Anna D'Antoni
Abigail Clayton	...	Rita (as Gail Lawrence)
Kelly Piper	...	Nurse
Rita Montone	...	Hooker
Tom Savini	...	Disco boy
Hyla Marrow	...	Disco girl
James Brewster	...	Beach boy
Linda Lee Walter	...	Beach girl
Tracie Evans	...	Street hooker
Sharon Mitchell	...	Nurse #2
Carol Henry	...	Deadbeat
Nelia Bacmeister	...	Carmen Zito
Louis Jawitz	...	Art director
Denise Spagnuolo	...	Denise

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:(Banned) (original rating) | Australia:R (cut) (1982-2004) | Australia:R (uncut) (2004) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | West Germany:18 (cut) | Sweden:15 | Italy:VM14 (video rating) | France:-18 | Argentina:18 (re-rating) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Italy:VM18 | New Zealand:R18 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 (heavily cut) | France:-16 | Norway:18 | UK:(Banned) (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating) (cut) | USA:R | West Germany:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Magnum Motion Pictures Inc.

Trivia:

The opening scene on the beach was inspired by the opening scene from Jaws (1975) from the point-of-view of the stalking shark.

Goofs:

Continuity: The make-up on the hooker's face when Frank is choking her in the motel room.

Quotes:

Frank Zito: I told you not to go out tonight didn't I? Every time you go out this kind of thing happens.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 976-EVIL (1988)

Soundtrack:

Winter Love

It looks like it was MADE by maniacs...

Ultra-creepy, trashy, and sleazy horror outing - truly one of the most depraved shockers ever made - an almost plotless movie about overweight, un-handsome middle-aged man (character actor Joe Spinell, in the performance of his career) who was regularly abused as a child and symbolically takes revenge against his mother by slaughtering young women and then removing their scalps and placing them on his mannequins.

This was truly a hard movie to rate: on the one hand, it's about as unappealing as you can get, and revels - I mean really revels - in its over-the-top gore (provided by Tom Savini, who also plays the part of the ill-fated 'Disco Boy'). It's got nothing to really redeem it, and the film-making isn't even particularly stylish. However, it's a film I can respect without actually liking, because in the end it IS true to itself and certain to please the kind of people who can't help but enjoy movie violence. I also must say that it is ultimately very memorable, maybe not for the right reasons, but it IS memorable. Regardless of your verdict, can you agree that it does at least feature an excellent performance by Spinell?

The actor penned a sequel several years later that never saw the light of day due to his death in 1989.

In the meantime, watch at your own risk.

5/10