Maniacts (2001)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Directors:

Curt Cressler
C.W. Cressler

Writer (WGA):

C.W. Cressler (written by)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Drama | Horror | Romance

Tagline:

Just two crazy kids in love...

Plot:

Two serial killers meet and fall in love in an asylum for the criminally insane. Upon escaping their corrupt captors...

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Skull Crushing | Queen Elizabeth II | Mental Hospital

Cast

Jeff Fahey	...	Joe Spinelli
Kellie Waymire	...	Beth Windsor
John Furlong	...	Prometheus J. Boley
Mel Winkler	...	Mason
Leslie Easterbrook	...	Matron Knull
Jeremiah Birkett	...	Jumpy (as Jeremiah W. Birkett)
Vincent Guastaferro	...	Tapeman
Bob Bancroft	...	Dr. Denton Speck
Simon Brooke	...	Carp
Bob Koherr	...	Bull
Christopher Maleki	...	Simon Burke (as Chris Maleki)
Robyn Reede	...	Therapist
Marion Ramsey	...	Hooker
Anthony Dilio	...	Esai (as Dilio)
John Patrick Patti	...	D.A. Ben Rogers

Also Known As:

ManiaX (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence/gore and language.

Runtime:

USA:92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Meat and Potatoes

Quotes:

Beth Windsor: We must've made a mistake... It's gotta be OK to kill people. Carmakers do it, doctors do it, governments do it all the time.

Tongue-in-the-cheek

I don't know who designed the cover art for this movie...but they have NO idea how to market a good movie. Based on the cover art, which depicts a ghostly, screaming face with metal things holding the eyes, nose and mouth open, I thought this was just another post-90s garbage, straight-to-video horror romp following in the footsteps of other crap like Python, Subterrano, The Vault, She Creature and Dead and Rotting. What I was presented with WAS IN FACT not a horror film by any standards. The film begins with the arrest of a psychopathic killer (Jeff Fahey) and an atmosphere of a cliche suspense. Then what follows is a tongue-in-the-cheek look at a corrupt mental institution where the inmates are abused by the guards. The humor, especially Fahey's impersonation of Christ on the cross and other antics which get him sent to solitary, and his romance with woman whose violence is induced when hit in the face, drive this relatively entertaining film that ultimate concludes in a literally depressing manner. Worth watching, provided you can force yourself past the HORRID box art.