Maniac! (1980)

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  October 18, 2011

  fb500439213

  I would almost rate this as the best horror movie I've watched this season if it wasn't for the shlocky ending that sprinkles both sequel bait and betrays the psychological edge with cheaply phantasmagorical imagery like Frank's mother's corpse and the mannequins reanimating. Yes... read more, the film earns its controversial reputation with ultraviolent depictions of scalpings and a shotgun blast in slow-motion, but horror movies aren't meant to be craven. The music by Jay Chattaway is haunting and like 'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer', it is insightful as to the abnormal pathology of sociopaths and their addictive behavior. Frank speaks lucidly about the preservation of beauty and argues that the artist distills his subject perfectly in the given moment and the subject can never escape. Lustig chronicles a slice-of-life diary of Spinell who is squirm-inducing and brilliant in the role. What is so nonplusing about Frank is that he can switch into a highly charismatic playboy on a whim such as his first date with Caroline Munro where he teases her about the other eligible bachelors about her. The film is truly frightening and disturbingly doom-laden in such a fashion that it is not a jaunty experience, but it is indelible and Spinell is Oscar-worthy.

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  July 19, 2011

  animegirlaya

  SIKO!!!!!!!!!!!
  
  Really bad film i think i can relate to the famous head blowing off scene but still...
  
  Good acting put terrible plotting and work. BTW GET INTO THE KILLERS MIND!!!!

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  March 30, 2011

  ajv2688

  A good slasher movie, Spinell is creepy as always, and he really is a maniac in this movie! It's very exciting and intense, I especially loved the climactic scene towards the end, it's brilliant. Overall, a really good movie, I recommend it.

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  January 2, 2011

  ariuza1

  You have your typical early 1980s Slasher flick that's no doubt a very notorious video nasty from England but it works somewhat better and takes it from perspectives of other people other then our serial killer who paints the place red with blood with the victims of his hunting k... read morenife as well as the all famous shotgun scene. Meany violent flicks I have seen with killer with knifes but I like it despite how bad it is. It tries to be a very violent slasher but turns into more of a splatter film.
  
  Frank is some Italian American lo-life hooker loving loner who just happens to be angrier at what his mother did years ago to him before her accident. So like always women piss him off and he goes on a bloody rampage slaying young girls. In my review I would like to focus more on the characters more then the plot.
  
  1. The Villain: Frank Zito is ugly. I mean really, really ugly. The reason why I point this out is that he has a face not even a hooker would love, so the fact that he later tries (and apparently succeeds) at romancing a gorgeous photographer named Ana (Caroline Munro) just adds to the Yeah Right factor of this movie.
  
  2. The Victims: They are all stupid. Except for the hooker, she was just unlucky. Here's what bothered me. We're in New York, right? Okay, it's the New York of 1980 or so, but still, it's a big city and most people are careful. Not these people. And you ask where the FUCK is everyone????
  
  Frank sees the photographer in the park. She takes his picture as he is in a creepy moment (and when ISN'T he in a creepy moment?) and then smiles and walks away. Frank walks toward her stuff, pretends to tie his shoes while kneeling by her camera bag and scopes out her address and he casually walks away. (Oh yeah, Frank, that was really cool. I didn't notice you were looking at her address because you were tying your sneakers. SMOOTH.)
  
  Frank goes to Ana's apartment and when she asks who it is he says "My name is Frank Zito, you took a picture of me in the park," and she lets him in because God knows that strange men in parks pose absolutely no danger, especially when they track down your name and address from out of the freaking blue. My STALKER alarm would have been blaring insanely.
  
  The Nurse: one of Frank's victims and in this scene we have slight stirrings of tension, but nothing ever results. Frank follows her into a subway station and she manages to find the only part of the subway with NO EXIT. Our really bright girl then hides in the ladies room, which is the only place she could have gone into without spraining an ankle or something and then proceeds to make more noise than a guy passing a kidney stone. Yes, I know she's scared because there is a MANIAC walking the streets of NY killing people and that's probably why she said no to her friend who asked her if she'd like a lift somewhere, and it's probably why she then walked down a deserted street and into an empty subway station when she thought she was being followed. She was scared stupid.
  
  The Model: a friend of Ana's. Frank sees her in the studio for like 5 minutes and is later seen at her apartment door. He knocks and when she asks "Who is it?" he says "It's Frank Zito, I'm a friend of Ana's..." blah blah blah. She unlocks the door, doesn't notice that he is a creepy psycho looking motherfucker or that he clicks the little tab on her door which stops it from closing properly, and then she conveniently forgets to lock the door, thereby granting him easy access. Frank thanks you, Rita, he really does.
  
  THE COPS: There's a citywide manhunt for the MANIAC killer and at the end of the movie we see the cops frantically going after FRANK. How many? We actually have two detectives going after Frank. The funniest part is what they do when they find him. They rush into his apartment, see him apparently dead on the bed, so they leave. They don't even check him. Too fucking funny.
  
  The acting is bad, but it's to be expected. Ana was particularly bad, but she is absolutely gorgeous so who cares? Nothing much changes in horror as we still have people like that being hired. The chacircters are very likeable well... only Frank because he is cool and he does hit my top 20 villians. Okay, that is enough rambling hate. There are a few good things we can take away from this movie, too.
  
  The effects are done by TOM SAVINI! So we have a lot of bright red blood and we get to see him and his mustache blown away.
  
  Need to say anymore??? Buy the Blue Underground DVD 50% worth it.

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  June 29, 2010

  ceWEBrity

  Much like Phantasm, it's filled to the brim with fantastic ideas that aren't really put to the screen too well. The acting is horrendous, the plot an unbelievable Freudian turd, and Joe Spinell is nearly impossible to take seriously as someone meant to be utterly repellent and de... read moremented but who primarily registers as gross. Still, there were aspects of the movie that totally endeared it to me. The third act is so warped and so perfect, a bizarre surrealist coda that comes out of nowhere. That nurse chase scene is truly frightening. The way Frank's apartment is decorated is a visually engaging, subtle testament to a twisted mind. I would totally set up my bachelor pad like that, except not so creepy, and without all the scalp mannequins, and ehhh maybe not. Really, 80s slashers are a total weak point of mine. Their mood and composition are so difficult to encapsulate. They're hazy and menacing, and they make you feel uncomfortable in a Stranger Danger kind of way, but they're very overt at the same time. House of the Devil came close. I suppose it's how movies like these probably seemed "cool" once upon a time, the kind of "cool" that got you hanging out with the wrong crowd, but now they're just sort of campy even though you can tell the reputation that they used to carry. Is this how we'll view our torture porn thirty years from now? Ah, film history in the making...

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  June 9, 2010

  TheDudeLebowski65

  Maniac is a superb horror film. The film is raw, gritty and ugly. It's almost a documentary of a serial killer due to the fact we see every action through Frank Zito's (they serial killer in the film) eyes. Maniac is one horror film that does not shy away from controversy, there'... read mores plenty of that to be found here. The most famous and controversial scene is the disco boy scene, which I won't go in detail to spoil the surprise. If you've read about this film, then you've know about that scene in detail. Maniac is a sick, depraved film, and if you truly want to be disturbed, watch it. I mean that as a compliment of course. Maniac is definitely terrifying, I mean there's nothing scarier than a serial killer stalking the streets, right? It's quite possibly the most disturbing film ever made, as the kills in this film seem convincingly realistic, these are not Friday The 13th Jason Voorhees style kills. Thats what makes Maniac so different from every other slasher films, it's realism. If you want a solid, disturbing horror film to watch, Maniac is the film for you.

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  October 1, 2009

  SirPant

  A fantastic 80's horror film that's been really overlooked! Joe Spinell is brilliant as the Maniac and Lustig's direction is superb! Savani's gore effects and cameo are an added treat. Highly recommended for horror fans!

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  September 8, 2009

  matertenebraum

  Over one century ago (1897 to be exact) in the dingy back streets of Montmartre, Paris, an eccentric ex-secretary to a Police commissioner named Oscar Metenier, opened the Theatre du Grand Guignol. For 65 years, groups of performers staged one-act plays that depicted graphic scen... read morees of murder, mutilation and torture. Famous works by authors such as Charles Dickens and James Hadley Chase were adapted for Grand Guignol and made into, some might say, horrific gore-laden masterpieces. People's morbid curiosities kept the shows ever popular, all the way up until the Nazis invaded France during World War II. Perhaps because the French population was experiencing true horrors of their own, the urge to see such events portrayed on stage, quite obviously became a lot less alluring. The theatre never recovered, and it finally closed its doors for the last time in 1962. William Lustig's Maniac is basically Grand Guignol for the cinematic audiences of the eighties. A movie that viewers of a quainter disposition will describe as depraved, demoralising and redundantly mean spirited, while others have touted its story telling as artistic, ballsy and daring. Although its often labelled as a formulaic stalk and slash offering, it is actually a member of the sub, sub-genre that differentiates itself from the Halloween and Friday the 13th created format. Along with Nightmares in a Damaged Brain, Mardi Gras Massacre, and Don't go in the House; Maniac offers something refreshing, by giving the killer characterisation and making him more than just a loony in a mask with a machete.
  
  The plot portrays the life of Frank Zito, an insane and stammering psychological mess of a man, with more than a few severe problems upstairs. His story unravels around his decent into madness, which stems from his seclusion and isolation from the outside world. He is a lonely, redoubtable character, with no friends or companionship; he's just alone with his fragmented mind to torment him. His desperation to feel accepted by civilisation results in him creating his own 'family' from female mannequins. To add realism to their beings and to make them as human-like as could be possible, he furnishes their heads with the scalps of women that he butchers remorselessly. In the first ten minutes, an unfortunate prostitute is ruthlessly slaughtered for no apparent reason, and the misogyny continues all the way through the movie; as nurses, models and innocent bystanders are gorily slain for nothing more than the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The creepiest thing about these murders, is the fact that Zito has no apparent understanding of the results of his actions. He reads headlines, which describe the feelings of a city left in fear by his spate of madness and he watches news updates that inform us of the aftermath of his bloodthirsty rein. But his reaction is non-existent; he shows no knowledge of any wrongdoing, almost like he is unaware that he commits such atrocities. His mental downfall takes a U-turn, when he meets up with Anna D'Antoni (Caroline Munro) a photographer that attracts his attention for the first time when she snaps him wondering through a park. We finally get to see a thoroughly different side to his character, - a romantic, insecure personality that's been buried beneath years of self-inflicted misery and emotional torture. There is a constant battle between two separate personalities that rages inside Zito's mind however, and Anna's fate depends upon whether the good or evil side emerges victoriously...
  
  The opening sequence stays true to its stalk and slash counterparts; as the masked, heavy breathing Zito kills a loving couple on a beach. Lustig describes the scene as a homage to Jaws, only this time the monster is out of the sea and on land, thus explaining the beach setting. It's a well-handled commencement, with Savini adding the magic that he is most reputed for; and Robert Lindsay's competent photography creates energy that prevails throughout the whole movie. Although body count material is introduced without any characterisation or development, it can be argued that the story resolves around Zito; and to him, victims are only objects or playthings anyway. I have always considered Bill Lustig to be a highly underrated filmmaker. Maniac Cop was yet another great movie, although I would consider this to be one of his best - probably because he was relatively unknown when he worked it. The parts that were filmed inside the killer's flat are shot in complete silence, which effectively adds to the feeling of seclusion and abandonment. It's like the viewer is inside the character's apartment, but also inside his own remote world, where his loneliness has degenerated into an unrelenting insanity. It's added moments like these that make Maniac all the more creepy. The subway scene adds some awe-inspiring suspense, as Frank stalks a nurse through the station. Lustig does well to keep the atmosphere tense and the viewer is always aware that something is about to happen, meaning there is never any allowance for comfort in the fact that any of the characters will escape to safety. He also manages at least two effective jump-scares, the final Carrie-esque jolt being particularly memorable. Jay Chattaway provides a superb score to accompany the visuals, and Lorenzo Marinelli's editing is equally impressive.
  
  Although you could never call Joe Spinnell a fantastic dramatic performer by any of his pre-Maniac work, Frank Zito (named as a nod to Joseph Zito the director of The Prowler and friend to Lustig and Savini) was undoubtedly the part he was put on this planet to play. It's a convincing performance that allowed the actor to immerse himself deep into something that he had researched thoroughly and accurately, giving his character a vivid portrait of realism that was necessary to create the child's nightmare-like quality that the movie possesses. Spinnell is Maniac and Maniac is Spinnell, there's no doubt about it; it was his signature role. It's impossible to imagine another character actor fitting the bill so perfectly. Not only does he play the part; he also looks and sounds it too. He wasn't the only one that hit a career high under Lustig's direction though; the ever-adorable Caroline Munro gave her most realistic portrayal too. Her star had just reached its zenith in 1980, before she became a scream queen in less memorable flicks such as Slaughter High and Faceless, which would supplement her income, well into motherhood. This also offered a chance to break away from the bikini-clad bimbo roles that she had been given up until that point; and it gave her the chance to try something a little different. I strongly respect her refusal to do any nudity, which cost a further contract with Hammer in the early seventies. It takes a strong women to reject such offers for the sake of her modesty, and Munro proved that she was just that; and her career strengthened because of it. It's worth noting that the pair were reunited two years later for Fanatic (aka The Last Horror Film), which lacked the gritty edge and invitingly sleazy surroundings of its predecessor, but attempted to cash-in on the fame that Lustig's film had earned from its gruesome reputation.
  
  Maniac was filmed on super 16 mm and like the best slashers from this period, it was shot for the most miniscule of budgets ('under a million dollars'). A lot of the on-location work was staged illegally, without any insurance or authorised permission. Lustig anecdotes about the exploding head scene (no less than Tom Savini's, by the way), where they had to fire a shotgun through the windscreen of a car and then make a quick getaway, before the Police arrived to investigate the gunshot! Munro was given only one-day to rehearse the script before starting work, due to replacing Dario Argento's wife of the time, Daria Nicolodi. Admittedly, it does seem pretty strange that a woman with a name as Italian as Anna D' Antoni, would be played by an English Rose; but she does a good enough job and is truly a sight to behold. Many, MANY countries rejected this movie on the grounds of its unnecessary violence towards women; including the censors here in the UK, who made sure to add it to the DPP list almost immediately. The Philippines' board of film review was so outraged by what they discovered that they told the producers to take it to Satan instead of their country, and went on to describe it as 'unentertaining' and 'unfit for Human consumption'! Of course, knowledge of those monstrosities, only made it seem all the more curious to youngsters that had heard such tales of unruly degradation, and were eager to check it out for themselves; thus earning it a massive cult following. Upon release, it became immensely popular, although it was heavily criticised for its brutal violence. Spinnell said that the blood was never on screen long enough for his creation to be considered too gruesome. He lied; - there are parts of the movie that are limitlessly gory and blood-soaked. You'll find decapitations scalpings and dismemberment, - if you can name a gory way to slaughter a female, then you'll find it somewhere in here. Maniac is one of the only video-nasties that have managed to retain its shock factor, even after twenty-four years!
  
  I saw an edited copy of this in the mid-nineties and was unimpressed. Perhaps my attentions were elsewhere or I was expecting something more? I can't be sure, but last night, watching it once again for this review, I found myself captivated. There are flaws, yes for certain. It's unlikely that a beauty as striking, as Anna would give the time of day to a misfit like Zito in the first place, and the end sequence is a little bizarre to say the least. But all niggles are forgiven when you acknowledge the effort that has been put into making this production as realistically as they possibly could. Credit has to be given to Spinnell for believing in the project and his dedication and research into serial killers deserves recognition. I haven't yet seen Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer, although I'm told that the two movies have a great deal in common, so I'm after a copy right now. Maniac has earned itself another fan, and I believe that it deserves to be seen. There has never been, and probably never will be, another movie so depraved and disturbing; so grab a copy whilst you've got the chance. It's an innovative and daring take on the standard slasher genre, which succeeds because it is just that.

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  July 9, 2007

  YosemiteSamFan

  A freaky sleazy horror slasher. A creepy maniac named Frank Zito (Joe Spinell) goes out at night in New York city and kills people, scalping the girls as gorey trophies to adorn his mannequins with. There are some hilarious extended scenes of Frank talking to himself which had me... read more chuckling. Things look hopeful when Frank starts dating a beautiful photographer (Caroline Munroe), but it's hard for him to keep his maniac side under control. I never understood what she saw in him. Effects master Tom Savini did extremely graphic gore effects. This film boasts one of the most realistic shotgun killings ever witnessed on screen. There's a heart-stopping subway cat-and-mouse chase with a Nurse. The ending is stunning and controversial. The freaky synthesizer music really adds to the weirdness. This is a creepy 80's horror classic, that I always feel guilty watching.

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  June 8, 2007

  mjgildea

  Not so good. Maniac's just kind of boring. Whoever did the sound editing for this movie needs to be punched in the face once every five seconds for ten years straight. The over-the-top groaning almost made me lose my mind. Seeing Tom Savini get it on in a parked car was kind of a... read moremusing, but otherwise all you're in for is an out there performance by Joe Spinell.

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• Joe Spinell as Frank Zito
• Caroline Munro as Ann D'Antoni
• Gail Lawrence as Rita
• Kelly Piper as Nurse
• Rita Montone as Hooker
• Tom Savini as Disco Boy
• Hyla Marrow as Disco Girl
• Sharon Mitchell as Nurse
• Frank Pesce as TV Reporter

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