Starring - Tom Atkins (Night of the Creeps, Halloween III: Season of the Witch), Bruce Campbell (The Evil Dead, Ash vs Evil Dead), and Laurene Landon (Full Moon High, The Stuff)
Release Date - 1988
Tagline - "You have the right to remain silent... forever"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)
Rating (out of 5):
Many years ago, almost a decade now, I started up a blog to write reviews. I wanted to focus on old action and exploitation flicks but my love of horror took over. Before long I was more focused on horror and thrillers than those action and exploitation flicks that I wanted to review. It was at this time that I found a bunch of VHS tapes at a pawn shop that they were basically giving away. It was here that I found my first copy of Maniac Cop. I couldn't pass up the find and quickly snagged it. Sometime later I found a used copy of Maniac 2 on DVD at FYE of all places. I snagged it while I could and ordered a copy of Maniac 3 to half the trilogy. That first year I was writing reviews I decided to review the all three Maniac Cop films. I'm a huge Bruce Campbell and Tom Atkins fan so I was really excited to dig into it. Now, after almost a decade of waiting, I'm giving another chance to revisit the trilogy after Blue Underground announced the release of Maniac Cop 2 and 3 on UHD. I went ahead and ordered a copy of the first Maniac Cop on blu so I could binge the trilogy.
The film follows police detective Frank (Atkins) who is investigating the murder of several police officers. He suspects that the murderer is actually police officer Jack (Campbell) after his wife was found murdered shortly after she discovered he was cheating on her with a female officer. Now it's up to him and his female love interest to discover who is really killing the other officers before it's too late.
Maniac Cop is a bit of an oddity to come out of the late 80s. Around 1986 the slasher sub-genre was on the decline with almost a decade of dominating the horror scene. Horror fans were becoming sick of the non-stop bombardment by film studios and their aggressive marketing for slashers. Slashers were cheap to make and had the potential to yield big results. However, genre fans were looking for something more and Maniac Cop was that. It was a action horror film written by legendary genre director Larry Cohen and directed by Maniac director William Lustig. It's unique for the slasher sub-genre and some fans even argue that it's not a slasher even though all the traits are there. The acting in this one is very well done with some stellar performances coming from Tom Atkins and Laurene Landon. Atkins never disappoints and he once again an unforgettable performance. The character is oddly similar to his iconic character in Night of the Creeps but he still brings the same intensity that he does in every other film of his I've seen. Landon is an actress that I was unfamiliar with until I initially watched this almost ten years ago but I've always found it odd that her filmography has two or three amazing films and pretty much deters off from there. I don't know much about her personal life or what happened but here she was amazing. She's equal parts beauty and talent. The rest of the cast is solid but Campbell is underwhelming and Z'Dar is a solid killer but the way the film was shot, which was for dramatic effect, doesn't really give him a chance to act. The story for this one is a standard slasher but heavily mixed with 80s action style. It's unlike any of the slasher films coming out then and even now. The basis for the story follows a cop who was arrested and convicted by those that were supposed to be his brothers. In prison he was attacked by those he had sent there and murdered in the showers. Now, he's back from the dead and he has a bone to pick with the police force. The standard slasher formula consisted of people being picked off one by one by someone that was wronged. This follows that formula very well and when you add it to a typical cop action flick you find yourself in the middle of something different and very unique. Finally, the film has several bloody deaths along with some quick and unimaginative deaths. The practical effects for some look great but the film is not as gory as I would have liked. Overall, Maniac Cop is a must see for genre fans. It has a great cast and the story is unlike any other slasher of the time. It may not have revitalized the sub-genre but it's still a fantastic watch. I highly recommend it.
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