Maniac

From the amazing performance of Joe Spinell to the Brutal Make-up FX of Tom Savini, this is perhaps the mother of all Horror Slasher Flicks...Written to be "Jaws on Land"...this film captures to wonderful vibe on New York City in the late 70's

Okay, first of all this movie was shot in New York and there's something I find fascinating about the look of films shot in NY in the 70's or 80's. The movie itself is decent but not great. It has a good look and feel to it and I like Joe Spinell in it. Joe plays Frank, a photographer, who misses his dead mother despite being mistreated by her as a child. He begins killing women at night and keeping parts from the bodies. I however didn't find the relationship he had with the model he stalked all too believable. It has some good scenes and is still a good watch for slasher fans and fans like me of gritty New York City in the 70's and 80's.

Maniac is just another word for psycho, and that's exactly what the main character was. "Maniac" is about a man named Frank Zito (Joe Spinell) who is certifiably insane. He kills women for their scalps (in a couple of cases) or just to purge. His apartment room is full of mannequins clothed in the garb or the scalps of his victims. It's 1980 quality, so don't get your hopes up with this one. In the first 20 minutes or so I saw the longest strangle scene on film juxtaposed with the most gruesome head shot scene on film. So, I went from being bored stiff with an unnecessarily long throttling-someone-to-death scene to a WHOA! Death scene. Like most scary movies of any time period, don't expect any real answers or a thoughtful plot. In "Maniac" things just happened. Watch only for the shock value--which it had more of in 1980--and nothing else.

It's a showcase for sweaty character actor Joe Spinell, who appeared in a lot of major films (The Godfather Part II, Taxi Driver) in small roles, and larger roles in more dubious fare (Starcrash). The story was inspired by the Son of Sam killings, with Spinell as the ranting, depraved killer. The film was notorious for its (at the time) very graphic killings, featuring the work of make up FX legend Tom Savini. The movie's appeal will be limited, but if one enjoys that particular brand of late-70's/early-80's NYC grime and sleaze, it's a must-see. Director William Lustig made several other genre films (Vigilante, Maniac Cop) before starting the Blue Underground home video company, who are the prime source for Italian genre films on disc (horror, giallo, spaghetti westerns, crime thrillers, etc.).