6/4 Maniac

MANIAC

"I told you not to go out tonight, didn't I?"

IMDB.com Rating: 4.3 out of 10

Availability: Out-of-print and expensive

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbLvTpzckGU

Watch Online: Not on YouTube
OH SHIT! Moment: Tom Savini's head being blasted open with a shotgun.

Beverage: A Maniac

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Beefeater Gin
• 1 oz Cointreau Orange Liqueur
• 1 oz Kahlua Coffee Liqueur
• Top with Coca-Cola

Method:

Pour the first three ingredients into ice-filled collins glass and gently stir. Add the cola to the top and lightly stir. Garnish with an orange wedge and serve with straws.

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'Maniac', the scalp-collecting masterpiece; a truly dark foray into the life of a murderous psychopath. This incredibly disturbing film features landmark gore from Tom Savini. In the role of the titular character is Joe Spinell. What makes him such a believable maniac -- aside from his acting -- is his image. He's not the picture of health. Covered with scars and sweat, by beauty standards, Joe Spinell's Frank Zito is disgusting; and not that you'd need to act as a maniac when you carry around an instrument case filled with an exacto knife and shotgun, but Spinell plays the role so convincingly.

The film starts off violent with a young couple being watched on the beach. Within a moment's notice, our lead sneaks up and disposes of the two, by strangling and throat-slashing. Frank Zito then wakes in a cold sweat, screaming. Bizarre artwork lines the walls of his small, dimly-lit, creepy New York apartment. Scattered around the apartment are mannequins, which is a kinda an odd light to see a mannequin in, because my girlfriend loves the comedy, 'Mannequin'; and now, all I can picture is Kim Cattrall when I see a mannequin. But I digress. There's a mannequin in bed with Zito, too; and she's sporting a bloodied scalp. In downtown Manhattan, Zito hits the street, picking up some skirts for the eve, which is Warren G-talk for picking up a lady -- more specifically in this case, picking up a hooker. He brings her back to a sleazy motel and eventually chokes her to death. After puking in a wastebasket, he starts talking to the corpse, asking, "Why'd you make me do that?"; and proceeding to scalp the dead call-girl. With a fresh scalp and a new mannequin, Frank heads back to his apartment. As Frank begins to nail the scalp to the top of the mannequin's head, he begins to hear voices. He says a woman's beauty is a crime punishable by death. He looks down at the newspaper and finds a front page spread about his beach murders from the opening of the film.

As the movie continues, more people die (obviously. I mean, did you really think he'd stop there?). The true horror is when he tracks down a photographer -- and not because he finds her address and contacts her, but because of how human he comes off as. He has no problem carrying on regular conversation. What makes the film truly frightening is how honest and real Frank Zito is. He shows some signs of mental distress; but not when he's in a public setting. He's able to put his horrors on hold as he begins a relationship with the beautiful photographer; but his insanity starts back up when he steals a necklace from a model, follows her home, and gives it back to her. A tense moment in the film, the model draws a bath and relaxes. As a viewer, you know Zito is somewhere in her apartment; and as a sympathizer to the woman, you can't help but put yourself in her role and feel helpless.

William Lustig ('Maniac Cop' trilogy) did a fantastic job with this film. Exceptional camera work and solid acting from Spinell make 'Maniac' a slasher classic. With a solid plot, which Spinell helped write, the subject matter is terrifyingly displayed, tense and realistically. The film is awfully unsettling. If you can put yourself in the role of the victims, 'Maniac' is a truly jarring and frightening picture.

On my scale:
Overall Enjoyment ----17
Redeeming Qualities--18
Rewatchability---------5 (only because I have to be in a certain mood to enjoy 'Maniac')

Fun/Special Effects---8

Directing/Quality------8
Plot/Storyline----------8
Pacing-----------------9
Dialogue/Acting-------7
TOTAL---------------80

For being a semi-necrophiliac basket case, Spinell really made a name for himself; and that's saying a lot for someone who was in 'Rocky' and 'The Godfather'. The ending has it all -- zombie-mom, living mannequins, shocking violence -- and when the credits role, you're left feeling unclean. I would suggest if you're a fan of the horror and slasher genre, buy 'Maniac'. It's hard to predict the course of the film, which makes it all-the-more unsettling; and it surprisingly holds up well with the times. This movie has a strong message and shows it in a shocking manner. The indelible performance of Spinell makes this a hard-to-forget film. It is definitely well-worth your time and money. Tony says, "check it out". 4 Stars. Best of 1980.