Maniac (1980)

This ultra-violent, down and dirty, “kick you in the balls and knee you in the face” offering from director William Lustig is unarguably one of the nastiest slasher flicks ever filmed. This is the type of film I’d love to show to teenyboppers raised on weak slasher fare like “Urban Legend” or the “Scream” films. I’d have Zombo tie them up in a chair “Clockwork Orange” style, hit “play”, sit back and watch the squirming begin. Along with 1989’s “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer”, “Maniac” has to be one of the truest portrayals of a real life serial killer ever committed to film.

Actor Joe Spinell gives a simply top-notch performance as the tortured and terminally insane Frank, a sleazy looking dude (whom many have dubbed Ron Jeremy’s evil twin) who in his spare time stalks the city streets for any dippy broad deciding they would rather walk home from work at midnight instead of taking that offered ride, all the while with the newspaper headlines screaming “Maniac Killer Strikes Again!” They almost deserve it, don’t they? Of course, Frank doesn’t just kill his victims, no sir, he also has a penchant for scalping them and placing their detached manes on his creepy ass collection of mannequins back at his apartment. And if you’ve never (I hope) seen a woman scalped before with a straight razor, believe me...you will.

“Maniac” derives much of its notoriety from the Tom Savini f/x that was created for the movie. For such a low budget film the killings are all very real and very “in-your-face” so to speak. Savini also has a bit part as a lover boy who takes a direct hit to the noggin from a twelve gauge shotgun, and trust me folks, it ain’t pretty. Then again maybe it is, depending on your mental state of mind! The entire movie consists entirely of Frank, Frank talking to himself and or mannequins, Frank killing girls, etc. It is essentially a one character film devoid of the typical “cop on the murder’s trail” aspect, though we do get a slight love angle when Frank somehow scores a date with the lovely Caroline Munro. How that happened I’ll never know. “Maniac” does have its flaws, with perhaps its being just a little to intense at times, but then again that’s what gave it it's notoriety. “Maniac” is an overall down and dirty little film, and one of the best slashers to come out of the “Golden Era of the Slasher Film”, the early 1980’s.