Review: ‘Maniac’ Slasher Flick. No Point but Still Sorta Works

This is what its come to.

“Maniac,” a 1980 slasher flick that doesn’t pretend to be anything other than nonsensical. Two people are slaughtered within the first 180 seconds. Its bad overall, but the journey to bad is an intriguing one.

“Maniac” was directed by William Lustig. His filmography reveals a lot of straight-to-video titles. Joe Spinell – recognizable as the loan shark in “Rocky” – wrote the script and has the starring role.

Freddy Krueger. Michael Myers. Frank Zito?

“Maniac” is a serial killer story. Spinell plays Frank Zito, the titular maniac. The Boston Strangler strangled people. Ted Bundy killed dark haired women. Frank Zito murders random people indiscriminately of gender or specific style. Some he strangles. A few he bludgeons. At one point he uses a shotgun. The point? No one is safe.

I could kill the film on what’s bad about it. There’s really no plot. The deaths are overly brutal. There’s a low-budget atmosphere that feels cheap. It’s a slasher film about a regular guy, and that totes the line of being a bit too believable for popcorn enjoyment. Shockingly, there are some redeemable attributes.

Spinell is great at playing a maniac.

The character resides in a dingy New York apartment. The pad is filled with gruesome mannequins which he converses with in a chilling way. He lacks emotion in regards to the victims. When talking he perfectly employs how a reclusive fellow would behave. He does an oddly good job in the role. Ten minutes in and you’ll be rooting for him to set the kill count record.

The year is 1980 (filmed in 79). The setting is a brooding New York City. I love both of these facets. The ending scene is incredibly terrifying. At 88 minutes, the length is fine. The production itself was ultra-low budget. Porn stars fill supporting roles. Scenes were filmed guerrilla-style, a term I had to look up. It was censored around the globe.

“Maniac” isn’t a typical horror movie. It’s a slasher flick with an amateur feel. There’s no point to watching it and yet, I can’t bring myself to flunk it outright. Give it a watch. Warning – you’ll need to take a shower immediately after.

“Maniac” is currently available to stream on Amazon. If you’re enough of a maniac.

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