Smartorhypo
Highly Overrated But Still Good
Keeley Coleman
The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
Arianna Moses
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
thelastblogontheleft
UGH, this movie. Look, I wanted to like it, I really did. It's got the perfect 80's vibe going' on, it's a RIDICULOUS and awesome plot, and it's got both Bruce Campbell and Tom Atkins. You'd think this would be a no brainer. But this movie just wasn't good, and is certainly not worthy of any kind of cult status. Like, really, a bad movie from the 80's should not be automatically escalated to "cult movie" status. That is a title that should only go to movies truly deserving due to the perfect balance of entertainment, ridiculousness, and quotability… not just ANY movie that bombs.Anyways, from the opening credits — complete with SO MANY freeze frame shots of the titular "Maniac Cop" putting his uniform on — I knew I was in for SOME kind of ride. The basic plot is that there's a man in New York City dressed as a cop, but rather than protecting and serving he's slashing and killing. Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell, who is one of very few things that make this movie watchable), a cop himself, sets out to solve the mystery after his wife (Victoria Catlin) suspects that HE is the killer (shortly before being murdered herself). He pairs up with his girlfriend-on-the-side, Theresa (Laurene Landon), to figure it out and clear his own name. It's eventually discovered that the killer is Matt Cordell (played by uber villain Robert Z'Dar), an officer that was legendary among the police force but was jailed for brutality and killed by fellow inmates. He's now back to exact revenge (I think? Except he's just killing random people?). Horror classic Tom Atkins is there alongside Campbell and plays Lieutenant Frank McCrae, good guy cop who is doing his best to help. Cool, right? YOU WOULD THINK SO, WOULDN'T YOU.I don't mind it not having much substance. I don't even mind it being straight up brainless at times. I'm alllll about a mindless gore fest. But THE KILLINGS WEREN'T EVEN FUN. At best they provided a moment of "oh, neat" and at worst they were straight up laughable — and I don't mean I'm laughing because it's so over-the-top ridiculous, I'm just laughing because it's sad. The paddy wagon flying off the pier was pretty neat, I'll give it that. And I'll watch literally anything with a shirtless Bruce Campbell. But those were, sadly, the only highlights of this movie.
Sandcooler
"Maniac Cop" definitely has one of the coolest villain designs and backstories I've ever seen. By 1988 it was tough to find something that hadn't been done before in this genre, but this one is completely unique. It surpasses the genre, because we get characters we actually care about in situations that are actually unpredictable and suspenseful. Director William Lustig also does some amazing things with dark back alleys, the movie bathes in a chilling atmosphere. However, the last fifteen minutes of this movie are so dumb that they kinda pull you right out. None of the characters' actions make any sense anymore, everything happens simply because the movie is wrapping up. The big showdown between our hero and the killer is an incredible letdown, and the 'twist' at the end is as transparant as they come. It's almost like they were getting close to a deadline or something. Thankfully, all this comes after an infinitely rewatchable first hour or so.
ivo-cobra8
Maniac Cop is definitely a cult classic horror action flick from the 80's.In New York a man dressed as a police officer is killing innocent civilians. Jack Forrest is a cop and gets framed, the real killer is Matt Cordell, a cop who was sent to prison for brutality and ended up getting killed inside. Forrest, his piece on the side Theresa and detective Frank McCrea try to solve the case, before the maniac cop kills again.Maniac Cop is a 1988 American action-slasher film directed by William Lustig and written by Larry Cohen. It stars Tom Atkins, Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon, Richard Roundtree, William Smith, Robert Z'Dar, and Sheree North. Z'Dar plays the title character, a murderous ex-cop who returns from the dead, chased by his former co-workers. It was released on May 13, 1988, and grossed $671,382 from a budget of $1.1 million. Maniac Cop still is a cult film today.I seriously love this action Horror film. Tom Atkins,Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon did definitely the best acting job. Specially Robert Z'Dar who plays Maniac Cop, a murderous ex-cop who returns from the dead, chased by his former co-workers did a terrific job one of his best roles I have ever saw. I love the sequels but for me this one is the best in the series. The acting in this film is pretty decent good for a 80's slasher horror flick. Jack Forrest is played by the legend Evil Dead trilogy Bruce Campbell. Campbell is one of the few actors that can make even the worst of films watchable, and makes any good film like this that much better. After the Evil Dead movies and Army of Darkness this is Campbell's best work. Genre legend Tom Atkins is perfectly cast as McCrea, Atkins starred in some of my very favorite 80's movies including The Fog, Escape From New York, Lethal Weapon and obviously this. He was also the main star of the underrated Halloween 3 Season Of The Witch, a film that would probably be quite well liked if they had left Halloween out of the title. He also played in another horror flick that I do like very much My Bloody Valentine 3D. Richard Roundtree who is better known as Shaft is good in a small role as commissioner Pike, Laurene Landon, William Smith and Sheree North give good support. Robert Z'Dar who looks like a real life Quagmire from Family Guy, is a huge man and is very effective as the supernatural Matt Cordell.Maniac Cop is definitely William Lustig's and Bruce Campbell's best Action Horror fun flick from the 80's. I really miss the 80's because back than they had much better action horror slasher films. 10/10
gwnightscream
Tom Atkins, Bruce Campbell and Robert Z'Dar star in this 1988 horror film. This takes place in New York and begins with a woman getting murdered by a mysterious killer (Z'Dar) dressed as a police officer. Soon, the killer stalks the streets and wipes out more innocent people. Atkins (Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Night of the Creeps) plays Police Lieutenant, Frank McCrae who investigates and suspects that the killer is a real cop. Campbell (Evil Dead Trilogy) plays cop, Jack Forrest who becomes the main suspect after his wife is murdered. Frank discovers that the maniac cop is Matt Cordell, a former cop who was badly scarred while in prison for brutality and is out for vengeance. Frank helps Jack clear his name and try to stop Matt from killing more people. This is a pretty good 80's flick, Tom & Bruce are great as usual, Robert is creepy and Jay Chattaway's score is chilling. I recommend this.
