Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Glatpoti It is so daring, it is so ambitious, it is so thrilling and weird and pointed and powerful. I never knew where it was going.

Sabah Hensley This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

mrb0775 Maniac, for me, is an illustration of why it's probably a bad idea to make decisions about movie purchases near the end of an all-nighter. Using part of a modest inheritance, I've bought more than a 100 Blu-rays from Amazon in the last 3 months.These films fall into all categories, from historical epics to sci-fi and horror. Recently retired, it's nice to be able to take the time to really enjoy being a movie addict. But the putrid, mostly plot less Maniac is easily the lowest bottom feeder that I've wasted my time on, over those last 3 months. The writer of the 1st user review on this site mentioned not having seen Henry:Portrait of a Serial Killer, but hearing that it and Maniac had much in common. Let's clear up that nonsense right now. The only thing that the 2 films have in common is that they both feature characters who commit multiple murders. Martin Scorsese praised the skill with which "Henry" was made, calling it the best first film by a director that he had seen in 10 years. Rest assured that Mr Scorsese would have the opposite sort of opinion regarding Maniac, but fortunately he is not likely to waste his time on such pathetic, poorly made, garbage. BTW, gore does not phase me, but what is even more gross than the bloodletting in Maniac, is the film's gross stupidity. On the other hand, because it's made with such skill, the equally low budget "Henry" is far more chilling and unnerving than anything that transpires in Maniac. Maniac is basically for those who get their jollies watching a knife slowly cutting across a victim's forehead as the film's killer scalps a woman. I would not be at all surprised to learn that those who truly enjoy Maniac have some homicidal tendencies of their own. It's also not surprising to learn that Maniac's star, Joe Spinell, is known to have done a lot of drinking & drugging prior to acting in the film. That may provide some explanation (if no good excuse) for how someone can go from the heights of the first 2 Godfather films to the bottom level of putrid crap that is exemplified by Maniac. On one of the extra features that accompanies Maniac, on Blu-ray, it's mentioned that director William Lustig was trying to create something in the vein of the original "Halloween". Well, sorry Bill, unfortunately, your effort only ended up yielding one of the ultimate examples of "Crapping on the bed".

gwnightscream Joe Spinell and Caroline Munro star in this 1980 horror film. This takes place in New York and Spinell (Rocky) plays Frank Zito, a mentally disturbed guy who has been traumatized since childhood because his mother abused him. He goes on a murder spree killing women and removes their scalps, placing them on mannequins in his apartment to preserve their youthful beauty. Munro (The Spy Who Loved Me) plays photographer, Anna D'Antoni whom he gets to know and she eventually learns he's ill. The late, Spinell is great in this because he's not only creepy, but you feel a little sympathy toward his character. Tom Savini not only does great with the make-up effects as usual, but also appears as a victim with an elaborate death scene, The director, William Lustig also appears as a motel clerk and Jay Chattaway's score is chilling. I recommend this good psychological horror flick.

callanvass Frank Zito (Joe Spinell) has mommy issues from child abuse, kills beautiful young woman, and scalps them as a result of his childhood trauma. In all honesty I don't think this is as disturbing as others make it out to be. It is very nihilistic, and it's not a pleasant film, but I've seen a hell of a lot worse, and I've seen TONS of horror movies. The gritty atmosphere in New York City definitely serves this movie well. I also thought the stalk sequences were very good. It has three really memorable ones. One involves a fairly lengthy cemetery chase between Frank & Anna (Caroline Munro) and another is a great chase through the subway as Frank follows a nurse. I did question as to why the nurse turns down a ride from her friend when she knows perfectly well a serial killer is on the loose. It seemed rather moronic to me, but that's a minor carp. My favorite might just be the well shot opening. It takes place on a beach in a dream sequence from Frank. I don't know why I liked it so much, but it was extremely creepy to me. The suspense is here in spades, and you're never fully comfortable while viewing this movie. The first half is better than the second half. The first half gives us a chance to get into the mind of how twisted Frank is. The second half plummets a little bit. The romance between Spinell & Caroline Munro is rather mundane to say the least, and it felt a bit otiose to me. How am I supposed to believe that a gorgeous beauty like Caroline Munro would fall in love with an overweight guy like Joe Spinell? It felt quite artificial to me, and they lacked chemistry. The gore delivers in a huge way. We get slit throats, women are scalped in graphic detail, stabbings. Tom Savini gets his head blown off from a shotgun. (One of the best head explosions you'll ever see. It's disturbingly realistic) A head is ripped off, and more. This baby is pretty harsh with some great effects. Joe Spinell is chilling here. He's essentially the whole film. He's in almost every scene, and his character of Frank is vividly depicted. He's completely unhinged, and he creeped me right out. He's just a nut-case with mommy issues, and you can't help but fear him. The way he taunts his victims for a few seconds before commencing a killing, and just the little things made him that effective. What's scarier is despite that the romance between him & Munro fell flat there is nothing abnormal about him in the romance scenes. He seems like a genuine person with charm to spare, major credit to Spinell for showing a bit of a human side in those scenes. I did feel his inner monologue got to be a bit much at times, and the fact that he wipes a kiss from Munro away from his cheek had me baffled. Why would you do that with such a gorgeous woman like her? I digress. This is Spinell's movie, and he gives a performance you won't forget. Caroline Munro is rather wooden in scenes, but she has a bit of a natural, English charm I couldn't help but like. It's not a great performance, but when you look as good as her, it doesn't really matter. Tom Savini has a cameo, and it's actually quite a hoot. He has a classic mustache as well. The acting is actually a strong point, aside from Munro. Everyone is quite competent. The ending bothered me a little bit. It's clearly there to set up the purported sequel, which never commenced. I felt they should have done a bit of a chase sequence, with authorities flagging down Spinell. They chose an anti-climatic ending, and it's definitely disappointing. Final Thoughts: I've seen this quite a few times, and it always manages to be an effective film. It's not perfect, and not for everybody, but I like it quite a bit. Well worth a watch 7/10

nick-sultana With the remake due for release soon here in Australia, I took the opportunity to see the original classic as I have had never seen it myself. Seeing the trailers and reading some really positive reviews on IMDb, I knew what I could be expecting for an 80's Slasher flick... and surprisingly it delivered more than I expected!Manaic tells the story of Frank Zito (a nod to director Joseph Zito, as he had worked with Tom Savini in his films) an overweight, lonesome, psychopathic but clam at times serial killer that stalks women in New York, scalping their hair for his collection of mannequins. I won't say too much to spoil it but the plot is actually good, suspenseful and full-on graphic.The acting is great, the music is chilling but its Tom Savini's Visual gore effects that's worth the watch, this is by far the best 80's gore I've seen since The Prowler (I've only seen recently for the first time) and Cannibal Holocaust. Savini's appearance in Maniac is a favorite of mine and his character's death is well-worth a golden moment in horror.Overall, its a dark, gritty slasher ride with brains and a great leading character. I am certainly now looking forward to see if the 'remake' will serve justice to this classic.