Forget the appalling remake, William Lustig's original psychological slasher film is a classic gory shocker that digs its talons deep into the flesh, leaving a mark long after its finished. The film stars, and was written by Joe Spinell, who features as a rather mentally disturbed lunatic with a mother issue, the sort of....er...maniac who feels the need to prowl the sordid and seedy backstreets of the Big Apple in search of female friendship in order to remove their scalps to adorn his leering manikins. Worryingly Spinell brings this tale of a schizophrenic serial killer to life, and for that he has to be admired, because as movie killers go, Frank Zito is one of the more effective when it comes to realistic stalk n' slash.
I've often coupled this film with Ferrara's seedy
'The Driller Killer' simply because both films are underrated and both films wrongly perceived - neither just being simple slasher affairs. Admittedly, this is the sort of violent flick that will, and did cause controversy, and almost a minute of cuts meant the gore scenes were unrecognisable. Special effects are provided by gore master Tom Savini - best remembered in the movie for being part of the blood-spattered shotgun scene, and the blood-shed comes thick and fast amidst a back drop of smog-choked New York as Spinell roams the night in search of victims.
What is clear from 'Maniac' is that it is loosely based on real-life serial murders, such as the Son of Sam killings, and possibly the San Francisco Zodiac murders. 'Maniac' plays out like a dirty serial killer movie culminating in a weird, disturbing climax that left room for a possible sequel which sadly never manifested. 'Maniac' is at times gruelling and has the appeal of a New York subway on a Saturday night, but such is the low life quality of 'Maniac' that to this day it still remains as the perfect albeit fictional insight into the mind of a serial killer. Forget 'Silence of the Lambs,' this is the real bloody deal. The promotional poster says it all!
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