I'm a big fan of the first 'Maniac Cop' movie, which has one of THE great exploitation taglines - "You have the right to remain silent. Forever." Once again director William Lustig ('Maniac', 'Vigilante') and writer/producer Larry Cohen ('God Told Me To', 'Q The Winged Serpent') team up for this better than you'd expect sequel. Robert Z'Dar reprises his role as Matt Cordell the "maniac cop", but like the original the supporting cast steals the movie from him, and in this case are the main reason to tune in. B-grade legend Bruce Campbell and Cohen regular Laurene Landon from the first movie put in an appearance, but the rest of the cast is new - Robert Davi (Bond baddie in 'License To Kill'), and Claudia Christian (then best remembered for her bit in 'The Hidden', now for her recurring role in 'Babylon 5') as cops, and Leo Rossi ('The Accused') as a creepy serial killer who befriends Cordell. Michael Lerner ('Barton Fink') plays the Commissioner, Charles Napier ('Supervixens') a TV host and Clarence Williams III ('52 Pick-Up') a prisoner. Also keep an eye out for cameos by Lustig's pal Sam Raimi and Hispanic tough guy Danny Trejo ('From Dusk Til Dawn'). Many people, including William Lustig himself, think 'Maniac Cop 2' is the best in the series, but I still prefer the original. This one's still great fun to watch and I highly recommended it to exploitation fans. The third movie in the series however was a major disappointment. You'd be better off skipping it and watching Lustig and Cohen's overlooked 'Uncle Sam' instead. It isn't their best work but it's a lot of fun.
