This neglected Canadian horror anthology begins auspiciously with an engagingly written, remarkably intense psycho-thriller concerning the glacial machinations of a murderous night stalker has a genuinely oppressive tone with some pulse-wrecking Giallo-esque chills to instil tumultuous mental ills in the viewer! And for much of its brief running time this nerve-slashing segment feels quite substantial, with the climax packing quite a heavyweight punch! Creeping bestially into Robert Bloch/Steven King terror-tory, this marvellously mean-spirited shaggy dog story proves to be an unrelenting, profoundly disturbing depiction of the terrible miasmal torment of long-buried childhood fears cruelly unleashed upon the adult mind that is not for the timorous of heart!
The penultimate instalment in this slick, ominously staged slasher omnibus is a well-conceived, atmospheric, sharply edged, garrote-tight shocker that maintains a hellish intensity throughout, offering a rewardingly dark, ambivalent conclusion to this especially claustrophobic, pulse-quickening bite-sized nightmare!
Ending on a real doozie, the final terror-tingling tale has quite the wickedly paralysing sting at the end of it! After an excessively boozy night on the tiles one seemingly docile, meek-minded businessman grimly finds himself in the maniacal midst of a violent suburban squall of psycho-stalking pulp madness worthy of terror-master Richard Matheson himself, effectively directed by Paul 'Prom Night' Lynch, the tough, bloody, sweat-slathered dénouement is excitingly mounted, delivering more than enough bellicose bang for your Canadian dollar!
'Mania' is a surprisingly effective and frequently chilling 80s horror compendium, superbly written, strongly acted with a slickly-honed sense of impending doom, this especially diabolical collection of creep-fried Canadian celluloid remains an entirely worthy addition to any true B-horror compendium connoisseurs attention!
