Maniac Cop

'Maniac Cop' is the most enjoyable of William Lustig's movies for me. If I was being objective I'd have to admit that it's stupid trash, but I love it just the same, and never tire of watching it. The team of Lustig ('Maniac', 'Vigilante') as director and the legendary Larry Cohen ('Q', 'The Stuff') as writer really worked well here. Each sequel is slightly worse than the one before - though still entertaining enough - and their latter day attempt to start a similar franchise with the overlooked 'Uncle Sam' wasn't as successful, though that movie was a lot of fun for me. Facially challenged b-grade regular Robert Z'Dar ('Cherry 2000', 'Tango And Cash') "stars" as Matt Cordell the Maniac Cop, but the real drawing card here are cult favourites Tom Atkins ('The Fog', 'Escape From New York') and Bruce Campbell ('Evil Dead', 'Crimewave'), who are both always cool to watch. The supporting cast includes the legendary William Smith ('Run, Angel, Run', 'The Ultimate Warrior'), original Shaft Richard Roundtree, and Laurene Landon and Frank Pesce, both regulars of Lustig and/or Cohen. Lustig himself pops up in a cameo, as does his Uncle 'Raging Bull' Jake LaMotta, director pal Sam Raimi, and the ubiquitous 'Buck' Flower. I love 'Maniac Cop', an 80s trash classic that I enjoy every time I watch it. Highly recommended fun!

This movie is almost completely incredible. The first twenty minutes or so are incredible, with tons of killings. Then, as the plot unfolds, the film turns into more of a detective story, and it loses a little of its punch. BUT, there are glimmers of B movie greatness that make this worth checking out. I viewed it as a William Lustig film, and as a Lustig film, this one lacks a little bit of his signature extremism. 6/10

To be honest, I absolutely love trash like this! Maniac Cop is a film that clearly isn't too caught up with trying to establish itself alongside the more professional efforts of the horror genre, and instead simply revels in it's B-movie status. This gives the film free reign to do whatever it wants to do, as it doesn't have to worry about coherency or logic and this helps it massively as the final result shows. Actually, surprisingly enough; this is a rather professionally handled B-movie and many of the reasons why it works are down to things like atmosphere and characters, which are the things that the film isn't supposed to be bothered about. The plot is well worked also, and the way that the mystery pans out is exciting in all the right places. The story follows a problem in New York. Innocent citizens are turning to the police for help as usual; but one officer isn't bowing to the law, and has taken it upon himself to dish out justice his own way. This maniac cop is exterminating the local population, and it's up to framed copper Jack Forrest and his mistress Theresa Mallory to save the day!

The way that director William Lustig portrays the New York streets gives this film a lot of it's power. It's gritty, in the same way that many of the seventies cop thrillers were and this, when combined with the thick eighties trash crust, is what makes this film a winner. The scenes that see the maniac cop taking people out are fiendishly funny, but also quite shocking. The police are looked up to in most societies, and it would be a huge problem if one of them were to start dishing out the wrong kind of law themselves. Scriptwriter and B-movie god Larry Cohen seems keen to portray this too, with much of the action taking in the panic that previous events have caused. One of this film's main assets is definitely the presence of Evil Dead's Ash, Bruce Campbell. Campbell isn't quite as over the top as he was in Sam Raimi's classic trilogy - but he's playing a different character and just seeing him is a good reason to see this film. He is joined by fellow B-movie actor Tom Atkins, as well as Laurene Landon and Robert Z'Dar, who is perfectly cast in the title role. This isn't a film that will please fans of serious movies - but if you like your silly B-grade films, you'll definitely like this!

Maniac Cop is a cool little movie. Made with a small budget and few known actors, I thought that it was going to be stupid and cheap looking. I was wrong. With an original script that features respective characters and a new horror villain, this film was very entertaining and well done. Unlike many horror and action movies of today, this film didn't need a huge budget to make it good. It just called for good direction and good use of low funds.What really made this film good was not just a cool hero like Bruce Campbell to root for, but the actual reality that some of the things in here could very well happen in real life, adding to the films scary mood. The main point of this flick is about a cop who was killed in prison by his fellow inmates(after being sent their for police brutality and murder)and then somehow returning to life to go back onto the streets and get revenge against not only criminals but against innocent people as well. It is then up to Bruce Campbell and company to put an end to the Maniac Cops murderous rampage and restore peace to the fearful city once again. I recommend this film and think you should rent it whenever you get the chance to. I give it two thumbs up. RATED R FOR STRONG ACTION, VIOLENCE/GORE,LANGUAGE, AND INTENSE SITUATIONS.

I saw the two sequels before I saw this and I am glad to finally see the one that started it all.

Robert Z'Dar is the Maniac Cop in all three, and he really has a creepy presence that will strike fear into anyone coming up against him.

Bruce Campbell and Laurene Landon play lovers that try to find out what was going on and catch the killer while being blamed for all the deaths themselves.

Richard Roundtree and Tom Atkins added to the excitement, but seeing Sheree North, who has been in so many TV shows and movies, was a treat.

It's mindless entertainment and just a lot of fun.