Maniac at Large

Contrary to the older review by Coventry, there are huge names in this episode, hello, Adam Ant for one. Blythe Danner is even in this. There is definitely some of the usual quirkiness in this episode as found in others, especially the old boss at the library as she appears as a bit of a bitter, oddball stereotype. This is a good episode to watch in the series. I also recommend Surprise Party (which is really good) and skip Spoiled which was just awful.

No famous names in the cast, no grotesque gore effects and not that much morbid humor in the screenplay. This episode doesn't feature any of the usual "Tales from the Crypt" trumps, yet it surely ranks amongst the absolute finest installments of the entire series! Instead of the usual good stuff, "Maniac at Large" offers a fairly intelligent story, a constant creepy atmosphere and – most of all – truly uncanny music. There's exclusively one setting, an ancient downtown library, and that definitely contributes to increase the claustrophobic ambiance John Frankenheimer obviously wanted to create. The city of Los Angeles (I think) is under the spell of a serial killer who already wasted seven victims and whose vile actions are exploitatively described in the newspapers. The sensible Margaret, who's new in town and just started working in the library, is petrified and begins to suspect everyone who enters the library as a potential murderer. The twist ending is rather predictable, but nevertheless pleasing and totally unique in the history of "Tales from the Crypt". The uncanny silences are filled up with spooky music similar to tunes used in some of the greatest horror classics ever made and the fairly unknown cast gives away terrific performances. Trained horror fans will recognize the charismatic veteran Irwin Keyes ("The Exterminator", "House of 1.000 Corpses") in a too brief cameo appearance. Very good episode, highly recommended to fans of the franchise as well of fans of old-fashioned spooky horror.

I really liked the closed in environment on this one, it kept everything pretty tight and suspenseful. It wasn't particularly mind blowing but it was one of the more fun episodes to happen in a while. Great cast having a great time with the material. What more do you want?

New library employee Margaret (Blythe Danner) works late at night and does her job well. However after a while she becomes nervous and scared because she reads reports of a serial killer that already murdered seven people and when her boss one night leaves for getting a sandwich, Margaret thinks that she is left alone in the library with the serial killer running around.

This episode wasn't that special for me but in the end I liked it because I found the twist very unexpected. Not a must see but still good.

I seriously don't know what show the high-rated reviewers were watching, because "Maniac at Large" is pure garbage. It's slow, it's dull, and it sucks the life out of everything that makes Tales from the Crypt fun. The "twist" is laughably predictable, the acting is wooden, and the whole thing plays like a high school drama project gone wrong. And I'm sorry but anyone who acts like they were surprised by the so-called "twist" at the end has clearly never watched a single slasher movie in their life. It's so predictable you can see it coming a mile away. Easily one of the worst episodes in the entire series - completely unwatchable and 100% skip-worthy unless you actually enjoy boring and predictable TV.