William Lustig gained a cult following through the video nasty era, with controversial classics like Maniac and Vigilante. Maniac Cop (1998) is one of his later releases and met with varying degrees of success.
The title speaks for itself Maniac Cop follows a psychotic killer roaming the streets…dressed as a policeman. Jack Forest (Bruce Campbell) finds himself under suspicion within the police force and paranoia ensues throughout the NYPD. As the killer claims more victims the police seem helpless to stop his bloodlust.
Maniac Cop is essentially a boiling pot full of horror legends and icons. Directed by Lustig, starring Bruce Campbell and Tom Atkins, written by B-Movie legend Larry Cohen (It’s alive), the credits are very impressive, and it’s easy to see why this film has a large cult following.
The narrative framework consists of a combination of the slasher and a cop thriller genres. Although this sounds like a very promising concept, the script lets the film down in almost every department.
The plot attempts to weave cheese-ball comedy with elements of the slasher genre, but it fails for several fundamental reasons. There’s too much emphasis on blatant character exposition and predictable plot details, with the result that we are left with a laborious experiment from the slasher era. The film does occasionally hit the mark in a handful of scenes, but it’s not worth sitting through the 85 minute run time.
The soundtrack and the direction are the films sole saving grace, with cheesy 80s synths playing over a set of dingy and grainy scenes, the production fit’s the tone and mood of the movie to an adequate level.
As the second act becomes convoluted and disengaging, the disastrous final act climaxes with a fight scene that’s reminiscent of The Power Ranger Movie (1995) and an unveiling that is almost laughable.
Overall Verdict: Unfortunately Maniac Cop promises a lot more than the final product can deliver, with such a promising high concept it is truly disappointing. The film lacks enough gore or laughs to make it worthwhile; I would struggle to recommend this to anyone other than hardcore fans of the genre.
Special Features:
UK introduction to the film by star Tom Atkins
Doomed Detective: Tom Atkins on Maniac Cop
Lady Of The Night: Laurene Landon remembers Maniac Cop
Scripting A New Slasher Super-Villain: Larry Cohen on Matt Cordell
Trailer
Collectors Booklet
Review: Samuel Barnett