X
- 1981
- R
- Analysis Film Releasing Corporation
- 1 h 27 m
- 1981
- R
- Analysis Film Releasing Corporation
- 1 h 27 m
Summary A psychotic man, troubled by his childhood abuse, loose in New York City, kills young women and takes their scalps as his trophies. Will he find the perfect woman in a photographer, and end his killing spree?
Directed By: William Lustig
Written By: C.A. Rosenberg, Joe Spinell
- 1981
- R
- Analysis Film Releasing Corporation
- 1 h 27 m
- 1981
- R
- Analysis Film Releasing Corporation
- 1 h 27 m
Maniac
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
22
6.7
Where to Watch
Summary A psychotic man, troubled by his childhood abuse, loose in New York City, kills young women and takes their scalps as his trophies. Will he find the perfect woman in a photographer, and end his killing spree?
Directed By: William Lustig
Written By: C.A. Rosenberg, Joe Spinell
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 4 Critic Reviews
22
0% Positive
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
50% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
50% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 4 Critic Reviews
22
0% Positive
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
50% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
50% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
A Freudian nightmare with a lead who looks like the guy who runs your local pizzeria, Maniac also features one of the great head explosions in cinema history.
Maniac simply exists as a wretched yet unforgettable succession of scenes meant to corrupt even the purest of minds, if you can help yourself from laughing uncontrollably at its overwhelming amount of inconsistencies.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 User Ratings
6.7
62% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
38% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 User Ratings
6.7
62% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
38% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Maniac is an Extremely Messed up Film That I Love. It is grimy and Gorey and the type of film that makes you want to take a shower afterwards.
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There is plenty of violence in this serial killer flick. There are also two very good shock sequences. The ending is a bit odd but very good for it. The only problem is that you don't feel much empathy for the victims as the film focuses on the serial killer too much. Still this is a highly entertaining scary film and has aged surprisingly well.
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The film leaves the viewer feeling violated and ashamed. Avoid.
William Lustig is the film's director, and Joe Spinell, who plays the maniac, also collaborated on the screenplay (with C.A. Rosenberg) and wrote the original story. He is terrible in all capacities, though his performance is more immediately objectionable. Watching him act like a psychopathic killer with a mommy-complex is like watching someone else throw up.
Its cult status is understandable, mostly because it has no restraint in the darkness of its plot and its violence, but it commits many of the general sins of the genre and there's not much plot variety after the first act.
I recognize its cult level. But I just don't really think anything special of it.
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