‘Maniac’ (1980)

I make it a point to surround myself with other horror buffs and gorehounds, because you never know who has the one film you have been missing. One day a friend of mine introduced me to a film called Maniac, and upon looking at the cover i thought, “Great, another slasher movie”. He says to me this film has the best shotgun blast to the head of any film he’s seen. So we shifted directly to what has to be some of Tom Savini’s best work and I was BLOWN AWAY!… Pun intended.

This is the story of a Maniac: Frank Zito (Joe Spinell) is a disturbed and reclusive man haunted by a traumatic childhood. But when these memories begin to torment him, he proceeds to prowl the streets of New York City brutaly killing young women. And believe me, his murders spare no blood! I think what makes this film so unique, has to be Joe Spinell’s performance. This was a time in his life when he was in fact battling his own demons, that eventually claimed his life years later.

He was, in my opinion, the king of B-movies during that time. And according to friends, he was the man responsible for Sly Stallone’s career. But it wasn’t until he met a young writer named Bill Lustig that his inner monster would surface on film. Thus Maniac was born and it brought more than bloodthirsty fans along for the ride. The film’s release spawned a mob of bloodthirsty feminists who would protest this film morning, noon, and night. But in the end, Maniac prevailed and left us this legacy.

Maniac features the effects of Tom Savini, who did a fantastic job on a film death where he has his head splatter all over his car and the young actress next to him. If there’s one reason to check out Maniac, it is this. So please, if you haven’t yet seen Maniac , do yourself a favor and check it out!