evil bill
Posts: 6557
Joined: 19/7/2006
From: mordor/ uk
|
Well before you all rush out to see MANIAC this Thursday here's a review of the orginal classic cult slasher film.
MANIAC (1980)
Frank(Joe Spinell) misses his mother, who was killed in a car accident years before. She was abusive to him, and made money selling her body, but Frank still misses her. He still talks to her, and tries to keep her from leaving him, and reform her evil ways, by killing young women and putting their scalps on mannequins which he displays around his apartment. Photographer Anna(Caroline Munro), takes a picture of him in the park, and he pursues and befriends her. Is she the one he's been looking for or just another mommy wanna be.
A truly disturbing and unpleasant film with a relentlessly downbeat tone, which features graphic violence, and some outstanding for it's time bloody special-effects makeup by cult effects man Tom Savini, who also stars in a small role where he meets a gruesome end in a as "Disco Boy." Highlights include Frank's mother's corpse, a realistic scalping by large knife and an exploding head which gets blown to bits by a shotgun, very much more than the graphic Scanners head explosion. The star of the film is Joe Spinell, who appeared in Taxi Driver, The Godfather 1and 2 in small roles, but here he is in the lead role as the twisted unsavoury Frank Zito, a character reminiscent of De Niro's Travis Bickle, except far more twisted and disturbing. Joe's portrayal here is very hard to watch in places, for there is noting to like about this Psycho, the rape and torture scenes remined me of Fulcis equally disturbing New York Riper. Both films give no let up in there gut turning sexual horror, in fact films like Saw etc look tame compared to these films, for they had some dark humour to lighten the horror on screen. But this just keeps piling on the horror right up to the ending with it's interesting twist as Frank hallucinates that his victims are returning to life and tearing him limb from limb.
William Lustig's Maniac is basically Grand Guignol Splatter film that cinematic audiences of the 80's craved, but viewers of this film got more than they wanted,a depraved, demoralising extremely violent twisted film, that was touted as a Halloween and Friday the 13th type slasher film. But this is more of a Nightmares in a Damaged Brain, Mardi Gras Massacre, and Don't go in the House film, for this is no boogy loony man in a mask with a machete. It's also story wise more Psycho/ Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as you'll see plenty of dead bodies, and mother stuffed and siting in a chair, which makes me wonder whether or not the writers of this film were basing the plot on the real life serial killer Ed Gein, who also grew up with an abusive mother and suffered psychological problems later on as an adult, which ultimately drove him to grave robing and murder. William Lustig style and tone own more than a nod to Lucio Fulci's slasher film's ,it also has that arthouse feel of an Abel Ferrara movie with great use made of New Yorks darker side. I'm in no doubt it has inspired multitudes of slasher flicks and torture flicks, none more so than Henry:Portrait Of A Serial Killer, this is the only recent entry into the slasher field that looks anything like Maniac. But none of the more modern slashers look or feel like it, the only film of it's kind I belived they could not remake for fear of the outrage it could cause, but they have and I fear it may be well watered down. For there is no humour, and the great use of the dark back street's of New York of the 70s/80s add to it's dark fearful feel, and there is no escape from the madness on screen, and you will need a strong will not to turn away in disgust at what unfolds. No wonder this too was banned during the Video Nasty debate, but at least now you get to see this excellent film fully uncut on both DVD and Blu-Ray, and with the remake hitting are screens, I believe like I Spit On Your Grave, it will it be toned down though with good production and effects. Very few of the remakes from the 80's horror field have worked, only The Hills Have Eyes and Last House On The Left bucked the trend for me, as for this film, if you have not seen it yet, go see now and then see how the remake compares. 7/10
_____________________________
"You listen to me now,i will find you and i will kill you!"
|
Printable Version
RE: THE SLASHER MOVIE FAN CLUB - 
). Will be watching Sinister tonight after hearing great things. Obviously not a slasher though. 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread