3 out of 5

Director: William Lustig

Yes, well, here is another banned 70s / 80s horror classic that seems tame nowadays, yet holds onto some kind of charm that simply cannot be had in the modern film world. Though charm is a strange word to use for such a film. Maniac was William Lustigs attempt to out-Grindhouse the Grindhouse movies (as per his description during a recent anniversary showing of the movie). Held against its timeframe, this works: Maniac focuses almost exclusively on Frank, an oddball serial killer who has mommy issues, killing girls and scalping them – using the scalps on mannequins, of course – in order to reconnect with mums. The movie doesnt have a direct plot beyond watching Frank… its clumsy attempts to spin a connection with one of the females in order to lead to Franks inevitable demise feels thrown in amongst the rest of the random killings. Joe Spinell puts effort into the character (as it was apparently his story), and it does come across in its own way, but it still cant bypass the disconnect between horror for horrors sake and an oddball character study. What is most fascinating is the narrow vision of the movie: its mostly wordless (except when trying to narrate the why of Franks condition) and stays with our killer the entire time. This is what takes away some of the films tension – because its not based on jump scares – but adds to the uneasiness. Its not perfect, and while the gore is fun its PG compared to whats come out the last few years on big screens, but Maniac is deserving of its place in the horror world as a clumsy combination of grindhouse and attempted filmic legitimacy. Last note: be wary – the look of the film (as in music and style) is incredibly dated.