Is Maniac a Hidden Treasure or Dumpster Fire?
Blu Ray Distributed by Blue Underground / December 11, 2018
The Notorious Horror Classic! New 4K Restoration!
Frank Zito (a career performance by writer/executive producer Joe Spinell of ROCKY and THE GODFATHER fame) is a deeply disturbed man, haunted by the traumas of unspeakable childhood abuse. And when these horrific memories begin to scream inside his mind, Frank prowls the seedy streets of New York City to stalk and slaughter innocent young women. Now Frank has begun a relationship with a beautiful photographer (Caroline Munro of THE SPY WHO LOVED ME), yet his vile compulsions remain. These are the atrocities of a human monster. This is the story of a MANIAC.
Directed by William Lustig (MANIAC COP 2, VIGILANTE) and featuring landmark gore effects by Tom Savini (DAWN OF THE DEAD, FRIDAY THE 13th), this relentlessly shocking and disturbing film was originally banned or censored all over the world due to its graphic violence. Now Blue Underground is thrilled to present MANIAC in a brand-new 4K Restoration from its recently discovered 16mm original camera negative, overflowing with hours of new and archival Extras!
Trashmen Rubbish Round Table
Jimbo
I don’t know why I’d never seen Maniac prior to our screening together. I have no reason or excuse for this. I’ve seen all manner of trash but for some reason I never got to this one.
Jamie
Not sure if releasing the new transfer of Maniac again during the whole women’s #metoo movement is such a good idea given the film was declared misogynistic at the time of it’s 1980 release. The plot is simple: a man who may have been sexually abused by his mother wonders the streets of gritty NYC in search of women that he murders by scalping their heads and placing their scalps on mannequins that he keeps in his run-down apartment.
Craig
You know, I put off watching Maniac for a long time. I assumed that it was more in line with something like New York Ripper, which is absolutely misogynistic to the point where it’s really difficult to try to warrant any real critical appraisal (although I like the killer’s duck voice). I think Maniac is a lot more thoughtful. It is really an extreme character study and the murders are almost secondary.
Travis
I was most interested in Jimbo’s take, since he was a Maniac virgin. Good to know you liked it, since you never know how people will react to something you’ve enjoyed for ages and it may not resonate with them as much as it does with yourself.
Jimbo
Now that I finally have, I’m sure glad I did! Many independent horror films suffer from going stale or out of date, but I have to say this one still holds up very well. I thought the story, though simple, was effective. The writing is really good. One of my favorite scenes is when Frank (Spinell) is speaking with photographer and “girlfriend” Anna (Caroline Munro) about her motivations for photographing women (I emphasize “girlfriend” because Jamie’s not buying the love interest subplot).
Frank opines that he thinks she’s trying to capture them somehow; preserve them and make them immortal. Of course, Frank’s subconscious is speaking. I think this is a smart writing approach. The movie could just as easily have Frank give some maniacal speech to a victim about making them forever beautiful or some crap. Of course there are plenty of wheels off monologues by Frank, but this moment with the Anna works because it feels like a rare moment of clarity for an otherwise insane killer.
Travis
As for Jamie’s point about #MeToo, I can almost see this as being acceptable today. Sure it would help if a woman had directed it (which would lead to tripping over yourself to OVERpraise it), but it’s not exactly like you envy Frank at all. Fat, greasy, most likely completely flaccid in the dick department, and seriously messed up. He certainly gets his just desserts at the end so there is some vindication and punishment for his misdeeds. Gorily though of course. It’s borderline, but you never know how the internet mobs will act.
Jimbo
The practical effects still look amazing. Really gory and gruesome. The gore still has impact and I can only assume the new transfer lets you see details that were once obscured in low-grade VHS resolution.
Jamie
It was notorious for being released without a rating thanks to it’s still impressive gore effects by Tom Savini who also has a small role as a disco gigolo who gets his head blown apart with a shotgun. I won’t say it’s Savini’s best work (Friday the 13th The Final Chapter and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 may be his masterpieces in terms of make-up) but Maniac sure has some pretty impressive effects. Definitely not for pussies. This may be the Citizen Kane of slasher films.
Craig
Maniac is also a lot funnier than I expected it would be, although it’s very dark. Spinell is so much of a sad sack in certain scenes it’s hard for me not to find some humor. I still crack up at the scene where he has to visit his mother’s grave on his date.
Jamie
Yeah that’s gotta be the worst date ever. This overweight, sweaty, pocket faced man is able to go on a date with gorgeous Caroline Munro and while driving he says to her that he’s gotta stop and get flowers for his mother’s grave…yeah that’s a red flag right there. But lets be honest, this woman wouldn’t give this poor sap the time of day as opposed to go out on not just one date, but two dates.
Jimbo
I think Craig hits on something. I’d seen movies like Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, The Prowler, Intruder and I lumped Maniac in with those based on the VHS box art. It just looked like another dumb slasher so that probably explains why it took me so long to get to it. But I think it’s much better than The Prowler or Intruder. I think it has more in common with Henry. Perhaps a bit more gory and exploitative, but nearly as thoughtful.
And I was pleasantly surprised to see it takes place around Christmas. Nice Christmas surprise.
Jamie
Yeah I have seen this movie a bunch of times and never caught the Christmas decorations, trees, etc. before. There’s no snow to be seen but the entire movie the characters are mostly wearing coats and look like they are freezing, it definitely feels like a winter film at the very least.
Oh and how about a shout out for Sharon Mitchell, aka: Rebecca from The Taming of Rebecca as a nurse in a quick cameo. Director Bill Lustig also had other porn stars in this film and it’s worth noting Spinell himself was married to a porn actress. Bill Lustig needs to direct more movies. There is some talent behind and in front of the camera that raises Maniac to whole other level.
Jimbo
Love seeing dirty 70s New York. And I can totally believe a slimy, sweaty Joe Spinell is stalking the streets.
Travis
Spinell is the real attribute that separates this from some other Savini-splatter slashers. If this was some unknown regional actor who you never heard from again I doubt Maniac would get as much credit as it does. It would probably sit with New York Ripper (which I do enjoy for its cruelness and of course the baffling duck voice).
Jamie
What more can be said about Maniac that already hasn’t been spoken about?
Jimbo
As someone who had never seen this before, I think it’s a must buy. I think if Matt or Craig have the older DVDs, this is definitely worth the upgrade to the new 2018 “4K” transfer (It’s NOT a UHD blu-ray). However, I think the decision to upgrade gets harder if you have the older blu-ray (released in 2010 & 2012). Jamie has it with Bill Lustig’s autograph. No way you get rid of that thing. I think you’d have to be a completest or be a super-fan to double or triple-dip again.
Jamie
Blue Underground is on a kick re-releasing some of their more popular titles in new 4K restorations. While I typically don’t see a problem with this, I do feel that since these aren’t actual 4K presentations, it’s a tad misleading. Not to mention, the previous transfer looked great already so is it worth an upgrade? Aside from a new transfer, all of the old special features are ported over but here you get two more special features along with the soundtrack.
The new special features are: Outtakes and a brief audio commentary by William Lustig regarding a “now and then” look at the locations. The outtakes, if interested in deleted scenes, is really neat to see as you can see the original opening as well as various on set footage with Savini at work.You also get the film’s soundtrack which is a picture disc of Spinell’s face that had me laughing when I saw it.
Travis
I’m not going to go very far out on a limb and say I’m sure this transfer blows away my old Elite Entertainment or Anchor Bay tin DVDs. If I saw this used I would pick it up, but it would have to include the Spinell picture disc soundtrack CD or fuck it. Otherwise I question the need to triple dip.
Jimbo
But all in all…great movie, great transfer, great special features.
Hidden Treasure/Dumpster Fire?
| Jimbo: |  (4.0 / 5) |
| Jamie: |  (4.5 / 5) |
| Travis: | (4.5 / 5) |
| Craig: |  (3.5 / 5) |
| Average: |  (4.1 / 5) |
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SPECIAL FEATURES:
- WORLD PREMIERE! New 4K Restoration from the recently discovered 16mm original camera negative!
- 3-Disc Set (Blu-ray + Blu-ray + CD) includes High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) Widescreen 1.85:1 feature presentation + another Blu-ray PACKED with additional bonus material + Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD with MANIAC score by Jay Chattaway
- Audio: 7.1 DTS-HD (English); 2.0 DTS-HD (English); Dolby Digital 2.0 (Castellano, Français, Italiano, Deutsch)
- Subtitles: English SDH, Français, Español, Português, Deutsch, Italiano, Dansk, Suomi, Nederlands, Svenska, Russian, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Thai
- Audio Commentary #1 with Co-Producer/Director William Lustig and Co-Producer Andrew W. Garroni
- Audio Commentary #2 with Co-Producer/Director William Lustig, Special Make-Up Effects Artist Tom Savini, Editor Lorenzo Marinelli, and Joe Spinell assistant Luke Walter
- NEW! Maniac Outtakes Featurette
- NEW! Returning to the Scene of the Crime with William Lustig
- Anna and the Killer Interview with Star Caroline Munro (13:08)
- The Death Dealer Interview with Special Make-Up Effects Artist Tom Savini (12:11)
- Dark Notes Interview with Composer Jay Chattaway (12:13)
- Maniac Men Interview with Songwriters Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky (10:38)
- Mr. Robbie: ‘Maniac 2’ Promo Reel (7:28)
- The Joe Spinell Story (49:12)
- NEW! Collectable Booklet with new essay by author Michael Gingold
- MANIAC PUBLICITY: ‘Paul Wunder’ Radio Interview with William Lustig, Joe Spinell, and Carline Munro (19:11), William Lustig on ‘Movie Madness’ (47:18), Joe Spinell at Cannes (0:44), Joe Spinell on ‘The Joe Franklin Show’ (13:13) and Carline Munro TV Interview (2:54)
- MANIAC CONTROVERSY: A selection of archival broadcast TV news clips, interviews and reactions to the film. (41:15)
- Theatrical Trailers
- TV Spots
- Radio Spots
