Monday 30 July 2012

Maniac Cop 1988

Maniac Cop (1988)

Contains spoilers!


Classic bad guy against good guy's, stalk and chase slasher horror with a bit of originality thrown in for good measure.

It has plenty of deaths, not a lot of gore and of course a bad guy that just won't die.

Set in New York you follow Jack (Bruce Campbell), a young NYPD cop framed for a series of murders, committed by what the press dub as the 'Maniac Cop'. Jack is helped by his vice cop mistress Teresa and seasoned detective McCrae.

Together they discover that the real killer is an ex cop thought dead Matt Cordell, who after being sent to prison gets stabbed to death (or so it is assumed) only to be secretly released brain dead and mangled to his girlfriend on the outside.

This of course leads to the inevitable killing spree with the now mentally deranged killer who can't be killed.

The rest is pretty standard, once the heroes know who the killer is and once the failed attempts to get everyone else to recognise the truth is over they take on the killer themselves. Apparently killing him again even though his body is never recovered.

You even see the killer's hand rear up out of the water at the end. Standard horror bad guy ending.

The whole film has a decidedly moody feel, the attacks mostly happen at night and so most of the film is shot in the dark and with the backgrounds neon lighting really sets the mood. The music is fantastic especially if you like moody eerie pieces and works well with the films tones.

The killers facial injuries do look a little fake and cheesy but to counter this, you do only see his face once, the rest of the time all you see is the silhouette of a large policeman which again just adds to the dark gloomy feel of the movie.

Although there is no gore there are plenty of deaths scenes, none of them really using too many effects so the film doesn't seem that out dated compared to some.

If you're looking for a film with a solid plot, creepy music and gloomy scenes then this is the one for you.

Best phrases/diaglogue:

'What happened to your hand? - 'I cut myself shaving'

'Always take a leak with a gun? It's a good way to blow your balls off!'

Scenes to watch for:

The prison bathroom fight scene.



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