Bruce Campbell fans should love this..
Maniac Cop (1988)
Directed By: William Lustig (Maniac)
Where to get it: Synapse and CAV
The Prologue
Written and produced by Larry Cohen, directed by William Lustig (the man that gave us Maniac), and starring Bruce Campbell! The 1988 slasher film, Maniac Cop on the surface appears to have it all. I mean come on, you even get a cameo from Sam Raimi, which makes me wonder of Bruce and Sam just spent each an every single day together in the 80s. Regardless, after having seen Maniac Cop 2 and 3 a few times on TV in recent years, I was ashamed to admit that until now I hadn’t actually saw the original. But thanks to the new Synapse Blu-ray of this cult hit, I now have saw it in a stunning HD transfer. So no matter if you love or hate this one, you will at least enjoy the quality.
The Movie
Innocent people are brutally killed on the streets of New York by a uniformed police officer. A young cop, Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell, TV’s BURN NOTICE and the EVIL DEAD trilogy), finds himself marked as the chief suspect after his wife is murdered. As Lieutenant Frank McCrae (Tom Atkins, DRIVE ANGRY and LETHAL WEAPON) investigates, the death toll rises and he suspects a mysterious police cover-up. This “maniac” cop must be stopped, but it might not be so easy. He seems inhuman, and ready to take on the entire police force, hell-bent on revenge!
YES, not only does this movie star Bruce Campbell as a two timing hero, but Tom Atkins of Halloween 3 and Night of the Creeps fame is here as well. Actually, Tom and his character are more the focus of the first half of this film than Bruce and his character is. Which might not be that great for diehard Bruce Campbell fans, but I had no problem with it at all. Atkins has a thing about him that can just make any role he is in a whole lot better than it would have been had anyone else been playing the role. So I think Tom does a great job until Bruce takes on a more prominent role later.
Maniac Cop has a lot more violence than most slashers, not wasting any time getting to the good stuff. The only issue you could take with that however, is the fact that while people are getting killed off at a very good pace, we get a lot of blood splattering moments, but not a whole lot of on camera gore effects. I think had there been more “Maniac” level effects, with the interesting back-story this one gives us about our crazy cop with the big chin, things would have been taken on a whole other level than they reach here. Not saying anything at all is bad here, but with some cool effects tossed in this one could have been a top 10 slasher for the 80s.
The action however does pickup greatly in the last act of this film. We have gunfire, chases, and Bruce Campbell kicking things up to that Bruce Campbell level we all know and love. I think any slow moments we have before this point is seemingly forgotten once the action picks up and runs into full gear,. This does however lead us to what some might call a bit of an anti-climatic ending. But more or less, most slashers of the 80′s seemed to only build to a sequel anyway, so it’s expected. So at the end of the day, I’m not sure I’d call Maniac Cop a Top 10 slasher of it’s decade, but it’s by far better than a number of them that came out in the 80s.
The Conclusion
Restored and remastered from original vault materials by Synapse Films, this is by far one of the best looking transfers I’ve seen of an old film this year. The features are trailers, interviews, and stills, so anyone who loves this movie will enjoy this release. I also think any Bruce Campbell fan will find the most enjoyment out of this 1988 slasher.
The Rating (6.5/10)
