Maniac
|
List Price: Our Price: $8.60 You Save: $11.38 (57%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $7.00 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Maniac
Movie Review: Wasn't quite what I expected
Summary: 3 Stars
I read some reviews on this film which claimed it was one of the best in it's genre, and decided I would purchase it and hopefully have the enjoyment of owning it to view when I please. The cover of the movie alone was one of the most intriguing things about this film and made me ever so curious as to the nature of the film. It was a descent movie but not quite as good as what I had read. Although I am more of an avid zombie/monster flick fan and thus, this insight comes from someone who likes older horror movie based on gore and cheesy effects that are awesome, I do however come to appreciate at times psychological thriller type movies and even if a movie isn't super gory yet is done well I can appreciate that.
On the gore level, the movie almost seems to boast more than it actually delivers.
- a few choke scenes
- a short scalping scene
- one short stab scene
- a shooting scene (which is actually pretty cool)
- and the last crazy scene (the best one)
I guess the movie kind of made you think about why it is the character was doing the things he does, there wasn't much narrative that really explained it. He was a fat, ugly, sweaty guy so I guess maybe he just hated life cause he was so ugly, haha but not really, he's just your average disturbed serial murderer who likes to take stuff from those he kills and put them on manikins that he props up in his bed and talks to. I didn't really get it and I wasn't really creeped out by this mental but silly looking fat dude whispering to the manikins dressed like his victims. Not as intriguing as you might think I suppose if that sounds remotely cool.
Anyways the movie is around 80 minutes, kind of short, and though semi original with the ideas just didn't have quite as much of an awe that I got from one that is just a tad better being New York Ripper, which had it's own little bit of originality and had a bit more interesting death scenes although slow in some parts. I'm sorry but one of the most entertaining works of the slasher/murderer film genre to ME is some films of the Friday the 13th series. Anyways, I won't go on anymore about this film. I would recommend borrowing it from someone you know who has it or watching scenes on youtube to get what I'm talking about a bit more haha.
Movie Review: MANIAC COULD HAVE BEEN A MASTERPIECE FALLS SHORT
Summary: 3 Stars
i have watched maniac many many times. the seedy new york city backround gives the movie legitimacy. also, the late 70's and early 80's era (music, clothes, hairstyles, cars etc...) i grew up in massachusetts. i remember the combat zone in boston. i remember the atmosphere. the atmosphere in the maniac makes for the believability of this happenning in real life. the killing scenes to me are overated. i have seen many many other horror movies with much better killing scenes. my favorite killing scene in the movie is the strangulation of the prostitute. the scene was over the top and not realistic as to the struggle that was put up by the prostitute, but i thoroughly enjoyed how the scene was filmed. i got the feeling how it would feel to be strangled it is not a pleasant thought. i like the main character the maniac. i know too many people in my life who are the average joe looking type. i do not think anybody could pick out a maniac. it is always the people you do not suspect in real life society as well. i like the maniac not only for his common appearance but for the compassion i felt for him. i like him. i trust him. as i watch the movie and the killings. i still have compassion for him. unfortunately, the script was lousy. the script was downright bad and the ending ruined the movie for me. the photographer, the maniacs so called love interest was a 100 % total waste of time. too many reviewers mention her because she was attrative. being pretty does not make a movie for me. in the photographers place we could have had a couple of more killings instead of wasting my time. the whole plotline with the photographer was silly and the ending in the graveyard let me down bigtime. the maniac has good aspects and bad aspects. i think the bad outweighs the good in this movie, but i do think with the right script this good have been a horror classic.Movie Review: Worth watching, but no misunderstood masterpiece....
Summary: 3 Stars
I remember when this film came out, and Gene Siskel walked out of the film when Tom Savini's character's head blew up from a shotgun. I thought that was good for Gene, but then decided to rent the film anyway. While it isn't a masterpiece, Maniac has some genuine creepy moments and is worth watching.
The film has a really seedy vibe to it due to being shot in NYC in 1980, years before it was "cleaned up" by Giuliani. There's an air of desperation in the film, a whispering brutality. However, while it has great special effects that still hold up today, it's still not as artistic or as great as it could have been. Joe Spinnell (who stars and co-produced) stars as the deeply disturbed title character, a man who was abused as a child and now is reeking havoc on NYC streets and collecting his victims back in his apartment. There's some great atmosphere, and a great chase in a subway bathroom, but overall the film just feels incomplete. It teeters on the edge, but doesn't become an underrated, misunderstood masterpiece. The film should be viewed more as an 80's time capsule than a great piece of cinema. Many think this film is a masterpiece, and while it's better than most slasher films from the 1980's (most of which were terrible), it's not a work of genius or art. But it should be viewed at least once, though....
Movie Review: 3 stars for the effect by tom savini
Summary: 3 Stars
i got this movie becasue of the high praise it got on amazon.some of it was well deserved,like the praise for tom savini's sfx.but the story of the movie was kind of boring at times when hes not killing anyone.i eman its an ok movie that any horror fan should watch at least once,rent maybe unless you LOVE gore and blood then i say you should buy it.there are plenty of special features on the disc which is good and its directed by wiwlliam lustig(maniac cop,uncle sam)so if your a fan of his run and get this movie.aside from the few laggin story parts the movie was good and the end was a shocker that you have to see to belive.your either gonna love,hate or fall somewhere in between with this movie.not for anyone who dosent enjoy horror,blood or guts.Movie Review: An impressive failure
Summary: 2 Stars
I'd mainly watched Maniac! because Tom Savini did the special effects. They were grisly, gory and great. In fact he has a cameo that leads into one of the best effects shots of his that I'd ever seen. Easily the high point at what could have been an above average slasher movie.
The movie is better filmed and acted than the bulk of '80's slasher flicks. But it really isn't good. The problem is that the solitary slasher is the main character. Sort of like Henry - Portrait of a Serial Killer, but without the companions to provide some sort of narrative. The first half of the movie follows the killer through a string of unrelated murders with no time spent building the character of the only actor on screen for more than ten minutes, the killer.
I was surprised that as an extra on the DVD, they included a collection of bad reviews the movie had garnered on its release. At the time the movie was pretty controversial and I can see why. Some of the negative reviews in the extras called the movie pornography and I think they had a point. It feels sort of like a porn movie, with graphic murder replacing graphic sex. There's some stereotypical setup (a nurse walking to the subway, a couple making out while parked in an empty lot) that leads to a murder. Rinse. Repeat.
Maniac!'s lack of a real storyline is sorely missed. In the second half, they do put a story together, but it should have been carried through the entire film rather than just the second half. As a result, Maniac! was 'interesting', but not 'good'.