I can remember the first time I saw the movie MANIAC when it
was released in 1980. Freshly graduated from college and working as an
assistant manager for Loews Theaters I was able to see almost any movie playing
at the time for free. This was on that we ran so I had that chance. At the time
I thought it was terrible, a movie that was nothing more than a way for the
effects work of Tom Savini to be seen. I’d seen clips from the film since but
never sat through it again until this new release of the film from Blue
Underground. It may have been that I’ve matured over the years or that I was
watching it through different eyes. I found that the movie held up better than
I expected and was better than I remembered it.
The movie tells the story of Frank Zito (Joe Spinell), a
native of New York City abused by his prostitute mother at an early age who now
scours the city streets for victims to kill. Zito is indeed a serial killer of
the worst kind. This is because he not only murders the young ladies who are
his victims but he scalps them as well. He then returns to his apartment and
attaches the scalps to mannequins he keeps there.
Cruising Times Square back in the heyday of the grindhouse
era, when drug users, pimps and prostitutes vied for space on the sidewalks and
theaters ran terrible movies that allowed them all to do business there, Zito
is approached by a young prostitute. Agreeing to her price and checking into a
room he finds that he can’t function with her and in a rage strangles her. He
then proceeds to scalp her, all on screen.
A few days later he packs up a shotgun in a violin case and
heads out to find a new victim. This time he watches as a couple exit a local
disco and head down under the Verrazano Bridge. The couple (with the guy being
played by Savini himself) begin to make out and progress to sex until the young
lady sees Zito looking in through the window. Demanding that they leave Savini
turns on his headlights to see Zito standing in front of the car. He leaps on top
of the hood, raises his shotgun and literally blows off Savini’s head. (An
interesting side note is that Savini was doing the stunt and makeup here
shooting a replica of his own head).
The media is flooded with news of the killings but people
continue to live their day to day lives. Zito cruises Central Park soon after
and notices a young woman taking photographs. He learns that her name is Anna
(Carline Monroe) and finds her address. Pretending that she lost something
(which he actually took) he goes to her place to return it and they become
friends. But it isn’t long before his killing ways begin again and the question
becomes how safe Anna is with him.
When I saw the film years ago it just seemed like one
killing after another with no story beneath it all. This time around I realized
that there was one just not a typical surface story. Instead we were being
provided a glimpse into the mind of a serial killer. The story was written by
Spinell who had a fascination with serial killers. He did his homework here,
finding that most of the known killers at the time had mother issues and
applied that to the script. Several scenes in the film, including one where he
sees his mother reaching out from her grave as a corpse to pull him in, display
the emotional impact she had on him. This is a tortured character whose
background formed what he is today. While horrified at his actions there is a
certain amount of sympathy one feels for this character.
Made on a meager budget director William Lustig found ways
to shoot the film with more style than one would expect from a film named
MANIAC. Himself a New Yorker and a fan of the 42nd Street location
and era he used that spot for full effect. The area has changed dramatically
from what it once was, cleaned up and corporatized by then Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
The film captures the look and feel of that area for those who never saw it.
For me that offered another interesting feature to the film, a depiction of the
city of New York City that is totally unlike that shown by director Woody Allen
in the movie MANHATTAN released a year earlier. That these two version of the
same city coexisted is fascinating.
The movie is also a showcase for Tom Savini. I’ve heard
people who watch the film today talk about how fake it all looks but these are
people raised on CGI blood and gore. Savini did all what is seen her with
practical effects which is to say if you see it here it was done while it was
shot. In one of the extra he notes that the majority of them were done with
basic items he had in his kit. That’s amazing when you watch the film.
Blue Underground is doing this one right with an astounding
package here. To start with, like their release of ZOMBIE, they’re offering it
with two covers, at least one of which is a lenticular cover. Inside there are
three discs. One is the soundtrack of the film, the second is the movie itself
with a few extras and the third is jam packed with a number of extras. The film
itself is a 4k restoration from the 16mm negative of the film and it’s never looked
better.
The extras on hand here a numerous. They include an audio
commentary track with Lustig and producer Andrew W. Garroni, an audio
commentary track with Lustig, Savini, editor Lorenzo Marinelli and Joe
Spinell’s assistant Luke Walter, new MANIAC outtakes, NEW “Returning to the
Scene of the Crime” a short with Lustig revisiting the locations the film was
shot at, “Anna and the Killer” an interview with Munro, “The Death Dealer” an
interview with Savini, “Dark Notes” an interview with composer Jay Chattaway,
“Maniac Men” and interview with songwriters Michael Sembello and Dennis
Matkosky that answers the question was their song based on the movie, “The Joe
Spinell Story” a look at the life of the star, “Mr. Robbie” a MANIAC promo
reel, MANIAC publicity, MANIAC controversy (the film was nearly banned due to
the excessive violence), theatrical trailers, TV spots, radio spots and a
collectable booklet with a new essay by Michael Gingold. Wow. That’s a ton of
extras and will take you longer to sit through than the movie itself.
It’s nice to be able to revisit movies like this and
rediscover them through a new set of eyes. Our lives affect the things we watch
and there are movies we may have hated at one time or found little use for that
turned out to be much more than we remembered them being. This is one of those
movies. If you are easily offended or prone to nausea while watching gore
filled effects then you may want to miss this one. But for fans of the film and
horror fans in general this is one you need to pick up.
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