Maniac Cop
Review by Peter Syslo

This week I decided to stay in character and talk about another slasher film. I’m actually getting a little excited about the release of Halloween next weekend and about the upcoming Halloween holiday, in general. The spirit is in the air my friends and I’m starting to feel the love… for knife wielding maniacs, that is. Although, I think that I may have gotten out of hand the other night, while speaking to a friend about horror movies – I actually told him that I think Jaws is sort of a slasher movie (I know it’s a stretch but think about it…). At any rate, I recovered from that brief psychotic episode and I shifted my thoughts to Maniac Cop (1988).

Maniac Cop is directed by Bill Lustig and is written and produced by Larry Cohen. The movie stars Tom Atkins, Bruce Campbell, Laurie Landon, and Richard Roundtree - yes, that’s a hell of a combination of people. The movie is about a killer who is loose on the streets of New York City , and it turns out that this killer is a cop (he performs the murders in uniform). The movie quickly turns into a “whodunit”, as different police officers turn out to be suspects (the always interesting Bruce Campbell being one of them). The iconic Tom Atkins is there as the lead detective in the investigation and Laurie Landon is cast as the classic “damsel in distress”. As the movie moves forward, the officers involved try to clear their names, the killer’s identity is discovered (Rober t Z’dar made a pretty intimidating killer), and it ends with a final showdown that is in true slasher fashion.

I really did like this movie; I thought it was fun and very entertaining, mainly because it played with all of the elements of the traditional slasher formula while infusing some new elements into it, as well. The traditional “slasher-isms” are all present including: the mystery or “whodunit” aspect (you don’t see the killer’s “face” until the end); the “legendary” back story of the killer; the setting (NYC), which actually gives it a creepy feel (kind of like the dark, gritty atmosphere of C.H.U.D. or Robocop); and last but not least, you have the surprise ending - which is actually no surprise but it is fun to watch it happen. Along with these slasher stereotypes, some of the different elements that spice it up are: the exploration of helplessness and isolation within the big city; varying levels of betrayal – betwee n husband/wife, between mayor/police force, between fellow officers; and the fact that some of the killing/action does occur in broad daylight (which I admire, because I don’t think it is as easy to create true scares in the daytime setting).

All in all, it’s a fun trip back to the 1980s, when things weren’t so politically correct and people weren’t so uptight (it kind of reminds me of the action movies of that decade – Norris, Stallone, Schwarzenegger, etc.) Also, I think that the movie works well because it doesn’t try to take itself too seriously – I fear if it was made (by another director) in the 90s or now, it would probably have a whole unnecessary political subtext/agenda or it would be one long boring commentary on disrespect for law enforcement, blah, blah, blah. To sum it all up, if you are looking for something that is entertaining or if you are just a fan of 80s slashers/action films, watch the movie – it’s like getting a pizza from your favorite place – you know how it’s going to taste, but it still tastes so good and it leaves you feeling full.