Maniac Cop Poster

Maniac Cop (1988)

Action | Horror 
Rayting:   6.0/10 14.4K votes
Country: USA
Language: English
Release date: 13 May 1988

A killer dressed in a police uniform begins murdering innocent people on the streets of New York City.

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80sHorror 11 March 2012

Maniac Cop has a very simple plot, in New York a man dressed as a police officer is killing innocent civilians. Jack Forrest is a cop and gets framed, the real killer is Matt Cordell, a cop who was sent to prison for brutality and ended up getting killed inside. Forrest, his piece on the side Theresa and detective Frank McCrea try to solve the case, before the maniac cop kills again.

The acting is really good for a cheap 80's horror, Jack Forrest is played by the legend that is Bruce Campbell. Campbell is one of the few actors that can make even the worst of films watchable, and makes any good film like this that much better. After the Evil Dead movies and possibly Bubba Ho Tep, this is Campbell's best work. Genre legend Tom Atkins is perfectly cast as McCrea, Atkins starred in some of my very favourite 80's movies including The Fog, Escape From New York, Creepshow, Night Of The Creeps and obviously this. He was also the main star of the underrated Halloween 3 Season Of The Witch, a film that would probably be quite well liked if they had left Halloween out of the title. Richard Roundtree who is better known as Shaft is good in a small role as commissioner Pike, Laurene Landon, William Smith and Sheree North give good support. Robert Z'Dar who looks like a real life Quagmire from Family Guy, is a huge man and is very effective as the supernatural Matt Cordell.

William Lustig the director of the classic and directed this film and it's 2 sequels. Part 2 is also very good, part 3 had a lot of voodoo nonsense but was still okay. Larry Cohen wrote Maniac Cop, he's also well known in the horror genre having wrote and directed a whole host of well known movies. There's several very small cameo's to look out for, Sam Raimi, William Lustig and strangely the boxer Jake LaMotta all appear. The bodycount is quite high, I believe it's 19. There's some blood and gore but not much. It's only a short film at just under 90 minutes, so it keeps up a relentless pace and never comes close to being boring.

It was made on a pretty small budget of $1,100,000, I assume with the cast and crew involved here that many took a pay cut to get it made. The music score is fantastic, it really helps to build tension. I love Maniac Cop and wouldn't hesitate to give at least 4 stars, but the DVD picture quality isn't great and it's a bare bones disc. Arrow Video are releasing it on blu ray late October 2011, if the picture quality is a massive improvement and they throw in some extras then it could very well be a 5 star disc. Highly recommended for any fan of slightly cheesy 80's horror, but i'd wait for the Arrow release if you're thinking of buying it. I'll definitely be double dipping.

ab-2 23 September 2001

Fmovies: Maniac Cop is one of the many low budget horror films I like. The movie focuses around Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell) who has been accused of a crime he didn't commit. Along with Frank McCrae (Tom Atkins) and Theresa Mallory (Laurene Landon), they set out to find the real person who committed the crime and that is none other than Matt Cordell (Robert Z'Dar) aka Maniac Cop. I really did like Maniac Cop. Yes the idea may be a little bit cheezy, but the way it was portrayed was great. I recommend this film to Bruce Campbell fans and people who like low budget horror.

10/10

lastliberal 3 May 2009

I saw the two sequels before I saw this and I am glad to finally see the one that started it all.

Robert Z'Dar is the Maniac Cop in all three, and he really has a creepy presence that will strike fear into anyone coming up against him.

Bruce Campbell and Laurene Landon play lovers that try to find out what was going on and catch the killer while being blamed for all the deaths themselves.

Richard Roundtree and Tom Atkins added to the excitement, but seeing Sheree North, who has been in so many TV shows and movies, was a treat.

It's mindless entertainment and just a lot of fun.

Peach-2 6 January 1999

Maniac Cop fmovies. Maniac Cop is a great exploitation film. It has some truly inspired moments. Bruce Campbell is great and the Maniac Cop himself is a worthy creation in the horror genre. Most people will avoid this and they shouldn't, because for the budget and limitations it's a great flick. Fix a nice big bowl of popcorn and enjoy a great horror cheapie.

psycho_153 10 January 2000

A good horror flick, not to much to dislike about this movie, some good performances, and an interesting killer. (shouldn't see the killer's face at the end, much more mysterious without seeing it) The story is Innocent people are being killed on the streets by a maniac dressed up as a cop who seems to have insider information to the police business. This monster of a man has to be stopped. All up a good watch, isn't the best movie but that's what makes it so good.

ma-cortes 20 April 2005

The movie deals about numerous murders executed by a policeman and being framed Bruce Campbell . He's imprisoned , but he breaks out helped by Laurene Landon . Tom Atkins is the inspector who must solve the awful and ominous killings .

The picture blends suspense , tension , shocks and a great lots of blood and guts. From the beginning until the end the action packed and terror is continuous . The final showdown between the starring and the hideous killer is breathtaking and overwhelming.

The movie had success and expanded second and third part : ¨ Maniac cop 2 ¨and ¨ Maniac Cop 3 : Badge of silence ¨. The three films were well directed by Willian Lusting and the screenplay written by Larry Cohen. The main and support cast is similar , thus acted : Robert Z'Dar , Laurene Landon and Robert Davi in 2ª and 3ªpart . The best one turns out to be the first installment . The motion picture is fast moving and the action-pace is correctly realized and for that reason isn't boring , neither dreary, but entertaining . The pic is classified ¨R¨ for the crude and cruel murders and is only apt for mature people, nor little boys or squeamish , so abound blood and violence . The picture is professionally directed by William Lusting , he previously directed ¨Maniac¨ with more rampage and extreme gore. The dark cinematography is full of lights and shades ; furthermore , the granulated and worn-out photography creates a frightening and scary atmosphere. The fable will appeal to gore and action movies fans . Rating: Average.

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