Whilst the blood 'n guts in a Romero or Fulcio horror is so OTT as to provide comedy value as well as shocks, the gore in Maniac feels so real (courtesy of Tom Savini in expert form) as to make the viewer feel uncomfortably like a guilty voyeur at the scene of something exceedingly nasty.

As an insight into a profoundly troubled mind and the shocking consequences of horrific childhood abuse (more hinted at than explained), Maniac also works pretty well. It cleverly treds the fine line between the viewer understanding what has made Frank Zito (Spinell) into the monster he became, whilst never sympathising with the appalling acts he commits.

Somewhat surprisingly for a low-budget movie in the gore-fest/video nasty category, Maniac is rather well acted. Spinell himself is scarily believable. The actress (sorry not sure of her name) in the extended toilet scene gives one of the most convincing depictions of utter terror ever seen. Whilst it is perhaps a little far fetched that anyone could fall for the dubious charms of Frank Zito, Caroline Munro plays a blinder as the beautiful, talented (if somewhat naive) photographer.

So, in my humble opinion, it is the sheer realism and honesty of Maniac that makes it work. On the occasions when it descends into more a supernatural horror style (including one scene in the cemetary ripped unashamedly from Carrie, and the final scene with the mannequins) its potency becomes diluted.

Enough quibling though. Fans of the genre will surely acknowledge Maniac as a very effective and truly disturbing horror movie.

The DVD is reasonably well-equipped. The remastered picture quality and sound are as good as you'd expect, the documentary about Spinell is fascinating and poignant, the director's commentary is insightful and amusing, and the critics' outraged reviews are hilarious.

Be warned though; you will probably feel like you need a bath after watching Maniac!

watchable
Review date: 2005-06-07 Rating: 6 out of 10

i actually liked this film,it has a simple plot,the main character is creepy but cunning...if u like seeing woman bumped off this film is for u..far worse and boring films than this..

Boring
Review date: 2004-10-02 Rating: 4 out of 10

This film has a lot of good reviews, which is what prompted me to rent this movie. Supposedly ultra-gory and with a great psychological perspective, I was really looking forward to watching this movie, but I hated it!!! I don't know if its to do with age, perhaps that this film just simply doesn't cut it for people of my generation, or if its just me, but I found the movie slow, boring, the gore to be a joke, the lead actor as irritating, and all in all about as scary as an episode of the teletubbies!

The main character, the "maniac" is this guy who stalks young woman and kills them, removes their scalps and takes them home with him so he can attach them to the many mannequins he has in his room. Lovely. However, although this sounds nice and gory, the special effects are so fake that I just spent those scenes laughing. I actually wasn't even sure for a minute or so whether or not the mannequins were actually supposed to be the bodies of his victims...I mean, the other special effects and props were so fake it was hard to tell for a while! Oops. You should see the "scalps" he takes home, they look like the kind of wigs you would fund in a child's dressing up box or in a cheap joke shop. Please! I mean I know it was the 80's, but there were better things at the filmakers' disposal than that! I really wonder whether or not the director is just having a joke!

I found the characters in this movie to be superbly annoying, the serial killer is very gross to look at, I know its shallow but I expect a little eye-candy in my cheap, sleazy horror flicks! But that aside he is also quite amusing. Its funny to see him going from totally crazy, rocking back and forth muttering incoherent dribble, to this suave, charming, artsy type when he is trying to win over the affections and trust of a young photographer woman. This young photographer is who I find to be most annoying though, I mean she doesn't think it's strange that a complete stranger just turns up on her doorstep proclaiming "you took a picture of me in the park. Can I come in?" Doesn't she wonder how the hell he found her address? What he wants from her, a total stranger? No, of course not, she invites him in and then agrees to go on a date with him.

Yes, that's the worst thing about the whole movie, not the fact that the special effects are really lame or most of the acting is rubbish, but the fact that the plot makes absolutely no sense at all! How anyone gets "a psychological insight into the mind of a serial killer" from "Maniac" is beyond me. It just seems like a bunch of random, idiotic scenes all jumbled together and topped off with the most spectacularly implausible and moronic ending of all.

But this is one of those films that's so bad it's actually quite good, and so if you feel like a laugh with your friends then I would recommend this film for you! It would also serve well in a drinking game. But if you are looking to be scared then look elsewhere. Also there are some slow points which you might want to skip through, such as the photography session scene. Although the music to that scene is pretty damn funny.

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