Maniac Cop (1988)

I don't find it all that shocking that William Lustig has been out of the film directing biz for over 20 years now, seeing as how he so completely made his mark with his (non-porno) debut, "Maniac". It's one that I won't hesitate to call my absolute favorite slasher film of all time and nothing Bill has done since could stack up to the raw, depraved excellence of that masterpiece, mainly because it's obvious that Joe Spinell was the driving force behind the film's greatness. On AND off screen. "Maniac Cop" - a movie that I've had on the 'to watch' back burner for a long time - just came across as stagnant slasher tripe to me...

A shadow-shrouded lunatic in a police uniform is making his way around the mean streets of the Big Apple after dark, murdering innocent people at random. None other than Detective Tom Atkins is on the case as city residents are beginning to lose their trust in the 'boys in blue', not knowing if they're being confronted by the sadist cop. Officer Bruce Campbell ends up taking the rap when his wife is killed after catching him screwing around on her, so it's left up to him and his mistress to uncover who the sinister pig is and why he's prowling the grungy streets with such an insatiable bloodlust...

The initial concept is decent enough, but it's just that not much is done with it. It plays out like your run-of-the-mill 80s slasher fare, just without any real energy or interesting ideas to go along with a relatively cool looking killer. The mystery aspect surrounding him is eventually spoiled heavily with too much emphasis on the 'maniac cop's' back-story and a bit of a cornball ending. What I found actually worked with "Maniac Cop" was definitely the urban cesspool, pre-Giuliani New York City 'vibe' that we saw in 1980s, "Maniac". That shit always works - making you almost wish New York was that fucked up again just for the sake of urban-set cinema. Still, I didn't find much all that 'stand out' with "Maniac Cop" as a whole. Unmemorable kills, bland structure and dull plot.