Maniac DVD: Review By IrishBlood

Ahhh Maniac, the notorious little indie film that earned an X rating for it's graphic violence. The movie that was nearly universally panned as beyond moral value (Gene Siskel walked out after 30 minutes).

The same Maniac that continues to live up to it's legendary status amongst horror fans. The same Maniac that effectively hammered the last nail in the coffin of sleazy, nihilistic quasi-porn-horror that writhed around the underground grindhouse cinemas of the 1970s. Released unrated instead of with the original X rating it was granted by the MPAA, the film remains one of the most f*cked up horror movies of all time for a number of reasons. Here's two:

1) The Violence and Gore: Churned out for less than a million dollars (which is nothing in terms of film production, even in 1979), the special effects in this movie are top-notch for it's time, though maybe a little cheesy by today's multi-billion dollar standards. Still, Tom Savini's effects are so over-the-top, so bloody and so gruesome that it's hard not to cringe when people's heads are blown off in long drawn out slo-mo. Plus, it's not just that it was gross and bloody -there were far bloodier films out there - it's that it was so intense and malicious. The victims in the film don't stand a chance and are disposed of in such an expendable, care-free and detached way that it's just icky to be witnessing it. It's emotionless and disturbing.

2) The Lack of Statement: Writer (and lead actor) Joe Spinell and director William Lustig were not striving for art here. There is no social statement being made, no commentary on things. Maniac is designed to disturb and ruin your evening. If it's entertaining, you should wonder why. I do. This is what bothered so many people when it was released - it just seemed to be a spectacle that made you question yourself for spending money to see it. And no one likes to question things. This is why Bush was re-elected.

Spinell is so creepy, ugly and sleazy as the killer in this film, sweating, grunting and mumbling through the entire running time, that even without the blood and mayhem it would be scary. And scary it is. This is an intense film in many ways and the suspense is often hard to sit through.

There is, basically, no storyline in Maniac, hence no little synopsis for me to write. The acting is terrible, the dialogue awful and the set design and visuals cheap and amateurish. Some of this can be chalked up to the low budget, but some of it is just poor film-making. This just makes things all the more ugly and horrifying because that amateur feeling straddles the "snuff" line a little too closely for some.

So the question is, why would you want to see this? You might not. If you go to horror movies to get a thrill and have a laugh at the end, maybe this isn't for you. Maniac is, if I may be so bold, the kind of "art" that belongs in the same category as works by transgressive artists like Richard Kern and Nick Zedd. It's success lies in it's ability to shock and outrage.

Why see Maniac? Because you appreciate GG Allin, because you like Chuck Palahniuk, because you think Female Trouble is a great movie. But mainly because you think a horror movie should horrify you.