William Lustig’s depraved classic Maniac was massively controversial when it was first released in 1980. It garnered the ultimate accolades for an exploitation film- it was HATED by Siskel and Ebert (Gene Siskel said he made it to the shotgun murder then had to leave the preview screening as he couldn’t stomach anymore!) and was picketed by feminist groups.

The film centres around serial killer Frank Zito who likes to scalp his victims and place the scalps on top of shop mannequins in his apartment. It’s also shown that he was a victim of abuse by his mother who later died in a car accident (did he cause this?) On the walls of his apartment are paintings of deformed children amongst other things (I’m loving his taste in interior design).

Tom Savini provides the special effects and does so with gay abandon. He also stars in the film (as a character called ‘Disco Boy’!) with explosive results.

Maniac isn’t just a great piece of sleazy horror cinema though. It’s also a snapshot of a time when New York really was very run-down, very dangerous and utterly crime-ridden. It feels more like a gritty documentary than a film made for 42nd Street.

The movie places actor Joe Spinell centre stage in the role of Frank. He gives one of the greatest depictions of psychotic psychopathy ever captured on film. Spinell can also be seen in Taxi Driver (he delivers the ‘You talkin’ to me’ line in Maniac) and William Friedkin’s masterpiece Cruising. An amazing actor. In fact, Maniac is in a long line of violent and grimy New York movies that show The Big Apple as being rotten to the core. This also includes the aforementioned Taxi Driver along with Driller Killer and The New York Ripper.

The film looks gorgeous. Check out the framing of the murder of the couple on the beach that opens the film. It’s exquisite. In fact, the film seems more like a giallo, an opera of blood, splattered brains and strands of hair.

The first time I learnt of the film was when I saw the poster for the movie in a copy of the French horror magazine Vendredi 13 in the mid-80s- a close-up of the killer’s midriff and crotch (which leaves nothing to the imagination), the words ‘I warned you not to go out tonight!’ written in spiky font, a knife in one of the psycho’s hands and a severed woman’s head in the other. Even the poster wound up in trouble and had to be censored in certain countries. When the poster was made into billboards, some disgruntled citizens chose to paint over them with white paint. Hence, a new poster that was plain black was rolled out, along with less controversial newspaper ads.

The film was rejected for cinema release by the BBFC in 1980 (this is very interesting. The Yorkshire Ripper was still at large in the UK at the time. Just imagine the furore if the film had been released) and again in 1998 for a potential VHS release. It was then cut for a DVD release in 2002. But worry not- Blue Underground, the director’s Blu-ray label have released an amazing transfer of the film.

Maniac is a great date night movie if your other half has as twisted a taste in movies as you. It’s also great to put on the movie if you want normal folk to leave your home really quickly. I imagine it’s also a fun flick to play at family gatherings to utterly shock your relatives. The possibilities are endless.

A sick, disgusting film that proves itself to be worthy of the hype. Highly recommended.

4.5 out of 5 stars