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Maniac! (1980)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 4.9/10
Reviews Counted: 13
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 8

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Release Date: Jan 1, 1980 Wide

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Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 6,137

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Movie Info

Joe Spinell, who appeared in Taxi Driver, stars in this unsavory horror film as Frank Zito, a character reminiscent of an even more disturbed Travis Bickle. Frank is an embittered loser who talks to himself and his dead mother, stalks a pretty model (Caroline Munro), and spends his spare time brutally murdering women. He then scalps his victims and puts the trophies on mannequins which he takes to bed with him at night. An unpleasant film with a relentlessly downbeat tone, Maniac! features

R, 1 hr. 31 min.

Drama, Horror

Directed By: William Lustig

Written By: C.A. Rosenberg

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1980 Wide

On DVD: Jun 30, 1998

Cast

Joe Spinell
Frank Zito
Caroline Munro
Ann D'Antoni
Gail Lawrence
Rita
Kelly Piper
Nurse
Rita Montone
Hooker
Tom Savini
Disco Boy
Hyla Marrow
Disco Girl
Sharon Mitchell
Nurse
Frank Pesce
TV Reporter
Candace Clements
First Park Mother
Randy Jurgensen
First Cop
William Lustig
Motel Manager
Carol Henry
Deadbeat
Joan Baldwin
First Model
James Brewster Thompson
Beach Boy
Abigail Clayton
Denise Spagnuolo
Linda Lee Walter
Nelia Bacmeister

Critic Reviews for Maniac!

All Critics (16) | Top Critics (1) | Fresh (7) | Rotten (9) | DVD (15)

the film about Travis Bickle that Travis Bickle would have made

April 15, 2011 Full Review Source: Film Freak Central

| Comment (1)

Walter Chaw

Film Freak Central

Today's horror movies barely register once the credits stop rolling, but not so Maniac.

February 16, 2011 Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix

| Comment

Alexandra Cavallo

Boston Phoenix

The release of this low-budget slasher classic and uniquely ugly horror experience on Blu-ray may be somewhat counterintuitive, considering its poor visuals, but it doesn't make it any less welcome.

November 8, 2010 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine

| Comment

Chris Cabin

Slant Magazine

...an underwhelming, uninvolving product of its time that simply possesses no relevance in 2010.

October 20, 2010 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews

| Comments (2)

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

A formidable New York grunge-flick through and through

March 13, 2010 Full Review Source: CinePassion

| Comment

Fernando F. Croce

CinePassion

Seen today, the movie has more in common with the grungy Times Square aesthetic of Abel Ferrara than with the multitudes of slasher flicks that followed it.

August 3, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com

| Comment

Rob Gonsalves

eFilmCritic.com

An unapologetically twisted study in pathological murderousness.

July 8, 2005 Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness

| Comment

Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

This old chestnut from 1980 is worth revisiting for fans of the nouveau 'old skool' horror films of today.

June 23, 2005 Full Review Source: About.com

| Comment

Staci Layne Wilson

About.com

Distasteful on every level and none to coherent either.

September 9, 2004 Comment

Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Best described as the diametric opposite of a refreshing shower, William Lustig's Maniac has long been reviled as one of horror's truly ugly films.

December 7, 2001 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide

| Comments (2)

Scott Weinberg

Apollo Guide

too good to be dismissed as simple exploitation, but also too inept in too many ways to be taken seriously

February 27, 2001 Comment (1)

James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Maniac!

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I would almost rate this as the best horror movie I've watched this season if it wasn't for the shlocky ending that sprinkles both sequel bait and betrays the psychological edge with cheaply phantasmagorical imagery like Frank's mother's corpse and the mannequins reanimating. Yes, the film earns its controversial

October 18, 2011

Cory Taylor

Super Reviewer

SIKO!!!!!!!!!!! Really bad film i think i can relate to the famous head blowing off scene but still... Good acting put terrible plotting and work. BTW GET INTO THE KILLERS MIND!!!!

July 18, 2011