A lot of people hate this movie because of how violent it is. Sure, it's gruesome, but there have far more violent movies since its 1980 release. If you can look past the violence, this is a great movie. Maniac is a slasher/thriller, and if there's one thing slasher movies are notorious for, it's being crappy. This is one of the few slasher movies that actually bothered to try to be a good movie. And it excels in every category.
The story was original for the time, before slasher movies became really popular, and the script itself is truly disturbing. It centers around Frank Zito, a psycho who takes up killing women as a result of his tormented childhood. The characters are all fairly believable, but Frank in particular is horrifically captivating. The character development is spectacular, and we really get to see into Frank's mind, and it's a very disturbing look. Speaking of which, Tom Savini did the makeup for this movie, and he is excellent at what he does. The special effects and makeup for the deathscenes are very realistic, and most of them still hold up pretty well.
The cinematography is really nice, too. There's a lot of handheld and point-of-view shots, giving the movie and almost documentary-like feel to it at times. The score is really cool, too; it's a very creepy synthesizer-based score. The acting from the minor characters is decent, but Joe Spinell steals the show, being the main character and such.He looks and sounds like a regular guy most of the time, and that just makes him all the creepier.
Strangely enough, the ending is very bizarre and surreal, but it's fitting, given that the main character is mentally unstable, and we're not sure whether it's all going on inside his head or not.
Overall, this is a very unnerving, suspenseful, and downright disturbing movie. Highly recommended for those with a strong stomach and a taste for exploitation-type movies.
Quality: 4/5
Enjoyment: 5/5
IMDB Page- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081114/
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