Blu-ray Review: MANIAC COP - Bruce Campbell's 80s Slasher/Police Thriller

By Stuart W. Bedford / October 26, 2011

rating: 3.5

I have to admit, I€™d never watched Maniac Cop before settling in to review it; in fact I received it by mistake one morning (there are enough Stu€™s and Ste€™s currently writing for WhatCulture! that we€™re easy enough to mix up). It had only been at the front of my mind for a few hours before a friend brought it up as one of his favourite movies and so it was with a sense of fateful intrigue that I entered into the experience. One of the latest offerings from cult label Arrow Video, prized for their re-touches of old classics, Maniac Cop (directed by b-movie specialist William Lustig) comes back from the dead with a shiny new HD overhaul. It€™s got that special brand of eighties title, the kind that does exactly what it says on the tin €“ I€™ll give you three guesses as to what the basic plot entails, but I worry if it takes that many. When a uniformed police officer starts killing innocent civilians on the streets of New York at random, it€™s the standard race against the clock for Detective Frank McCrae (veteran gumshoe actor Tom Atkins) to stop him before he kills again. In a parallel sub-plot, troubled cop Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell) is framed for the murders and must discover the identity of the Maniac Cop in order to prove his innocence. There€™s an amalgamation of genres at work here; it€™s one part slasher movie and one part cop thriller. The Maniac Cop himself takes on the properties of some of the more established movie killers a la Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees, in that we never see his facial expression (at least until the climax), a shadow of emotional ambiguity always covering his face €“ is it rage, sadism€“ we just can€™t tell. He also never runs only walks. This gives him a further edge of calculated dominance; he doesn€™t need to run, he€™ll catch you anyway. The interwoven cop thriller conventions throw a few interesting elements into this tried-and-tested mix, but never really take us far enough from well-established slasher clich這s for Maniac Cop to be considered original or even particularly fresh for its time. Maniac Cop depicts New York in a chokehold. With marauding criminals prowling the back alleys and a homicidal but unidentified police officer slaughtering the innocent, its citizens are besieged from all angles. I probably found this to be the most interesting concept explored here. Every element of society wars with the other; criminals rob people, a psychopathic murderer kills at random, the cops suspect innocents while the innocents suspect cops €“ and don€™t get me started on the Mayor. It€™s definitely the crime thriller sensibilities at work, and it attempts (although doesn€™t quite nail it) to swerve our attention away from the fact that the actual antagonist €“ one Mr M. Cop - isn€™t anything particularly new to the saturated slasher genre. I was excited to learn of Bruce Campbell€™s presence in the movie. I mean who didn€™t love him in Evil Dead and since then he€™s developed into something of a cult figure. Disappointingly though, he€™s never given a chance to flex his comedic biceps in Maniac Cop - the film takes itself deadly seriously despite its inherent kitschiness. That€™s not to say he€™s terrible though, in fact he holds his own as the brooding, adultery committing cop-in-distress without too much competition from the rest of the cast. Tom Atkins gives his standard performance as the put upon detective, a suicide attempter with an unshakeable desire to catch the killer and Laurene Landon gives a suitably screamy turn as Theresa Mallory, Jack€™s only alibi for his whereabouts on the nights of the murders. Although Maniac Cop never breaks any moulds, at the same time I found it hard not to enjoy. I can certainly see its appeal to those who appreciate b-movie charm; its plot is never all that logical to begin with and by the end it descends to a point where logic ceases to factor in - we know it, the director knows it, the actors know it and you know what? It doesn€™t matter. If you€™re considering buying a movie entitled Maniac Cop, then I have inkling that logic isn€™t exactly what you€™re after. Never for a second does it forget what it is: a b-movie about an insane, unstoppable cop. From its title alone it promises nothing more and nothing less than this and if you buy this Blu-ray release, that€™s exactly what you€™ll get.

Quality & Technical Specifications

Maniac Cop has a gritty, VHS quality even to the Blu-ray release but I€™m not exactly bringing this up as a criticism. Many who purchase this will no doubt already know what they€™re buying (and will most certainly have watched it on VHS); the transfer is nothing if not faithful to the assumed audience€™s primary experience of this movie. It€™s all presented of course in full 1080p, in its original cinematic 1.85:1. It boasts a boosted resolution than previous incarnations and while detail and colour clarity isn€™t the sharpest you€™ll find on Blu, it€™s still a notable improvement on the original home-video releases of this rare cult hit. In short, it€™s gritty, it€™s dirty and it€™s rough but that€™s why you loved it in the first place, isn€™t it? With powerful DTS-HD MA 6.1 lossless audio, Maniac Cop lays out a rich, diverse audio mix that while not exactly pushing the limits of the track certainly uses the provided spacing well. Ambient soundscapes are crisp and realistic and dialogue is all well placed in the mix. Sometimes the scoring can come across as a little overpowered at the expense of overall clarity but it€™s only on a few occasions and it never really detracts too much from the aural experience of the film.

Special Features

Doomed Detective: Tom Atkins on Maniac Cop (HD) This is an extended interview with actor Tom Atkins on his experiences surrounding Maniac Cop. It€™s a little dry for my tastes and the actor himself comes off as a little arrogant in places. He€™s also placed at the start of the movie by way of an €˜exclusive introduction€™, which does little more than give away a plot spoiler. It does reveal some intimate details however and thanks to the documentary style clip montage built around it, (as well the fact that it€™s actually in HD) it manages to justify its worth as an extra feature. Laurene Landers Remembers Maniac Cop (SD) This is more of the above really, except replace Tom Atkins with the films heroine Laurene Landers. It too gives moderate level level of insight on the film, but also Landers manages to come off as slightly arrogant (it could be a b-movie actor thing). Nevertheless it secures its worth in a similar fashion by divulging information we probably couldn€™t get anywhere else. Scripting a New Slasher Super-Villain: Larry Cohen on Matt Cordell This is probably the most interesting interview on the disc; writer Larry Cohen talks about his involvement in the process behind Maniac Cop and the inception of the movie€™s antagonist. Again, it just about justifies it presence here but this is standard interview number three and by now it€™s starting to get a little old. Two Theatrical Trailers A couple of your run-of-the-mill original trailers for Maniac Cop. T.V Spot In a nutshell€ (ratings out of 5)

Film: 3

Maniac Cop has a certain indefinable quality about it that makes it easy to enjoy, but it€™s far too nonsensical in places to be considered great even by b-movie standards. No doubt though, if you€™re reading this review you€™ll already be sold on the movie and for those of you out there who are, this Blu-ray release will most certainly satisfy your expectations and then some.

Quality: 3.5

It€™s not exactly a pretty transfer, but it€™s not intended as a pretty movie. Nevertheless it remains true to its original aesthetic; grain is abundant and colour is a little murky at times but its boosted resolution, while not producing the clearest of definition, infinitely enhances the original experience. The audio mix is satisfying, with the ambient soundscapes of New York streets and busy precincts feeling rich and realistic, and the dialogue ringing through the eighties suspense soundtrack for the most part without issue (although it can get a little muggy when action hits its extremes). It€™s not the greatest audio/visual experience on the market but fans of the movie will no doubt be pleased enough with the semi- classy treatment that their old VHS favourite gets on Blu.

Presentation: 4

I€™ve watched an innumerable of low budget b-movies on DVD and Blu-ray over the years, and they€™re never usually presented as well as this. Arrow Video are on the ball with how they present their re-releases and Maniac Cop is no exception. The newly commissioned artwork that forms the box cover and internal disc menu are fantastic, and the nifty drop down menu (which appears in-movie to avoid returning to the discs root menu) all works really well. The only gripe I had was that the music played over the menu €“ the central theme of the film €“ only plays for around twenty seconds before it cuts off mid-note and loops around to begin again. This is minor though for as b-movie Blu-ray presentation goes Maniac Cop is definitely one of the good guys.

Special Features: 3

There are a decent amount of features here clocking in at a respectable 35 €“ 40 combined run time, but it€™s just not all particularly interesting. There are some gems of insight to be found throughout but Arrow hasn€™t exactly pushed the boat out in terms of special feature creativity. Most notably lacking is any sort of interview with Bruce Campbell himself (something which I myself was certainly hoping for) and any sort of commentary track whatsoever. The feautres on offer here aren't all that great in truth, but hey, they're way better than most other Blu's of its creed.

Value: 3.5

As I€™ve mentioned, if you€™re considering this one, you probably already know the movie and are committed in your mind to buying it. And it wouldn€™t necessarily be a bad decision €“ it€™s listed on the press release sheet as having a top range price-tag, but you€™ll drop it down to the mid ranges if you shop around online. Arrow have paid just enough attention to the various elements of this Blu to make it just worth the amount you€™ll pay for it, providing you€™re a fan.

Overall: 3.5

Maniac Cop€™s European Blu-ray release is a must own for baptized fans, but maybe only worth a rental to the more casual film-goer. It€™s not going to impress tweenage Michael Bay fans for example, but it will certainly retain a large portion of its nostalgic charm for those who saw it around its release. Despite its eventual descent into the illogical it still manages to remain a solid, entertaining slasher/police thriller throughout. A side note from the author: The friend of mine mentioned in the opening paragraph of this review (the one who professed Maniac Cop as one of his favourite movies) is Merseyside based music producer Doc Horror. He actually loved this movie so much that it inspired him to produce a fourteen track Death Trip Hop album dedicated entirely to Lustig and Cohen€™s infamous slasher picture. This album can be accessed for free by simply following this link:

http://soundcloud.com/maniac-cop/sets/maniac-cop

Maniac Cop is out now on Blu-ray.