Review by John Beutler
Ya' know?? For a while there, I was worried...worried that this new incarnation of the uncompromisingly violent, brutal, perverse and grimy 1980 splatter horror classic, "Maniac", would suffer in much the same way as other attempts at making...or rather, remaking some of the more prominent and controversial '80's horror flicks (...like "Friday the 13th" and "Last House on the Left", for instance), in that the film would be newly rendered in what this viewer has previously & often termed as having a 'rustic slickness', which often tends to temper the overall tone of raw and visceral horror, notable in classics past. Well, I'm quite elated to say that this is not wholly the case, as the 2013 film, "Maniac" definitely exhues a most familiar, albeit slightly toned down and polished sense of dark, inner-city, back-alley filth and seediness...one of the aspects, which made the original film very uncomfortably irresistible to watch...though indeed, this new 'Maniac' definitely reflects a sense of higher production value, as compared to it's inspiration. That been said, the film...despite how respectably accomplished it looks, and how effectively the film unnerves and unsettles...DOES somewhat fail in ways that seem inevitable and unavoidable...in ways, which made the original film so alluringly embraceable...
Showing posts with label Maniac. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maniac. Show all posts
May 5, 2013
Movie Review: Maniac (2013)
Labels:
80s Slashers,
Elijah Wood,
gore,
horror,
Joe Spinell,
John Beutler,
Maniac,
remake,
William Lustig
December 27, 2011
Cinema Head Cheese: The Podcast! #28 - The Ghosts of Interview Past
As we close out the year, Kevin introduces some of the interviews from the earlier days of the podcast.Kevin interviews the director, writer and star of the cult hit The Room, Tommy Wiseau.
Lacey Paige interviews Hanger director Ryan Nicholson and Maniac Director Bill Lustig.
Jeff interviews three cult legends: Mink Stole, Kitten Natividad and Lance Henriksen.
Click here to listen or right click and choose "Save Link As..." to download.
Click on any of the links above to listen to the entire original episodes!
September 24, 2011
Movie Review: Maniac Cop (Blu-ray)

William Lustig's (Maniac, Uncle Sam) Maniac Cop has seen some very solid cult fandom over the years, which certainly makes it feasible that genre DVD specialists Synapse Films would tackle the feature for a new Blu-ray Special Edition. While not really a slasher film as the title may imply, Maniac Cop is more of a hybrid of action, crime-thriller and horror. The host of cult film favorites that make out the cast - Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead, Army Of Darkness), Richard Roundtree (Shaft), Tom Atkins (Night of the Creeps) and Robert "The Chin" Z'Dar (Samurai Cop, Tango and Cash) is enough reason for me to flip it on. Tom Atkins is the man here, and as close to a hero as you'll get in Maniac Cop. Sorry Bruce, we'll get to you later.
Buy Maniac Cop on Blu-ray
August 11, 2011
Movie Review: Bloody Reunion (2007)

It seems whenever I have the need for a quality, original slasher fix, I find myself exploring the cinematic body-count efforts from other countries . A few years ago, I'm sure many of you folks remember a vicious slasher film from France called High Tension, from director Alexandra Aja. High Tension was a film so truly "old school"- with it's unapologetic carnage and stand-out gore FX from Gianetto Derossi, that it surprised people like a backwards kick to the package. Like France, another area of the world that's beginning to make it's mark in the slasher sub-genre, is Korea. Thanks to Korea I've been exposed to yet another non-American slasher entry that makes many recent slashers here in the states, look like a Goosebump's episode. I know what some of you are saying ,what about Hatchet? Hatchet is a lot of fun… but IT'S a comedy!! Dae-woong Lim's, Bloody Reunion is about as funny as a baby in a blender and seriously gives High Tension a run for its money for being the best '80s slasher not made in the '80s, or in America for that matter. Tartan Video's, Tartan Asia Extreme line have added yet another "extreme" title to their library in the form of Bloody Reunion.
BUY BLOODY REUNION ON DVD
Labels:
2000s,
Asian Cult Cinema,
Bloody Reunion,
Jeff Dolniak,
Maniac,
slasher,
Tartan
January 7, 2011
Interview: William Lustig
Lacey Paige sat down with director William Lustig to discuss his career. The Blue Underground president and director of such influential cult classics as Maniac, Vigilante and the Maniac Cop trilogy talks a little about his adult film career, the state of genre DVD and of course his classic features.
Find William Lustig
on Amazon.com
Find William Lustig
Labels:
Blue Underground,
Interviews,
Lacey Paige,
Maniac,
William Lustig
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)










