Maniac (1980)
 

Watched 'Maniac' again recently - and thought it really is a very good little film certainly bearing repeated views. Best bit for me has to be when Tom Savini gets his head blown up - much better than Scanners!

Joe Spinell vanity project it may well be, but this alongside 'New York Ripper' are amongst my favourite New York movies - over and above something more respected like 'Taxi Driver', I really feel these films capture the seedy filth of New York at that time.

Bought 'The Last Horror Film' (a.k.a 'The Fanatic') on Ebay for ?2 thinking it may be worthwhile, it wasn't. This was the rush follow up to Maniac starring Joe and Caroline Munro. I'm yet to see the official Maniac 2: Mr Robbie, but I'm a bit scared to now - anyone else seen it?

"Maniac 2" never got completed due to Spinell's untimely death.
There's only a promo reel featuring on some of the Maniac laserdisc and DVd releases. It looks like a vastly different type of movie, might have proven worthwhile...but sadly, we'll never know.:(

The Fanatic was a horrible experience for me. An absolute stinker of a film. Which releases have the Mr. Robbie promo reel? To my knowledge the only one in the UK or US to have it is the Elite disc. Thankfully I found that one for cheap earlier this year.

The ABUS DVD includes the Mr Robbie promo reel - it's part of the longer documentary and not as a standalone feature, but it's definitely on there. That's why I got shot of the Elite disc when I upgraded to the ABUS release.

Maniac is a definite favourite of mine - thoroughly and unapologetically nasty. It's a fascinating case study of a man going over the edge.

I 'm a fan of Manaic, though I also enjoyed The Last Horror Show.
Its been a good few years from i've seen it though so im not sure what i'd make of it now, but at the time I saw it , I liked it enough for a few repeat viewings.

It's featured as a standalone extra on the "Another World" SE DVD.

MANIAC 1980 William Lustig
 

hi all,me again!
i own maniac,think its the 2 disc version,will check!
what are your thoughts on this so called nasty?
i thought it was o.k,but was expecting a lot more!especially as i think it was banned!
now dont get me wrong,there is some good scenes in it,like savini getting his head blown off!class!great effects,but should have been shot in normal time then slow mo?
was part 2 ever made? think was called mr.robbie or something?
got some good extras though and a great cover,so good plottdigger used the same style cover on there gutterballs!:eek:

Mr Robbie is a short film made by Buddy Giovinazzo. I heard that it was supposed to be shown to investors to raise funds for a feature length Maniac 2 but Joe Spinell died before it could be made.

This along with all of Buddy G's ace short films are avaliable on the 2 disc anniversary edition of Combat Shock, which is one of my favourite films, if you havent seen it it's really worth a look.

Combat Shock is a real hoot alright!!!!Great film just one of the bleakest movies ever.


Maniac is brilliant. Spinell's is one of the great horror/sleaze performances ever and Savini comes up with the goods as usual.

One of the sleaziest films ever ever ever!
I freaking love this movie.

I've been craving a revisit for a long time, and this is the weekend to do it.