Runtime: 85 minutes
Directed by: William Lustig
Starring: Tom Atkins, Bruce Campbell, Laurene London, Richard Roundtree, Robert Z'Dar
From: Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment
Look at the size of those hematomas!
(Friday) night I at the last minute heard that The Last Drive-In on Shudder was going to show the first two Maniac Cop movies; as I haven't seen any of those, the late evening was spent with Joe Bob Briggs, Darcy the Mail Girl, Bruce Campbell, and William Lustig as special guests. In a few hours I will post my review of Maniac Cop 2.
A movie that involves Tom Atkins, Campbell, Lustig, Richard Roundtree, William Smith, Sheree North, Robert Z'Dar, a Larry Cohen script and two songs from David Carradine (?!) will of course sound appealing to me. It could have been something I loved... instead it was more a like but that is OK. In 2021, all the talk concerning the public not trusting police officers and fear that some are trigger-happy or violent goons... even Cohen might have not realized how prescient he was. Anyhow, someone in a cop uniform is murdering citizens, stoking fear among the general public. It's not long before those investigating realize this case has a supernatural bent.
It can be easy to criticize various aspects; I won't rip it to shreds as this was a B-movie good time which had various kills (even if they weren't the most inventive), some big stunts, memorable dialogue, a few sleazy moments, and a story which always intrigued. Personally, this set up its first sequel well and that was important as I feel Maniac Cop 2 did it better but I'll explain why tomorrow.
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