Rating: 2.5/5
Hooptober 6.0 | 25/32 | Larry Cohen
Somehow, Maniac Cop returned.
Office Matt Cordell was framed, imprisoned, and brutally murdered by the very criminals he put behind bars. Seeking revenge on the police force that betrayed him, Cordell returned as the Maniac Cop to terrorize New York City. When fellow officer Sean McKinney finally cleared Cordell's name, he thought the terror would end. He thought wrong.
Several years ago, when I was learning what I liked about horror, I put this movie on as a joke in the background of a friend’s hangout. We got some mild chuckles but turned it off after a few minutes.
This movie became an Allan Smithee project because Larry Cohen’s script had a black lead, and the investors didn’t want that. Cohen wouldn’t rewrite without compensation, and the producers refused. The producers hired Robert Davi for the role, so Lustig cut the material that made no sense with a white lead, leaving him with under an hour’s worth of the movie. Lustig left when production forced them to shoot filler to hit an 85-minute runtime.
Of course, all this is word-of-mouth, but it’s still interesting. Also, it explains the absurd amount of B-roll of Maniac Cop walking around menacingly spinning his baton.
Robert Forster showing up was a delightful surprise. He’s on screen for, like, six minutes, and I loved every second.
Lustig’s a good director, and there is an entertaining movie buried in here.
The third act is the best part, with the flaming bride of Maniac Cop and the overlapping gun sound effects. And when Caitlin Dulany screamed, “I hate this!” And when she looks lovingly at Robert Davi as he lights a cigarette with a severed hand.