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Maniac

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45% Tomatometer 22 Reviews 58% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Childhood abuse triggers a man (Joe Spinell) to kill women and use their scalps to dress his mannequins.
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Maniac

Critics Reviews

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Jerry Renshaw Austin Chronicle Sep 16
The script's probings into the roots of his psychosis are a bit shallow, but Spinell was a criminally underrated actor and carried much of the movie on his back. Go to Full Review Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness 07/08/2005
B+
An unapologetically twisted study in pathological murderousness. Go to Full Review Vincent Canby New York Times 08/30/2004
Good sense, if not heaven, should protect anyone who thinks he likes horror films from wasting a price of admission on Maniac. Go to Full Review Patrick Cavanaugh The Wolfman Cometh Sep 11
5/5
Horror doesn't get sleazier, slimier, or sweatier than this, in all of the best ways. Go to Full Review D.M. Palmer Vague Visages 11/08/2023
...it also offers a more troubling variant of male rage; this time, the rage is empowered by the symbolism of the state, it wears the vestments of respectability... Go to Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com 07/30/2020
3/5
Spinell's performance and uncomfortable screen presence is what really makes Maniac memorable, not to mention some excellent make-up effects from Tom Savini. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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acsdoug D @acsdoug Jul 16 Lots of gore, plenty of that fake looking blood so prominent in older movies. That's it, just one murder after another. Not much of a plot or character development, so no suspense at all. See more Nick O Jul 6 A movie made for Maniacs…by Maniacs…about a Maniac. If you’re looking for a truly psychotic flick, look no further than this gritty New York slasher! See more Teddy B 11/25/2024 An interesting character study that is criminally underdeveloped. See more 10/10/2024 An interesting premise wasted on a terrible script, terrible acting and terrible direction. It reached a point of being so bad it became laughable. Even for 80s slasher standards, this movie was bad. The kind of movie that almost makes me wish that the killer would hop out of my screen and put me out of my misery. See more Sam G 09/22/2024 This movie made me feel dirty. It was like rolling my brain around in a pigsty. The images defiled my mind in the most grotesque of ways! See more Jay H 04/07/2024 Garbage in every sense of the word. See more Read all reviews
Maniac

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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William Lustig

Director

Joe Spinell

Frank Zito

Caroline Munro

Anna D'Antoni

Abigail Clayton

Rita

Kelly Piper

Nurse

Rita Montone

Hooker

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Maniac

Maniac (1980) Maniac (1980) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Childhood abuse triggers a man (Joe Spinell) to kill women and use their scalps to dress his mannequins.
Director
William Lustig
Producer
Andrew W. Garroni, William Lustig
Screenwriter
Joe Spinell, C.A. Rosenberg, Joe Spinell
Production Co
Magnum Motion Pictures Inc.
Rating
R
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 10, 2016
Runtime
1h 27m
Sound Mix
Surround
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