Written by that Lary Cohen jerk who forced the IT'S ALIVE trilogy down our throats and mildly amused us with Q: THE WINGED SERPENT, MANIAC COP isn't really that great a movie, but is a necessity when filling out your Bruce Campbell, Tom Atkins, or Richard Roundtree collections! Collect all 3 in specially marked boxes of Cap'n Cunt! Anyway, all three cult heroes appear in this movie. But, just as a little poison for your wine, William Lustig (MANIAC and UNCLE SAM) directs! HAHAHAHAHAHA... It all begins with a nice piece o' pussy as she beats the shit out of some guys attempting to mug her. This is followed by a cop breaking the chick's neck! He then proceeds to kill another guy, 'cuffing him, then holding him face down in concrete! Damn, with this dude, DWI gets you DOA! I mean, only 15 minutes into the flick, and already three random victims bite the big ass in the sky! After the papers release the news of the killer cop on the loose, the people get restless and paranoid, as even an old woman blows away an innocent traffic cop! But, finally, twenty minutes into the flick, we meet our hero/scapegoat: Officer Jack (Campbell), who I like to call Jack Officer. Or Jack Off for short, heh heh. Anyway, we meet Jack Off as he's being spied on by his wife. With all this "Maniac Cop" news out, she thinks that maybe Jack Off is the killer! Well, she finds out that Jack Off's not the guy they're looking for, but she does find that the guy's been sleeping around. The trouble starts though, when the real Maniac Cop kills Mrs. Jack Off and leaves her body in Jack Off's hotel room! So, of course, with the evidence and public unrest at a high, the fuzz points the finger at their fellow officer, Jack Off and lock him away. But, Malory (Jack Off's mistress) knows it wasn't him, and she employs the assistance of Officer Frank (Atkins) to get the real story. What they find is somewhat unsettling, as we discover that the crippled files clerk lady at the station is giving Maniac Cop info. On what? Well, turns out ol' MC was one of the few good cops left in the big city. When he tried to expose some corrupt political figures, he was wrongfully accused (like Leslie Nielsen!) of a heinous crime and stuffed in prison. While in prison, his naked, wet ass was stabbed to death in the showers by some of his fellow inmates. Then this guy named Dr. Gruber (as in the guy from the beginning of RE-ANIMATOR?!) sustains MC, "re-animating" him, despite severe brain damage. So, though a psycho now, he is able to hunt down those who wronged him. For some reason, MC kills his girlfriend (the files clerk) and throws poor Officer Frank out a 3rd story window! He then goes on to kill the corrupt Commissioner (Roundtree). In the chaos, Malory gets handcuffed to a cop, and the cop is killed. So, now she's running from MC with a corpse strapped to her wrist! She actually manages to evade him, until finally getting the cuffs off and escaping. MC now decides it's time to kill the dude getting the credit for HIS murders: Jack Off! So, Jack Off winds up cuffed to the back of a patty wagon, which MC hijacks! But, not to worry, cuz Malory's in hot pursuit, wielding a shotgun! After his shitty driving skills get him a pole impalement, MC drives off the pier, and into the bay, with Jack Off and Mal making it to safety. But, you can smell the sequel, as we see MC's hand rise up out of the bay, grabbing at a dock post. All in all not really a terrible outing. Nothing special though, even if it did have Campbell, Atkins, and Roundtree. Also, look for Mr. EVIL DEAD himself, Sam Raimi, as a reporter, and if you're truly H.O.P.E.L.E.S.S., you'll notice in the credits that MC was played by none other than Robert Z'Dar, "star" of RETURN TO FROGTOWN and MST3K episode #1004: FUTURE WAR! GWA-HA-HA-HA-AH-HA-HA-HA-HA! You suck Z'Dar.

Sequels: MANIAC COP 2, MANIAC COP 3: BADGE OF SILENCE

If You Liked This Flick, Check Out: A MAN IN UNIFORM or DARKMAN