MAN BITES DOG Review On "Violent Maniac's Cage"

MAN BITES DOG

(1992, Belgium)

DIRECTED BY: Remy Belvaux, Andre Bonzel, Benot Poelvoordre.

Spectacular and very well done psuedo documentary on a serial killer. The killer acts like a normal everyday chap as he kills, kills and kills. There's lots of violence but the film is in B&W. The film is effective as we get a first hand look at the killer, his family and what he does along with who he knows. We see him get drunk, have weird dreams, act stupid and brutally shoot friends in cold blood for no reason. It's quite disturbing how the killer (Poelvoorde who also directs) hasn't any conscious. We see him posing as newsman doing a profile on old folks until he gets in an older ladies apartment only to shout at her and give her a heart attack which is a chilling scene"Granny Snuff, have you ever been snuffed out!?".

The inevitable ending is to be expected as throughout the film, the men following the killer with the camera equipment get picked off regularly. The film is both intense and masterful. It had me watching constantly and it didn't bore me for a second even during the slower parts. We see the killer lose his lunch and even go to a fancy art gallery to meet famous artists. The killer's philosiphy is that he goes after older folks because younger ones stink of poverty.

The filmmakers following him persuade him to hit suburban homes which turns out to be a big mistake. There's one amazing scene where the killer had disposed of all of his bodies in a river. The river had dried up and all of the remains were exposed. The killer gets thrown in jail, his girl dies, he escapes from prison and..................... A must see not your usual run of the mill flick.

Rating: 4 Skulls

Review by: Richard J. Taylor

Email: rtaylor@roadrunner.nf.net

This site is created and maintained by Violent Maniac < CMAYO@THEZONE.NET >