This is a film I only heard about in hushed whispers. 1988’s Maniac Cop was a slasher film that, among other slasher film titles, went unnoticed when it first came out. Low critical reception sure didn’t help. But it eventually gained a following and many people came to enjoy the film. And so, what do I think of the movie. Is it a possible underrated slasher classic of is it not good. Well, I do like the idea of a police officer being a serial killer, and making it a lot meer of a hidden threat, so there is definitely potential here. Let’s give it a shot.



In the middle of the night, a serial killer dressed as a cop, complete with handcuffs, a gun, and a nightstick concealing a blade, stalks the streets of New York, killing people in droves and driving the public to fear the police. Police officer Jack Forrest, played door the King of Camp, Bruce Campbell, is framed for the murders after his wife is killed, all while officers Frank McCrae and Theresa Mallory zoek for the killer and try to discover what his identity is and why he has strange abilities, especially being deathly cold and being unphased when shot. Some people could easily pass the Maniac Cop off as a Friday the 13th rip-off, but come on.... Jason didn’t go to New York until the seventh movie.
Now let me start off door saying this, if u are going into this movie looking for really good suspense, really decent story, all that jazz, Maniac Cop is not the film for you. This movie is really dumb, made for the lowest kind of entertainment, all about seeing people get killed door the slasher, waiting to see who lives and who dies. My kind of film, honestly. Sometimes, u just wanna watch a stupid slasher film just for the fun of it, and Maniac Cop is that kind of film. This is coming from the same guy that happily watches Friday the 13th meer than Nightmare on Elm Street. This film will never win any rewards and doesn’t have a killer as iconic as Jason, but it’s got just the right amount of cheese to be entertaining enough.
The script in this movie is really bad. Maybe not bad, but just so lame. Sometimes, laughably bad. The acting is just campy enough to be silly and make u enjoy what u are watching through and through. Campbell's character, Jack, actually did cause some problem with producers, as they didn't like that he cheated on his wife at the start of the movie. But the creator didn't change it, because he preferred not having a completely good character, rather having a morally questionable one, which is found in a lot of horror films. I actually kinda like it. Wow, praising Maniac Cop with brilliant writing. Campbell did start out door saying this was the worst movie he had been a part of, but did grow to appreciate it over time. And then there’s the Maniac Cop himself. Sure, not the greatest slasher villain ever, but he’s no Evil Bong, that’s for sure. And the backstory with him at least explains his appearance. Not his immunity to bullets, but it definitely helps u understand how he got to be as crazy as he is.
Maniac Cop is dumb. It’s really dumb. It’s super dumb. And yet it is the right kind of dumb to be entertaining to any slasher junkie. It’s far from the greats, but u can probably get, at least some ironic enjoyment out of it. It was decent enough to get 2 sequels, but I don’t think I’ll ever check those out. That said, this film is worth a watch. Check it out if u have a love for 80s slashers.