Every once in a awhile a movie comes along that has a very simple effect on me. Maniac Cop was one of them. I thought it was OK. I could really end the review there. 

Maniac Cop is a 1988 horror film that stars Tom Atkins, Bruce Campbell, and Laurene Landon in the most non-groundbreaking performances of their lifetimes! My main concern was to see as much of Campbell being Campbell as possible- and I was let down! The Evil Dead actor isn’t in a large chunk of the movie despite filling the role of the young hero and I was left longing for more by the end. The film eventually takes a turn from horror into semi-comedic action with an obnoxiously long car chase sequence, which I thought was a bad choice. I did like Tom Atkins’ character a lot and thought he would be a good role model for the kids (thumbs up!).

The film had a surprisingly deep back story. It kept me awake with a few twists and turns and surprise death scenes. The villain [SPOILERS] is revealed to be Quagmire in a police officer’s uniform. Seriously, his chin puts mine to shame. Once they show the first close up of the Maniac Cop in full lighting I thought, “Oh. That’s it? OK.” The kills were pretty creative and the last scene was incredibly cliche, but I guess that was the standard for that era.

All in all, Maniac Cop was mediocre at best, but it is still worth a casual view. One night, when you’re stoned out of your mind and you’ve pet all the fur off of your cat’s back,  pop in Maniac Cop and enjoy. I give Maniac Cop a maniacal 3 bloody batons out of 5!

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“I looooove taking face-first cement dives while construction workers are jackhammering. God I’m drunk!”