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Maniac Cop
Theatrical release poster for Maniac Cop
Directed by	William Lustig
Produced by	Larry Cohen
Written by	Larry Cohen
Starring	Bruce Campbell Tom Atkins Laurene Landon Richard Roundtree Robert Z'Dar
Distributed by	Shapiro-Glickenhaus Home Video
Release date(s)	May 13, 1988 (U.S.)
Running time	85 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1,100,000 (estimated)
Gross revenue	$671,382 (USA) (sub-total)
Followed by	Maniac Cop 2

Maniac Cop is a 1988 action/horror film directed by William Lustig and written by Larry Cohen. The film spawned two sequels, Maniac Cop 2 (1990) and Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence (1993).

Plot

Innocent people are being brutally murdered on the streets of New York City by a uniformed police officer. As the death toll rises, Detective Frank McCrae heads the investigation. Jack Forrest, a young cop, finds himself under arrest as the chief suspect. He and his girlfriend Theresa, along with McCrae then set out to solve the mystery before the Maniac Cop strikes again.

Cast

• Bruce Campbell - Jack Forrest
• Tom Atkins - Frank McCrae
• Laurene Landon - Theresa Mallory
• Richard Roundtree - Commissioner Pike
• William Smith - Capt. Ripley
• Robert Z'Dar - Matt Cordell (aka Maniac Cop)
• Sheree North - Sally Noland

Music

Jay Chattaway's score was released on LP in 1988 by Phoenix Records.

Track listing

1. "Main Title"
2. "A Night in the Park"
3. "Flashback Montage"
4. "The Chase"
5. "Morning Train"
6. "Face Down"
7. "Sally's Drive"
8. "On the Ledge"
9. "Splash Dance"
10. "Epilogue"

Release

The film was first released on DVD on April 8, 1998 by Elite Entertainment but it did not include any special features or even the option of subtitles. Later, on November 14, 2006 a "special edition" DVD was released by Synapse Video. This version includes the film restored and re-mastered in proper DTS surround sound.

The film was mostly panned by critics at the time of its release. Critics noted that the filmmaker did not do anything interesting or unexpected with its high concept plot.^[1][2]

Notes

1. ^ "Maniac Cop Review." Variety. 1988. 7 May 2009.
2. ^ Harrington, Richard. "'Maniac Cop' (R)." washingtonpost.com. 4 June 1988. 7 May 2009.

External links

• Maniac Cop at the Internet Movie Database
• Maniac Cop at Allmovie
• Maniac Cop at Rotten Tomatoes
• ManiacCop.com