Maniac
"I warned you not to go out tonight!"
A psychotic man, troubled by his childhood abuse, kills and mutilates young women and local models on the streets of New York City.
Top Cast
-
Joe Spinell
Frank Zito
-
Caroline Munro
Anna D'Antoni
-
Abigail Clayton
Rita
-
Denise Spagnuolo
Denise
-
Billy Spagnuolo
Billy
-
Kelly Piper
Nurse
-
Sharon Mitchell
Second Nurse
-
Rita Montone
Hooker
-
Hyla Marrow
Disco Girl
Overview
A psychotic man, troubled by his childhood abuse, kills and mutilates young women and local models on the streets of New York City.
Rating
6.4
/ 10
494 Reviews 1 Popular
1 Reviews
-
Wuchak5 Nov 14, 2025**_Joe Spinell as a fudged-up murderer in New York City_** “Psycho” started a subgenre of films about mentally messed up people who go on killing sprees. For instance, the ’70s brought us movies like “Haunts,” “The Toolbox Murders,” “The Driller Killer” and “Don’t Go in the House.” “Maniac” comes in the tradition of these flicks while adding bits from the Dirty Harry franchise, “Dawn of the Dead” and “The Warriors.” It’s gritty in its depiction of the sometimes repugnant underbelly of the city, but IMHO focuses too much on the killer stalking his victims, particularly, the nurse in the subway and, later, the model in her apartment. These sequences are tedious, and I found my mind wandering. The 2012 remake with Elijah Wood in Spinell’s role transplants the events to Los Angeles and is way more creative with interesting psychological elaboration. It's also more hypnotic and you find yourself developing sympathy for the nutjob, unlike here. Notables on the feminine front include Rita Montone (hooker), Caroline Munro (Anna) and Gail Lawrence (Rita) It runs 1 hour, 27 minutes; and was shot in The Big Apple in the last three months of 1979 along with the first couple of weeks of January, 1980. GRADE: C
Trailers & Clips
Recommendations
As he helps a young artist with her upcoming exhibition, the owner of a mannequin shop's deadly, suppressed desires come to the surface.
Maniac
6.0 2012
When aspiring model Jesse moves to Los Angeles, her youth and vitality are devoured by a group of beauty-obsessed women who will take any means necessary to get what she has.
The Neon Demon
6.5 2016
Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
Strange Darling
6.9 2024
Years after a terrible boating accident, Angela is sent to Camp Arawak where a series of bizarre and violent "accidents" begin to claim the lives of various campers.
Sleepaway Camp
6.3 1983
A masked maniac terrorizes the same small community where a murderer known as the Phantom Killer struck decades earlier.
The Town that Dreaded Sundown
5.8 2014
After witnessing a mysterious woman brutally slay a homemaker, prostitute Liz Blake finds herself trapped in a dangerous situation. While the police thinks she is the murderer, the real killer is intent on silencing her only witness.
Dressed to Kill
7.0 1980
After being shot in a toy store, a serial killer transfers his soul into a Good Guy doll. A mother then gifts it to her 6-year old son Andy, which unleashes terror upon the city.
Child's Play
6.8 1988
Crazed members of a sadistic family return to their childhood home to terrorize the new owners.
Mother's Day
6.5 2010
Grindhouse combines Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, a horror comedy about a group of survivors who battle zombie-like creatures, and Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, an action thriller about a murderous stuntman who kills young women with modified vehicles. It is presented as a double feature with fictitious exploitation trailers preceding each segment.
Grindhouse
7.0 2007
A man bumps into an old crush and becomes obsessed. After several failed attempts at winning her over, he kidnaps her and holds her captive underneath the animal shelter where he works.
Pet
5.9 2016