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Maniac Cop
Maniac Cop
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Maniac Cop

Maniac Cop

1988
Suspense/Thriller, Crime
1h 25m
In New York, a man in a cop's uniform starts killing people for no apparent reason. (imdb)

Directed by:

William Lustig

Screenwriter:

Larry Cohen

Starring:

Bruce Campbell, Richard Roundtree, William Smith, Tom Atkins, Laurene Landon, Robert Z'Dar, Sheree North, Barry Brenner, Victoria Catlin, Nina Arvesen, Nick Barbaro, Lou Bonacki

Franchise:

Maniac Cop

Genres:

Suspense/Thriller, Crime, Action, Horror

Country:

USA

Language:

English
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Maniac Cop

1988
Suspense/Thriller, Crime
1h 25m
Your probable score
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer
Avg Percentile 36.57% from 470 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

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paxtonPaxton
Rated 04 Jun 2021
61
41st
Spoilers ahead: I could watch Tom Atkins try to figure out a plot for an entire movie. He was the king of solving horror plots throughout the early eighties and then Lethal Weapon kills him off in a cameo role and suddenly he's not good enough for the final reel? This is B-level stuff but it was enjoyable and I'm on board for at least one sequel.
Rated 04 Jun 2021
terrymacterrymac
Rated 12 Jan 2015
50
19th
The lurid Blu-ray cover isn't reflected in the surprisingly tame content (as these things go). Maniac Cop is mainly rubbish, but ultimately quite enjoyable - the cast helps: Smith (what a great voice), Atkins, Roundtree are all capable, and having Campbell square off against Z'Dar makes this like Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla, but with chins. It is all put together with a degree of competence to lift it above the normal exploitation level. Daft fun, but nowhere near horrible enough.
Rated 12 Jan 2015
jasongirl67Jasongirl67
Rated 26 Jan 2021
75
69th
I went into This Thinking It Was Gonna Be "Cheesy Bad" Schlock What I got was a Surprisingly Good Flick
Rated 26 Jan 2021
timecapsuleTimeCapsule
Rated 24 Jul 2017
70
65th
A star studded production of 80's B-movie all-stars came together to make a half-way decent cop/thriller. However maybe not as over-the-top as expected, the film still serves as fun cheesy horror. Bruce Campbell is delightful as always, but the film isn't anything without the iconic chin of Robert Z'Dar as the Jason Voorhees of the NYPD. A pseudo-documentary on police brutality and government corruption in the form of an 80's low-rent slasher.
Rated 24 Jul 2017
peaceanarchyPeaceAnarchy
Rated 14 Oct 2016
65
17th
This is strange in that the premise and budget scream low budget horror, but it mostly plays like a mediocre 80s Hollywood cop film. Like someone took a rejected script for studio movie and said, hey lets add this slightly supernatural twist and some gore and make it a horror movie. The result is something that is never good but never really bad either, just mediocrity with a few mildly memorable things to make it stand out.
Rated 14 Oct 2016
begoniabolbegoniabol
Rated 17 Dec 2012
67
55th
Pretty entertaining cop movie, with my hero and sexy Bruce Campbell (damn dat bodeh). Thought the concept was pretty good at the beginning and was surprised to see Mr Shaft himself. Sometimes some cheese, and pretty awful music but overall, like I said, entertaining
Rated 17 Dec 2012
billyshearsBillyShears
Rated 31 Dec 2011
55
27th
Tom Atkins mustache picture.
Rated 31 Dec 2011
eveeluneveelun
Rated 27 Apr 2008
65
30th
It's fun enough, I guess. The main problem is not so much the cheesy acting or silly concept, but rather that the film itself doesn't really know what it is. Supernatural monster movie? Political commentary? It kind of goes back and forth without really settling firmly in any place.
Rated 27 Apr 2008
iconogassediconogassed
Rated 02 Jun 2016
70
54th
Cordell's design, in tandem with the entirety of Z'Dar's astonishing head, is actually pretty creepy in a perverse-cartoon-parody kinda way, like something out of Dante's TWILIGHT ZONE segment, and there are enough offbeat character tics to nudge it through the dull shit. Along with Coombs, Atkins is probably the best actual actor of all those convention lifers, and his playing-up of his character's oddly neutered affect is welcome (and really the only choice for a hero here)
Rated 02 Jun 2016
djrossdjross
Rated 26 Sep 2015
30
12th
What if Michael Myers joined the NYPD? Presumably it was Larry Cohen who asked himself this question, which is an idea with potential, but the execution is weak. Sam Raimi has a cameo as a reporter. There is also a small role for Lustig's uncle, Jake LaMotta (but he knows he's no Olivier), who in 2013 got married for the seventh time, at the age of 91. That's entertainment. Joey died in 1991. Robert Z'Dar died in 2015. Watched because yesterday Refn announced a remake: John Hyams will direct.
Rated 26 Sep 2015
desertpunkDesertPunk
Rated 21 Mar 2014
58
26th
I can put up with a lot of bullshit if I'm promised Bruce Campbell. Let's leave it at that.
Rated 21 Mar 2014
kojilessKojiless
Rated 24 Mar 2013
14
14th
A poignant commentary on modern-day police brutality. Or not.
Rated 24 Mar 2013
barthalenBarthalen
Rated 22 Nov 2011
69
51st
Not too shabby. Sure, it's pretty cheap and silly, but at times actual quality shines through. It might not be over the top enough for gorehounds, though.
Rated 22 Nov 2011
coheedCoheed
Rated 17 Nov 2011
50
23rd
For a work involving James Glickenhaus, Cohen, Lustig and Campbell, this feels surprisingly pedestrian, especially since its story nearly goes into a fascinating tangent where the public could start shooting police officers out of fear they're the Maniac Cop. The final film is adequate, but considering the intelligent B-movies Cohen has made, and Glickenhaus' directorial work such as The Exterminator, a much more sleazier and fascinating film should have been made.
Rated 17 Nov 2011
moviesinhellmoviesinhell
Rated 04 May 2009
75
54th
Cohen, abetted here by Lustig, again displays his patented flair for taking a simple but solid premise and cleverly exploiting every story hook with wit and style. He also pens credible-sounding dialogue and has a great cast of B-movie veterans to deliver it: Atkins as the detective, Campbell as an honest flatfoot, Roundtree and Smith as police officials, and Landon and North as femme officers.
Rated 04 May 2009
ytadelYtadel
Rated 07 Mar 2024
6
70th
acab confirmed
Rated 07 Mar 2024
rihreyrihrey
Rated 17 Jan 2023
41
39th
I was expecting it to be just another trashy '80s slasher, and even though it kinda was there's something else to it, a certain charm. The script was definitely more developed than that of the average slasher of the era. It's obviously still a pretty bad movie, but it's definitely worth a watch if you're into this type of stuff. It's always nice to see Bruce Campbell on screen, too (not because he's good, he's just hot).
Rated 17 Jan 2023
indyatmnINDYATMN
Rated 19 May 2022
83
69th
Cohen seems to do genre on a budget better than anyone. He never seems to need T&A bc his writing's enough. He incorporates thematic elements that raise some cultural issues & his protagonists are more fleshed out & less cartoonish as well. There are some big contrivances here to make this story work (why don't Atkins & the girlfriend being attacked by the maniac clear Campbell of wrongdoing?) but I winced several times - in a good way. & the last third - wow! 1 big shock & amazing stuntwork!
Rated 19 May 2022
daxvDaxV
Rated 15 Oct 2021
62
38th
I expected more of a skeevy bloodbath but instead I got a well shot, mostly well paced pure 80s slasher. There are some undeniably great moments in this film, but I suppose I feel like it could've dug a bit more into either the gore or some of the social commentary that pops in from time to time. The end result is something that's somewhere in the middle overall. Everything is fit to the tone it's going for at least and it's got some charm to make it a little more than just a novelty.
Rated 15 Oct 2021
jschlanskyJSchlansky
Rated 22 May 2021
76
68th
Robert Z'Dar covered in prosthetic facial wounds looks no more strange than Robert Z'Dar with no makeup whatsoever.
Rated 22 May 2021
janusjanus
Rated 24 Dec 2020
90
94th
Imaginative and plenty scary, with a fun cast and perfect music. The second half is especially impressive, just one great scene after another. Cohen's script has a juicy theatricality that's ideal for the B-movie milieu, and despite the subject matter, it's still just a tiny bit funny; between this and The Stuff, he reminds me a little of Roald Dahl.
Rated 24 Dec 2020
rudakerRudaker
Rated 02 Jun 2020
60
57th
Cut Above
Rated 02 Jun 2020
yiannosYiannos
Rated 23 Sep 2017
50
26th
Cohen's blatant anti-authoritianism has resulted in some curiously oddball films that compensated for their formal crudity with sly social commentary. It's a shame then that Maniac Cop settles for being a rather rote Friday The 13th style clone that never really exploits the novelty of its unique premise. If Cohen directed it, perhaps it would have been more left field, but in Lustig's hands it's merely a competent stalk and slash with a foreboding atmosphere and a few well staged deaths.
Rated 23 Sep 2017
hotsakehotsake
Rated 27 Nov 2016
40
18th
The idea sounds really cool but the execution was that good. They play most of the movie like a regular low budget cop thriller before adding the twist. The problem with this is that Larry Cohen movies need to be over the top to work but this film is too restrained for it's own good. Hopefully the second one fixes this problem.
Rated 27 Nov 2016
nuotionuotio
Rated 18 Oct 2015
52
38th
Ok later entry in the slasher genre. It's still a bit underwhelming considering both director Lustig and writer Cohen have created better films. The concept is a cool one, but they don't really know what to do with it, and turn it into a standard mystery plot. There are some twists and turns along the way and a solid cast to keep you entertained, but it's still less than the sum of it's parts.
Rated 18 Oct 2015
pyrosexualpyrosexual
Rated 25 Nov 2014
70
30th
Pretty weak Bruce Campbell performance in this...
Rated 25 Nov 2014
ribcageribcage
Rated 25 Feb 2014
67
50th
If you're looking for a goofy B-movie to pass the time, Maniac Cop hits the spot. The whole movie plays out pretty much how you expect it to (with one major exception but I won't spoil that for you) and that's what I loved about it. Even watching it the first time, I felt like I was watching one of those movies that you know so well you pop it in on an afternoon just to relax and unwind.
Rated 25 Feb 2014
slantmagSlantMag
Rated 17 Oct 2010
20
41st
"Its execution sits perched well above its scummy aim, and the end result is that you feel guilty for wishing for something more perverted." - Eric Henderson
Rated 17 Oct 2010
aaaaaaarrgggaaaaaaarrggg
Rated 30 Aug 2010
57
46th
A watchable mix of slasher and action adventure cliches, with a clever script and a typically full-tilt performance from Atkins. The unexpected death of the film's most likable character and one of those annoying inconclusive endings do it the most damage.
Rated 30 Aug 2010
micahmicah
Rated 23 Apr 2009
60
37th
It's The Chin vs. a horribly-deformed Robert Z'Dar in this mediocre horror. The movie shines whenever the camera is on Bruce Campbell, who is energetic and entertaining. Look for a cameo from Sam Raimi as a wry newscaster.
Rated 23 Apr 2009
vandelay1Vandelay1
Rated 26 Jul 2008
49
50th
okay movie
Rated 26 Jul 2008
shmendrekShmendrek
Rated 03 Apr 2008
2
33rd
Meh, there was a decent stunt and some passable camera-work. This is a movie about cops, manias, and cops with manias, A.K.A. maniac cops.
Rated 03 Apr 2008
ksrivasksrivas
Rated 15 Nov 2024
10
14th
Hard pass, fuck this movie. I watched it drunk and it STILL sucked shit.
Rated 15 Nov 2024
leemarvinsleemarvins
Rated 07 Dec 2023
60
36th
ACAMC- All Cops Are Maniac Cops.
Rated 07 Dec 2023
moviecinemaMovieCinema
Rated 17 Jan 2023
60
48th
Pretty enjoyable for what it is, there are some nice scenes and the characters don't utterly suck, still nothing to write home about, but not a waste of my time
Rated 17 Jan 2023
spookymaskSpookyMask
Rated 08 Jul 2021
60
34th
What if Jason Voorhees got a job or something?
Rated 08 Jul 2021
driscarpindriscarpin
Rated 11 Jun 2020
74
51st
Tenho sérios problemas com slashers pois a maioria deles são mero entretenimento adolescente, mas exemplares como Maniac Cop que são mais adultos orientados com subtexto social (eu vi você, jovem negro entrevistado, dizendo que a polícia adora matar negros desarmados pelas costas) são um raro lufar de inteligência no subgênero e a gente não podia esperar menos de um roteiro do Larry Cohen. A única coisa que destoa é a questão de gênero, policiais supostamente fodonas berrando feito
Rated 11 Jun 2020
lonewolf2003Lonewolf2003
Rated 29 Mar 2020
65
29th
This could have been more interesting if the movie had done more with the subject of cop brutality turned extreme, f.e. by turning Maniac Cop into the extreme extension of the vigilante cop trope. Instead now this is basically just another slasher with a superhuman psychopath like Michael Myers, who happens to be a cop. A surprisingly fun and fast-paced slasher tho.
Rated 29 Mar 2020
hellboy76hellboy76
Rated 19 Jan 2019
54
18th
Its a shit film, but in that 80's schlock sort of way. Campbell is a highlight.
Rated 19 Jan 2019
jbynjbyn
Rated 11 Oct 2018
59
18th
It was a weird experience seeing young Bruce Campbell after spending so much time with him in Burn Notice, and this caused me to fear aging more than Maniac Cop. After the film was over, I summarized the basic plot points and felt it should have made for a good movie. To the contrary, the movie was instantly forgettable.
Rated 11 Oct 2018
picklemanPickle_Man
Rated 10 Oct 2018
70
35th
Good, breezy, fun, but it lacks the grime and scuzziness of the original 'Manaic'
Rated 10 Oct 2018
darrenDarren
Rated 28 Oct 2016
64
34th
Larry Cohen and William Lustig with Tom Atkins as a guest star in a movie that shows cops in their true form had me salivating. But I was pretty disappointed with this.
Rated 28 Oct 2016
seethruskinSeethruskin
Rated 20 Oct 2016
3
24th
It's like Halloween without the greatness. It's not bad and a very intriguing idea. Excited to see where the series goes.
Rated 20 Oct 2016
mrolivierMr.Olivier
Rated 23 Aug 2016
60
45th
Surprisingly disappointing given all the potential this had, & Z'Dar's face is criminally underused. Why keep that amazing mug in the shadows for the majority of the film?
Rated 23 Aug 2016
difontaineDifontaine
Rated 02 Jan 2015
55
20th
Needed more maniac and more Bruce.
Rated 02 Jan 2015
parexus2Parexus2
Rated 02 Jan 2014
68
14th
starts out okay but constantly gets worst
Rated 02 Jan 2014
abunchofcatsABUNCHOFCATS
Rated 09 Dec 2013
60
15th
So dumb yet so good.
Rated 09 Dec 2013
spokowapSpokoWap
Rated 04 Dec 2013
60
33rd
Pocieszne kino klasy B ;-)
Rated 04 Dec 2013
kramyessevKramYessev
Rated 24 Nov 2012
32
10th
The affair scene is hilarious. That's about it.
Rated 24 Nov 2012
glmglm
Rated 10 May 2012
44
10th
43.750
Rated 10 May 2012
oxbakeroxbaker
Rated 16 Feb 2011
60
38th
Frank Zito and Robocop had a baby that they didn't want to keep because he wasn't as cool as either. The last 20 minutes were fun.
Rated 16 Feb 2011
jerkyJerky
Rated 18 Oct 2010
40
23rd
What a waste of such a great title.
Rated 18 Oct 2010
michaelsykesmichaelsykes
Rated 26 Sep 2009
60
30th
The fact that Tom Atkins and Bruce Campbell aren't enough to make this film fun is very telling.
Rated 26 Sep 2009
irvinejumpirvinejump
Rated 30 Sep 2008
70
61st
Robert zdar rules in this...
Rated 30 Sep 2008
thedicemanTheDiceman
Rated 24 Feb 2007
30
9th
Poor.
Rated 24 Feb 2007
thedenizenTheDenizen
Rated 06 Feb 2007
65
51st
Bruce Campbell is pretty funny trying to prove that he isn't a psycho killer in this low rent gory slasher.
Rated 06 Feb 2007

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