Maniac Cop 2: O Vingador

Slasher / horror films throughout the 1980s were a big thing in its time. Many popular icons arose from that decade of which many still resonate with fans today. Several moviegoers remember the mainstream villains but there are also groups of people that remember the lesser known ones too. Of those, William Lustig's Maniac Cop (1988) was one of them. Although the concept itself borrowed ideas from past films like Halloween (1978), the idea of having a killer cop on the streets causing hysteria among the citizens of the local police force was rather inventive. The premise of corrupt cops has long been used before in movies, but an undead cop was another story. The other component that made it captivating to watch was that it played out like a mystery thriller. The maniac cop wasn't actually figured out until much later in the movie, which helped build tension to the reveal. And like any other successful movie opening, a franchise was created. Let's see how it holds up.

Larry Cohen (the writer from the original) pens the continuation of the story. William Lustig also returns in the director's chair, yet there are noticeable problems, this time a little more than the first. As it was revealed at the ending of the first movie, Matt Cordell, the maniac cop (Robert Z'Dar) is alive and returns to exact his mission. The only people who still believe he's around are the cop from past events Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell) and Teresa Mallory (Laurene Landon). Unconvinced of what they say, their captain, Edward Doyle (Michael Lerner) sends them to cop psychiatrist Susan Riley (Claudia Christian). Instead, Forrest and Mallory work to persuade Riley that Cordell exists. The only other person to think their actually telling the truth once he starts to see the puzzle pieces align is Detective Sean McKinney (Robert Davi). This is fine for a premise, but as soon as this is set up Lustig and Cohen add extra unnecessary elements.

Cohen and Lustig's biggest mistake was mixing in an assistant to the maniac cop. Leo Rossi plays a serial killer named Turkell and he ends up teaming up with Cordell; to a point where he can communicate with him (via one-sided conversation). This would have been much more entertaining if Rossi wasn't so over the top in his performance. There's actually more focus put on Turkell than Cordell at certain points. This movie is called Maniac Cop 2 (1990) right? Also at one point, Turkell asks Cordell about his past and viewers are given the exact same flashback from the original Maniac Cop (1988) film. Even another jail mate named Blum (Clarence Williams III) joins Turkell and Cordell, but has very little significance. This is all just padding, it's not story telling. Lastly, there's a rushed subplot about some inside conspiracy dealing with Cordell and his death. The problem is that it comes from nowhere so abruptly; it's confusing as to why Cohen didn't mention it in the original movie script.

Among these problems, everything else is commendable. The cast can all act well together. Bruce Campbell and Laurene Landon are still believable in their roles, Robert Davi and Claudia Christian make nice additions and there are a number of other actors that have small roles. Charles Napier, Danny Trejo, Marco Rodriguez and even Sam Raimi make quick appearances and it's enjoyable to see that. Robert Z'Dar as the title character continues to intimidate with his stature and presence. It's still confusing as to why nobody ever thinks of shooting Cordell in the face though. Everyone aims for the abdomen; not the face, why? For violence, nothing is seriously gore heavy but there are still some good kills. There's even a scene with a chain saw that may catch people off guard due to what's expected. One thing's for sure, the maniac cop loves snapping necks. Cordell's face is much more hideous this time too. There was only one scene though where it looked like a cheap mask.

For cinematography, James Lemmo handled the camera-work. Lemmo was also the cinematographer to director Abel Ferrara's Ms. 45 (1981), Fear City (1984) and also to the original Maniac Cop (1988). Like the first movie however, there are very few (if any) daylight scenes. It's fine to show night time, but it gets a bit difficult to see things when everything is shrouded in the dark city. Nonetheless the camera is always steady and gets what it needs to show. Jay Chattaway returns as well to compose the film score. Much like his previous effort in the franchise, Chattaway thankfully maintains the main theme of the series with synth keyboard and drawn out ominous horns. There are added themes though, which may not have been crucial to include. This involves a church-like choir in the background for some tracks. Yeah, there's always that idea that putting in holy or childlike songs in a minor key sounds creepy but it makes the film feel like it was supposed to have a religious tone. Not sure.

Casting, music and violence all make this sequel watchable. It is disappointing however when majority of the original crew members return and shift the focus from the title character to some other forgettable over the top one. There's also a rushed subplot about Cordell's case and it gets wedged in way too quickly. Still decent though.

Maniac Cop 2 happens to belong to a small, dying breed of sequels which are far superior to their predecessors! Maniac Cop 2 reunites several of the original Maniac Cop cast members including Bruce "Evil Dead" Campbell, Laurene Landon, and Robert Z'Dar as the main title character.

Officer Matt Cordell, a.k.a. the notorious Maniac Cop (Z'Dar) is back from the dead. His primary targets are Campbell and Landon, two police officers who have thwarted the Maniac Cop's quest for revenge earlier. The Maniac Cop shows no mercy as he dispatches a good number of unfortunate victims who stand in his path of death and destruction...

No one believes the story of the Maniac Cop, except for Detective Sean McKinney (played by a woefully charming Robert Davi). McKinney is the only other Police Detective willing to go into the case of the "Maniac Cop." However, as Cordell continues to remain impervious to bullets and gunfire, his wraith only continues to grow...

Maniac Cop 2 is a superb, fast paced sequel with great car crashes and plenty of intensive action sequences! The shoot-out at the police station is a highlight with lots of mayhem and the climax at Sing Sing is undoubtedly exciting and nail-biting.

The biggest fault with Maniac Cop 2 is the lack of cynicism which helped boost Maniac Cop as a respectable thriller. Still, the rapid fire action in Maniac Cop 2 more than compensates for a dearth of originality or satirism. Maniac Cop 2 is fun, exhilarating, and well paced. A film worth seeing, if you can find it.

RATING: **1/2 out of ****.

The first mayhem run of maniac cop wasn't exactly great, but I still remember it, years down the line. I had very low expectations going into this one, and it turned out quite surprisingly fun! It's a self-serious slasher flick with some cool set pieces, awesome stunt work, good performances and general pacing. For those familiar with William Lustig - this movie might as well been called "Maniac vs. Maniac Cop".

We all know that at the end of a slasher movie, the unfound, assumed dead, killer is just hiding, taking his time to recuperate , you know, for the sequel. More or less, such is the story, Maniac Cop was wronged in his previous life, and he's back to continue doing his brutal bidding. Don't get me wrong, it actually picks up where the first installment left it, not like most slasher sequel examples. The film offers new protagonists, the no-nonsense low-voiced Detective Sean McKinney, and craving-for-truth police psychotherapist Susan Riley, hunting down the menacing Matt Cordell, or Maniac Cop, who has teamed up with Times Square Serial Killer, or a near carbon copy of Joe Spinell's insanely murderous main character in Lustig's 1980's "Maniac". What follows is reasonably predictable, but decently paced plot, kept consistently engaging with action set pieces, and throwback crime flick atmosphere, as if popped in the vhs player.

If it survives development hell, I hope Nicolas Winding Refn's remake brings to the table an upgraded version, also plot-wise, because there's potential in the concept, and it wouldn't be enough with just loads of violence. 6/10.

The film starts off with a recap of what happened at the end of the original Maniac Cop and this leads to the police force believing that Matt Cordell drowned and his body got washed away. Well, they are wrong as he is back on the streets of New York doing what he does best, by seeking revenge on his fellow officers, unexpected citizens and on those crooked authorities who framed him. But his not alone on this crusade, as he's joined by a jolly serial killer. So, it's up to detective Sean McKinney and police psychologist Susan Riley to put a stop to this macabre madness.

"Maniac Cop 2" is a pearler of a trashy sequel that's just as dark and entertaining like its predecessor… maybe more so. Although, I probably like the original a tad more. But what makes this one a little more exciting is that it goes for more expansive and quite highly energetic action set-pieces. They seem to up the ante and nihilistic violence within each scene that follows in such a rapid pace. We can thank this winning formula to the pairing up again of director William Lustig and writer / producer Larry Cohen who did a really fine job on "Maniac Cop". The story by Cohen treads the same path as the original, but gladly along the way it adds in some refreshing developments to make it stick out from a usual carbon-copy sequel. He puts forward a lot of the focus on the mysterious back-story and the motive behind all of this chaos that leads Cordell doing bad deeds and taking the criminals' side. Also evident in the script is plenty of black humour and sardonic wit that mixes well with the grungy and dry dialogues. Just like the first there is also a social commentary lurking about on how corrupt and weak the decaying justice system is and the foolishness of these higher superiors, but all of that is overshadowed by its exuberant and quite meaty stunts. And of course it seems to play the terror of this novel idea more for fun and it works out for that reason alone.

Obviously that's the reason for Cordell getting himself a partner. Quite an eccentric and clingy, non-stop chatterer was this serial killer who was played superbly by Leo Rossi. Compared with the silent, brute sized zombie figure of Matt Cordell that emitted such an eerie tone played by the dominating presence of Robert Z'Dar. They were definitely the odd couple! Robert Davi paints an convincing performance as the hard-ass detective Sean McKinney who's on the trail of Cordell and Claudia Christian is equally good as police psychologist Susan Riley. Bruce Campbell and Laurene Landon feature again from the first flick to come up with rather small roles on this outing. Michael Lerner is excellent as the slimy Commissioner Edward Doyle and there's some quick scenes with Charles Napier, Sam Raimi and Danny Trejo.

Director Lustig manages to grab you with some well set-up explosive thrills (like the terminator style slaughter of a police station) and he makes the most out of the very grimy and atmospheric backdrop of New York. The seedy night scenes really creep up on you with what's lurking in the shadows and the lighting composition is handled very well. When the film what's to be creepy the score ranges from a chillingly, whisper with the odd chant and whistling tune, but when it kicks into gear so does the score with an thumping and quite jarring arrangement. It's not a particularly gory film, but there's a big body count and the deaths are extremely violent. The makeup effects are quite superior with Cordell's face looking horrendously, hideous and that's a good thing as he looks dead. In all it mostly delivers on the very important staples that's makes this trash enjoyable.

This is one amusing sequel that's nearly as good as the original and benefits from keeping the same tone if only going one step bigger in the energy levels.

Robert Z'Dar returns as the super cop, turned maniac cop; Matt Cordell in this surprisingly good sequel to the surprisingly good 1988 horror-thriller, Maniac Cop. This time, however, he's not alone in his fight against the police force as he's found an accomplice; the local serial killer. This movie is probably the quintessential late-night video rental in the late 80's to early 90's - not only is it pure B-grade schlock rubbish, but it's a sequel to pure B-grade schlock rubbish; and you don't get much more B-movie than that! (except maybe a second sequel, of course).

The directing and writing/producing team of William Lustig and Larry Cohen return to helm this movie, and do a good job as they did in the first. The acting in this film isn't good, in fact, certain scenes are downright embarrassing; but you don't go into a sequel to an 80's schlock fest expecting great acting, so it's forgivable. The majority of the cast from the first film met grisly ends, but the two survivors; B-movie god, Bruce Campbell, and Laurene Landon reprise their roles. Unfortunately, however, their roles in the movie are little more than cameo appearances; Bruce Campbell in particular is not at his charismatic best. In The Evil Dead films, and a lot of his small cameos in bigger films, Bruce approaches his roles with great heart and gusto and you can really tell that he's enjoying himself; but here, I was getting the impression that he couldn't be bothered. I got this impression somewhat with Bruce's performance the first film too. Of course, his role in the Maniac Cop films is nothing like the Ash that we all know and love, but B-movie fans have come to expect a certain kind of performance from Bruce and that wasn't what he gave in the first movie. Naturally, his mere presence is enough to make a film a must see, though. Laurene Landon enjoys herself a bit more, and gets to use the greatest melee weapon in the history of movies; the chainsaw. The chainsaw is such a brilliant weapon, it almost takes on a life of it's own. Any movie that utilises the chainsaw commands your respect, even if it only gets a brief appearance as it does in this movie. The only other thing that returns from the first is the incredible tagline; 'You have the right to remain silent...forever', which is quite simply; one of the best taglines ever written.

The rest of the cast is new to the series. Robert Davi, who is a very good actor, takes over Bruce Campbell as the new leading man. Davi portrays his character; a hard-bitten New York with a gruff voice and no messing persona brilliantly, and very much looks the part. Also new is Claudia Christian, who pretty much does what Laurene Landon did in the first film, and Leo Rossi enters the fold as Matt Cordell's newfound friend, who also happens to enjoy strangling strippers. Also; watch out for blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameos from Danny Trejo and Sam Raimi.

Just like in the first film, a foreboding New York atmosphere is created, which lends the film a creepy and distinct atmosphere, particularly in the nighttime scenes. Also like the first film, the sequel features several instances of lovely black humour, portrayed best by Maniac Cop saving a man from a parking ticket, and then taking the traffic officer away...literally, on the back of his crane truck. The film also doesn't let up for a second; it stays entertaining for the duration and the action comes thick and fast, which ensures that the film stays entertaining. There is also a theme of justice, and it's pitfalls, which is heavily referred to at several points in the movie. Of course, this point is lost somewhat under the violent gun battles; but the fact that the movie is actually trying to convey a point is admirable from a film that you wouldn't expect any kind of meaning from.

Overall, Maniac Cop 2 is a lovely piece of B-grade cinema. As a technical project, it's pretty worthless, but it's very entertaining and fans of this sort of film will find lots to like about it. As a fan of the original, this sequel satisfied me and therefore I recommend this to anyone that is also a fan of the original.