Maniac Cop 2: O Vingador

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.

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.

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.

I'm a big fan of the first 'Maniac Cop' movie, which has one of THE great exploitation taglines - "You have the right to remain silent. Forever." Once again director William Lustig ('Maniac', 'Vigilante') and writer/producer Larry Cohen ('God Told Me To', 'Q The Winged Serpent') team up for this better than you'd expect sequel. Robert Z'Dar reprises his role as Matt Cordell the "maniac cop", but like the original the supporting cast steals the movie from him, and in this case are the main reason to tune in. B-grade legend Bruce Campbell and Cohen regular Laurene Landon from the first movie put in an appearance, but the rest of the cast is new - Robert Davi (Bond baddie in 'License To Kill'), and Claudia Christian (then best remembered for her bit in 'The Hidden', now for her recurring role in 'Babylon 5') as cops, and Leo Rossi ('The Accused') as a creepy serial killer who befriends Cordell. Michael Lerner ('Barton Fink') plays the Commissioner, Charles Napier ('Supervixens') a TV host and Clarence Williams III ('52 Pick-Up') a prisoner. Also keep an eye out for cameos by Lustig's pal Sam Raimi and Hispanic tough guy Danny Trejo ('From Dusk Til Dawn'). Many people, including William Lustig himself, think 'Maniac Cop 2' is the best in the series, but I still prefer the original. This one's still great fun to watch and I highly recommended it to exploitation fans. The third movie in the series however was a major disappointment. You'd be better off skipping it and watching Lustig and Cohen's overlooked 'Uncle Sam' instead. It isn't their best work but it's a lot of fun.

Maniac Cop 2 (1990) is available for free on Tubi and picks up where Maniac Cop left off with Cordell still being alive and he immediately reignites his killing spree. A "renegade" police officer who is a bit of a vigilant reluctantly pursues Cordell because he doesn't believe it's really him. This movie is directed by William Lustig (Maniac) and stars Robert Davi (The Goonies), Claudia Christian (Half Past Dead) and Robert Z'Dar (Tango & Cash). The storyline for this picture is very entertaining for a sequel and delivers a very similar feel to the first film. The action scenes are solid and the characters on both sides are fun to follow. This isn't quite as good as the first film, primarily because Bruce Campbell is awesome and at times Davi was annoying, but you still find yourself glued to the film. Overall this is far from perfect but a must watch film for horror enthusiasts. I'd score this a solid 6-6.5/10.