Maniac Cop (1988)

Director: William Lustig

Starring: Tom Atkins, Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon

A killer dressed in a police uniform begins murdering innocent people on the streets of New York City.

‘Maniac Cop’ is another well-known 80s slasher film. The opening few minutes show a cop randomly killing innocent victims. At first, I thought he was simply a deranged maniac killing at random.

However, as the film progressed, we soon learn more about the cop in question, Matt Cordell. I found his back story interesting, and the film then turns out to be a very clever set-up by Matt himself, as he avenges those responsible for his fate. One also then realizes why he had to kill innocent people to start off with. The film became more intriguing with every scene.

‘Maniac Cop’ has a few twists in store and builds to an exciting, action-packed finale. This is not a bad addition to the 80s slasher genre. It was also nice to see Bruce Campbell here. Although not a box office hit at the time, ‘Maniac Cop’ was followed by two sequels.

Would I watch it again? Actually, yes, as I was pleasantly surprised by the film’s substance.