October Edition #5: MANIAC

Director: William Lustig   
Screenplay: C.A. Rosenberg, Joe Spinell
Starring: Joe Spinell, Caroline Munro
Release Date: 1980



The opening shot of MANIAC is of a shadowy figure slipping some change into a pair of coin operated binoculars and gazing through the lenses at his prey, a young couple asleep on the beach. The man is Frank Zito, the maniac of the title, and this simple act of voyeurism sets the tone for the rest of the film. We, as viewers, have paid a toll and for the next hour and change must stare, fascinated, at the depraved train wreck that is the life of a true psychopath.

Apartment superintendent Frank Zito (Spinell) is, to say the least, an very damaged soul. Like Norman Bates before him, he is obsessed with his dead mother, a prostitute who died in a car crash when he was very young, and who apparently subjected him to years of violent abuse, as evidenced by the many scars that cover his chest. Despite this, he misses her immensely. In fact, he misses her so much that he stalks and kills young women, removing their scalps and nailing them to a series of mannequins he keeps in the tiny one-bedroom apartment he lives in. Also like Norman Bates, we the audience are made to feel a certain degree of sympathy for this horrible, wretched excuse for a man.

Shot on grainy 16mm and entirely on location on the dingiest side streets and subway platforms in New York City, the film is comprised of a series of vignettes in which Frank takes notice of his victims, and eventually stalks and brutally murders them. None of this is fun, and it is portrayed with stark realism. The camera lingers on the terrified faces of Frank’s pleading victims for uncomfortable lengths of time, allowing the audience as well as Frank to ponder the very real consequences of his heinous crimes.  And though the kills are highlighted by some truly amazing make-up effects by master Tom Savini, nothing is glorified about this violence. Every scalping, every piercing with a knife, and in particular one spectacular exploding head, are all filmed in super-detailed, almost loving slow motion, allowing us to soak up every last bit of viscera. But in every instance we immediately cut to the reaction of Frank, who is not at all triumphant, but rather extremely sickened by his actions. He knows what he’s doing is wrong, but he just cannot help himself.

Spinell’s performance is truly what sells this movie and elevates it above most of this kind. He portrays Frank as a pathetic, broken man. He doesn’t commit his crimes out of malice, and there’s no sense of good and evil within him. He’s just a man with a chemical imbalance who is unable to control the beast within, compelled to destroy these “fancy girls in their fancy dresses and lipstick”. Utterly contemptible, yes, but also the product of being raised in an atmosphere of utter contempt. What’s really sad is watching him as he briefly tries to pursue a normal relationship with a photographer (Munro) who lives in his building. He actually exudes a certain amount of charm, and seems to make some headway towards sparking a healthy relationship with her. Unfortunately, his impulses get the best of him, and he ends up murdering one of her model friends. 

Usually these kinds of movies follow a single group of protagonists and tend to revel in the bloodshed and carnage laid upon them. By sticking entirely to the point of view of the killer, we’re offered a bit of insight into the how and why of someone committing such inhuman acts. And the movie’s point of view is so singularly nihilistic, from the murky photography to the very moody,  sparse musical score, right on down to Frank’s final descent into madness and the apparent violent retribution of all the girls he has murdered. It’s not often that a slasher movie can scare you on a very real level and simultaneously make you think about the effects of what you’re watching. This movie is not what I would call “enjoyable”, but it is very competently made, and Spinell sells the hell out of his character. Some critics have argued that there is no value to be found at all in this movie, that it’s mere existence is an offence to the taste. To that I must counter that this movie exists to remind us of the very real horrors that exist in our day to day lives, and to bring a certain degree of understanding as to how such things could happen. The monsters are very real. What’s scary is that they exist within someone who looks just like you or me.

My Rating:
8/10