It's a showcase for sweaty character actor Joe Spinell, who appeared in a lot of major films (The Godfather Part II, Taxi Driver) in small roles, and larger roles in more dubious fare (Starcrash). The story was inspired by the Son of Sam killings, with Spinell as the ranting, depraved killer. The film was notorious for its (at the time) very graphic killings, featuring the work of make up FX legend Tom Savini.

The movie's appeal will be limited, but if one enjoys that particular brand of late-70's/early-80's NYC grime and sleaze, it's a must-see. Director William Lustig made several other genre films (Vigilante, Maniac Cop) before starting the Blue Underground home video company, who are the prime source for Italian genre films on disc (horror, giallo, spaghetti westerns, crime thrillers, etc.).

Vicious and unhinged misogynistic psychopath Frank Zito (superbly played with fierce and frightening intensity by late, great character actor Joe Spinell, who also came up with the story and co-wrote the bleak script) brutally butchers young women and collects their scalps so they can adorn the mannequins he keeps in his dingy apartment.

Director William Lustig ably crafts an unsparingly grim, sordid, and nihilistic claustrophobic atmosphere that permeates every last fetid frame like a huge and ominous storm cloud; the potently unsettling sense of total pain, despair, anguish, and squalor astutely captures the warped psyche of Frank Zito and firmly places the viewer in his lonely and unstable state of mind. Moreover, Spinell portrays the sick main character with startling sweaty conviction and even brings a surprising tortured'n'tormented pathos to the role that in turn gives this movie an extra jolting punch.

Tom Savini's notoriously gruesome make-up effects have lost none of their revolting persuasive impact. (Savini also has a small part as a victim.) The scenes with Zito stalking and killing his victims are extremely creepy and suspenseful, with the subway sequence in particular rating as a nerve-wracking stand-out. The use of seedy New York City locations further enhances the overall steaminess. Robert Lindsay's gritty cinematography provides an appropriately grungy look. Jay Chattaway's quivery score hits the flesh-crawling spot. Only the scenes with Frank wooing glamorous fashion photographer Anna D'Antoni (the gorgeous Caroline Munro) ring false; it just isn't credible that a weird dude like Frank would be capable of sweeping someone like Anna off of her feet. By no means a fun or pleasant film, but still a very powerful and upsetting one.

A psychotic man (Joe Spinell),troubled by his childhood abuse, loose in New York City, kills young women and takes their scalps as trophies. Will he find the perfect woman in photographer Anna, and end his killing spree?

This is director William Lustig's masterpiece. He seems to have an obsession with "Maniac" films (he later made "Maniac Cop", "Maniac Cop II" and "Maniac Cop III") but this is really the only one that is in nay way a true horror film with any sort of disturbing imagery. Did Lustig go soft after he finished this film, or just fall under the spell of Sam Raimi?

"Maniac" is what I would call the Hollywood version of "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer". Unlike most stalker or slasher films, we do not follow the victims so much as we follow the killer, giving him a human side that makes him all the more real and terrifying. While there is no forgiving a man who wantonly murders, we cannot help but pity him on some level for his mental illness. This is what separates Henry or Maniac from Jason Voorhees.

The Tom Savini headshot was also very nice. Many of the scenes are quite memorable (such as the prostitute who is killed without even having her clothes removed),but I think the forceful elimination of Savini really takes the cake. It is not on the level of say "Scanners" but it definitely will get you a little excited.

I think this movie is well worth seeing. I think it was one of those films that was supposed to be too graphic for the average viewer, and there certainly is a level of nastiness to it. But nothing a good horror buff will not find enjoyable. And if at first you are unsure, keep watching -- the second half really outdoes the first by a mile!