Maniac Cop 4K 1988

One of the strangest and at the same time creepiest trash action movies, Maniac Cop is appealing only in terms of its mysterious main character. Of course, the theme of corruption in police circles and the duplicity of law enforcement officers was not as common in cinema at that time as it is now. And it cannot be said that it turned out to be a completely stupid and primitive horror film, as some particularly impressionable viewers positioned it. Almost all of director Lustig's works are about crazy cops who were either killed in a particularly cruel way or simply fired. As a result, the main character turns into a real maniac who terrorizes the entire city.
In this case, it's New York. A serial killer has appeared on the streets, brutally murdering everyone in sight, leaving the city police completely helpless. And when reports start coming in that the maniac is dressed in a police uniform, everyone becomes frankly uneasy. It's roughly the same as in Robocop 2, when the potential metal law enforcement officer Kane turned into a killing machine. In this case, only Tom Atkins and Bruce Campbell can stop Matt Cordell, who has risen from the dead, and they eventually uncover the possible cause of the sinister cop's “insanity.”

Of the three parts of Maniac Cop, I liked the second one the most. There is more action, and the monster in a police uniform, like the Terminator, manages to break into a crowded police station. The third part was a completely worthless sequel, so it's no surprise that it was made at the same time as the sequel. The original is interesting in that it introduces the main character and shows his true face only in the finale. In 1988, it might have been scary, but now the ridiculous, supposedly disfigured face only provokes laughter. However, the film still manages to maintain a certain tension throughout. The actors, including Bruce Campbell, perform well, and there is even a decent soundtrack. The special effects are primitive, but that's what you get with a trashy action movie that could easily be mistaken for a disposable horror film from the 80s.

In my opinion, it's an entertaining trashy action movie with one of the most interesting maniacs in Hollywood cinema.