Maniac

Maniac
(1980) [Trailer]
Director: William Lustig (IMDB)

New York City was scary as shit in the late 70's. It's definitely cleaned itself up a lot. I know I wouldn't have wanted to live here back then, but when I watch movies like Maniac or The Warriors, part of me kinda wishes I did.

Maniac is the first in a string of slasher movies made by William Lustig, who's widely known as one of the best in the genre. It's stars Joe Spinell, who's a psychopath into killing girls. He's also into taking their scalps and nailing them into mannequins... happy times. It's pretty straight forward... he goes, he finds, he kills.

I must say I was really surprised by this film. I'd never seen it before and just thought it was some cheesy 80's horror flick. It's much more gritty and realistic in my opinion. Joe Spinell was so perfect in the role, he definitely comes across as some insane local I would see walking around the city. The special effects by the famous Tom Savini are awesome, especially the shotgun scene. I really loved this movie, and if you wanna check it out, it's on Netflix Instant right HERE.