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Maniac
Directed by
William Lustig
R
1980
88m
Horror
,
Drama
,
and more
6.3
40%
58%
Add to Watchlist
A psychopathic man goes on a killing and mutilation spree in New York City.
More
Where to Watch Maniac
Fandango at Home Free
Free
Fawesome
Free
The Roku Channel
Free
+10 more
Cast of Maniac
Joe Spinell
Frank Zito / Writer
Caroline Munro
Anna D'Antoni
Abigail Clayton
Rita
Nelia Bacmeister
Carmen Zito
Denise Spagnuolo
Denise
Billy Spagnuolo
Billy
Kelly Piper
Nurse
Sharon Mitchell
Second Nurse
Rita Montone
Hooker
Hyla Marrow
Disco Girl
Tom Savini
Disco Boy
Linda Lee Walter
Beach Girl
James Brewster
Beach Boy
Tracie Evans
Street Hooker
Carol Henry
Deadbeat
Louis Jawitz
Art Director
Candace Clements
First Park Mother
Diane Spagnuolo
Second Park Mother
Kim Hudson
Lobby Hooker
Terry Gagnon
Woman in Alley
Joan Baldwin
First Model
Jeni Paz
Second Model
Janelle Winston
Waitress
Randy Jurgensen
First Cop
Jimmy Aurichio
Second Cop
Frank Pesce
T.V. Reporter (voice)
Andrew W. Garroni
Jerry (uncredited) / Producer
Taso N. Stavrakis
Porn-o guy (uncredited)
William Lustig
Al - Hotel Manager (uncredited) / Director / Producer
C.A. Rosenberg
Writer
Maniac Ratings & Reviews
cultfilmliker
June 12, 2025
This guy takes the male gaze a little too far imo! It took 10 minutes before I realized I had in fact seen this before. Clearly meant to remember the events that follow! It’s wild how different Frank looks and acts from the Joe I remember from MASH or even Cruising!! Boy, the bar was low for men in the 80’s! lmao I remember thinking that the first time I saw this as well. Might be the grossest part of the film hahahaha Incredibly unique editing with regard to some of the kills. Every kill has something unique! The dread and tension of staring at a gun in your face will always be a personal fav lol such killer buildups! Love too see Tom Savini and his work!! I even logged this before, oof! Shoulda checked! Although I do think I was too harsh originally! I really hate Frank as a character. I find Spinell’z mannerisms and voice/cadence/overall swagger so off-putting. I’d be on to the guy as soon as he got a woman I know’s number. Do none of these women have friends?? Or standards??? TL;DR It’s essentially if Norman Bates had a bad trip. Watched at 3 AM with the windows and doors open, lights out, and candles on aka a more descriptive definition of my “au naturale” tag (Yes, this is essentially an open invitation for murder. Not allowed to touch my parents tho)
Vague Visages
D.M. Palmer
...it also offers a more troubling variant of male rage; this time, the rage is empowered by the symbolism of the state, it wears the vestments of respectability...
IONCINEMA.com
Nicholas Bell
Spinell's performance and uncomfortable screen presence is what really makes Maniac memorable, not to mention some excellent make-up effects from Tom Savini.
Philadelphia Gay News
Larry Vitacco
Maniac doesn't deserve the paper and ink it takes to print this review.
TV Guide
TV Guide Staff
The sleazy embodiment of everything that was wrong with the ultraviolent slasher movies of the early 1980s.
Combustible Celluloid
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Though it's about as grungy as a film can get, it feels like a professional job, with a brisk flow and a hard, gritty, urban look and feel.
Cinemaphile.org
David Keyes
A loathsome exertion in perverse voyeurism.
Film Freak Central
Walter Chaw
the film about Travis Bickle that Travis Bickle would have made
Boston Phoenix
Alexandra Cavallo
Today's horror movies barely register once the credits stop rolling, but not so Maniac.
Reel Film Reviews
David Nusair
...an underwhelming, uninvolving product of its time that simply possesses no relevance in 2010.
CinePassion
Fernando F. Croce
A formidable New York grunge-flick through and through
Cinema Crazed
Felix Vasquez Jr.
It's a surefire memorable horror film with a horrifying glimpse into the mind of a merciless killer.
Rob's Movie Vault
Rob Gonsalves
Seen today, the movie has more in common with the grungy Times Square aesthetic of Abel Ferrara than with the multitudes of slasher flicks that followed it.
Lessons of Darkness
Nick Schager
An unapologetically twisted study in pathological murderousness.
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Ken Hanke
Distasteful on every level and none to coherent either.
New York Times
Vincent Canby
Good sense, if not heaven, should protect anyone who thinks he likes horror films from wasting a price of admission on Maniac.
Apollo Guide
Scott Weinberg
Best described as the diametric opposite of a refreshing shower, William Lustig's Maniac has long been reviled as one of horror's truly ugly films.
Q Network Film Desk
James Kendrick
too good to be dismissed as simple exploitation, but also too inept in too many ways to be taken seriously
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