For some reason there is just something oddly entertaining about "Maniac Cop". And I do believe it is based on the fact that I used to have this movie on VHS back in the day when it was released, and I do have fond memories of it being a fairly good movie back then.

Then I got a chance to revisit Matt Cordell and the rest of the people in "Maniac Cop" in 2017. And my fond memories of the movie were slowly starting to vaporize into mist. The movie is quite campy and cheesy actually, and it really had that late 1980's and early 1990's horror movie feel to it.

The story in "Maniac Cop" is quite straight forward and very easy to keep up with. A deranged killer is stalking the innocent people on the streets of New York. And as the death toll rise, police officer Jack Forrest finds himself arrested for a murder he didn't commit. Determined to bring the real perpetrator to justice, Jack seeks out to track down the killer.

"Maniac Cop" is labeled as an action/crime/horror, so it spans over a wide array of genres with very different contents. And to some extend it does deliver on these accounts. The action, well it was there, just don't expect it to be anything grand or jaw-dropping. The crime, well that was actually the focal point of the movie. The horror, again not overwhelmingly a factor for the movie. It wasn't even scary back in 1988.

This movie actually has some interesting enough actors and actresses on the cast list. Most memorable for me was Bruce Campbell, of course, and it is still a wonderful treat to watch him in this movie. However, it should be said that Tom Atkins was also good in this movie, and he is one of those faces that you instantly recognize and remember from that era. And then there is also Robert Z'Dar who brought life to Matt Cordell, and he was nicely cast for the role.

All in all, then "Maniac Cop" is a mediocre movie, but still proves to be entertaining and watchable given how cheesy and campy it actually is. And true to the horror movies of the late 1980's, the ending was just quite predictable, and of course laid grounds for a potential sequel.

"Maniac Cop" is not an overly impressive movie if you sit down to watch it today and compare it to the movies readily available and released today, especially so if you weren't already familiar with the movie from back in the day.

I saw the two sequels before I saw this and I am glad to finally see the one that started it all.

Robert Z'Dar is the Maniac Cop in all three, and he really has a creepy presence that will strike fear into anyone coming up against him.

Bruce Campbell and Laurene Landon play lovers that try to find out what was going on and catch the killer while being blamed for all the deaths themselves.

Richard Roundtree and Tom Atkins added to the excitement, but seeing Sheree North, who has been in so many TV shows and movies, was a treat.

It's mindless entertainment and just a lot of fun.

To be honest, I absolutely love trash like this! Maniac Cop is a film that clearly isn't too caught up with trying to establish itself alongside the more professional efforts of the horror genre, and instead simply revels in it's B-movie status. This gives the film free reign to do whatever it wants to do, as it doesn't have to worry about coherency or logic and this helps it massively as the final result shows. Actually, surprisingly enough; this is a rather professionally handled B-movie and many of the reasons why it works are down to things like atmosphere and characters, which are the things that the film isn't supposed to be bothered about. The plot is well worked also, and the way that the mystery pans out is exciting in all the right places. The story follows a problem in New York. Innocent citizens are turning to the police for help as usual; but one officer isn't bowing to the law, and has taken it upon himself to dish out justice his own way. This maniac cop is exterminating the local population, and it's up to framed copper Jack Forrest and his mistress Theresa Mallory to save the day!

The way that director William Lustig portrays the New York streets gives this film a lot of it's power. It's gritty, in the same way that many of the seventies cop thrillers were and this, when combined with the thick eighties trash crust, is what makes this film a winner. The scenes that see the maniac cop taking people out are fiendishly funny, but also quite shocking. The police are looked up to in most societies, and it would be a huge problem if one of them were to start dishing out the wrong kind of law themselves. Scriptwriter and B-movie god Larry Cohen seems keen to portray this too, with much of the action taking in the panic that previous events have caused. One of this film's main assets is definitely the presence of Evil Dead's Ash, Bruce Campbell. Campbell isn't quite as over the top as he was in Sam Raimi's classic trilogy - but he's playing a different character and just seeing him is a good reason to see this film. He is joined by fellow B-movie actor Tom Atkins, as well as Laurene Landon and Robert Z'Dar, who is perfectly cast in the title role. This isn't a film that will please fans of serious movies - but if you like your silly B-grade films, you'll definitely like this!