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SEPTEMBER 14 VHS MOVIE REVIEW : MANIAC COP 2
From moviecynics.com
Even though the first one flopped, the movie gained enough of a following to put it on the cult classic level… I’m not too sure why though. Since that happened, you know what that means… a sequel!
After the cliffhanger ending of the first film, we find our good buddy Matt Cordell (Robert Z’Dar), the Maniac Cop… who is now an actual member of the Walking Undead Alliance… still seeking out those who wronged him in the past. He starts driving around in a junked police care and continues to kill whichever moron is dumb enough to stroll into his path. Mean while, our heroes from the first film, Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell) and Teresa Mallory (Laurene Landon), are put back on active duty by the new commissioner, Edward Doyle (Michael Lerner… Mayor Ebert from 1998’s Godzilla)… pending that they pass a psychiatric evaluation from Officer Susan Riley (Claudia Christian). Jack wants to move on with his life and accepts that Cordell is finally dead, but Teresa just can’t let it go because a body was never found and she is convinced that Cordell is still out there. A little while later, Cordell finds and kills Jack by stabbing him through the neck, which prompts Teresa to appear on some talk show so she can tell people about how the police are covering up Cordell’s return. Afterwards, while in a taxi with Susan, a paranoid Teresa notices that there’s a cop car following them and tells the cabbie to forget about it. Of course, he doesn’t listen to a word she’s saying and pulls over. This proves to be a dumb decision as Cordell kills the cab drive. With the help of some quick thinking, Teresa hijacks the cab and gets the hell out of there. That plan doesn’t work out too well as Cordell chases them for a bit. After running the two off the road, Cordell handcuffs Susan to the wheel and sends her on her merry way and proceeds to snap Teresa’s neck.
Oh, we aren’t done yet, kiddies. That’s only the first part of this story. To add to the whole “undead cop wanting revenge on those who sent him to Sing Sing and had three thugs kill him” (we find out that the new commissioner had a part in that) story, we get treated to a side story about a serial killer (Leo Rossi… the guy trying to get laid in the hot tub in the original Halloween II), name Turkell, that loves to kill strippers… and before I forget, Robert Davi (Die Hard) comes along. Luckily, that side story quickly gets folded back into the main story and Cordell and Turkell become buddies… sort of. Following that, Cordell massacres numerous police officers while inside of the police station (which got this movie an NC-17 rating) and the killing duo makes their way to Sing Sing. There’s more, but that will ruin the remainder of the movie.
This movie is a definite step up from the previous installment. With the larger budget, the film is able to improve on a majority of the original’s problems. The make-up effects, though still a little underwhelming, in this film are vastly superior to those from the first film. The kills are insanely better than they were in the first one. The original Maniac Cop had kills there were lame and silly looking, this film has kills that are brutal and awesome. The police station massacre alone is worth the watch. And just to add to the awesomeness of that scene, we get to see Cordell pick up a police chief and toss him through the air… and we get to see the wire that’s attached to him to make him fly. As for the acting and the direction, they are on the same level they were on in the first level.
The pacing for the film feels off. Towards the middle of it, when Cordell meets his buddy Turkell, the film slows down for no real reason and even goes as far as showing the shower scene when Cordell was attacked by the three thugs again. The other problem with the movie is the writing. Cohen’s script seems like it’s a by the numbers horror sequel, which is fine, but then he tosses in the Turkell character who isn’t even necessary in the film. Hey, at least Cohen made up his mind on whether or not Cordell was a twisted cop out for revenge or an undead cop out for revenge.
With the film’s bigger budget, not only do we get a sequel that is better than the first film, but also gets my awesomely bad movie seal of approval.
Final Synopsis: It’s better than the first film. Check it out.
Points Lost: -1 for some underwhelming make-up effects (they were an improvement, but still weren’t great… luckily they get better for the third), -1 for some pacing problems, -1 for some poor writing.
Lesson Learned: $4 million gets you a cast full of “Hey, it’s that guy”.
Burning Question: Why did the police station massacre get this movie an NC-17 rating, but the one in The Terminator didn’t get that an NC-17 rating?
SEPTEMBER 14 VHS MOVIE REVIEW : MANIAC COP 2
From empireonline.com
You can shoot him with a gun, you can shoot him with an Uzi," raps the theme song, "but he'll turn up in your jacuzzi". It seems that Matt Cordell (Z'Dar), the disfigured hulking walking dead patrolman we all came to love in Maniac Cop, isn't dead after all (again) and, after taking the time to splatter the leads of the original movie - Bruce Campbell and Laurene Landon - he's on the streets again, palling around with a serial slaughterer who picks on nudie dancers, and killing people at random in the hope that the city will redress the wrong done to him in a flashback.
Cynical, hat-wearing cop Robert Davi and wavy-haired police psychiatrist Claudia Christian are the only people who believe Cordell is at large, and they set out to bring the maniac cop down.
Directed again by William Lustig, the man who gave you Maniac, and written and produced by the normally eccentric Larry Cohen, of It's Alive, Q, and Demon, this sequel is sort of pleasant, but still basically a stroll through a leftover plot premise. Lustig is handed some action set-pieces on a plate by Cohen's script - as when Christian is handcuffed to the steering wheel of a runaway car - but fumbles them in the execution.
SEPTEMBER 14 VHS MOVIE REVIEW : MANIAC COP 2
From drgorereviews.blogspot.com
Cordell was a good cop once. Then he was sent to prison and attacked by the inmates. Many knife wounds later he becomes Maniac Cop. Cordell the zombie cop will soon unleash his fury and have his revenge. He hooks up with a serial killer and they party Maniac Cop style.
I was pleasantly surprised with this one. The action was good and the acting was above par for a B-movie. They even had Lipnick from "Barton Fink", (Michael Lerner). The best scene has the Maniac Cop attacking a police station like the Terminator. It was a massacre.
Basically, Cordell is a zombie that moves fast and wears a cop uniform. They could have called it "Zombie Cop" but "Maniac Cop" sounds better. The only thing that sounds better than "Maniac Cop" is "Maniac Cop 2" or 3,4,5...
One last thing, keep an eye out for Laurene Landon. Who's Laurene Landon? Come on man! Hundra baby! The mere presence of the mighty Hundra gives "Maniac Cop 2" some points to B-movie greatness. If only we could get Laurene to give us one more "Hundra" flick. How about "Hundra vs. Maniac Cop"? Then we've got two great B-movie's resurrected. If Freddy and Jason can do it, the all powerful Hundra can do it.
SEPTEMBER 14 VHS MOVIE REVIEW : MANIAC COP 2
From dylansdemons.com
The killer cop Matt Cordell is back on the streets talking the wrong side of the law by killing more innocent people and making people fear of every police officer that they come in contact with and having no trust with them at all and he finally kills Jack Forrest and the female cop for revenge but there are others that must try to stop the silent killer which is a tough as nails Dirty Harry like detective named Sean Mckinney (played by Robert Davi) and another female officer named Susan Riley who are now on Cordell's trail to put an end to his killings and to solve the hidden secrets of his past, meanwhile Cordell teams up with a serial killer who kills strippers named Turkell as they join together to take down all the police officers in the station and raid the prison area to find the prisoners that have mutilated Cordell and kill them even starting an all out war on the area taking out every cop that tries to get in their way and it's up to Sean and Susan to stop the madness before everyone gets killed by the murderous killer cop.
I have heard a lot of rumors that this sequel was a cult favorite to horror fans and Maniac Cop fans in which they like this one better than the first which was an okay flick but not great and decided to see it on YouTube in Friday in the middle of the night and they were right, it is good and it really is better than the first which has a whole lot of action, a great story this time and great characters that fans love which are the good people and ones that they hate which are the villains like the killer cop Matt Cordell and the stripper murderer Turkell who is such a scumbag and a complete psychopath. The plot is very good this time although parts of it is the same but it's more of an action, horror thriller flick that is almost like the Evil Dead trilogy and From Dusk Till Dawn which works. The acting in this is dumb in the first part but the casting gets better which Robert Davi is such a badass as Sean McKinney who has to take down the killer cop from killing innocent people and starting a raid in the prison area with the help of Susan Riley played by Claudia Christen who does a good job as well in which she does show fear sometimes but she stands out very brave to witstand against Cordell who is played by Robert Z, Dar who does a better job this time than the first which his new look is perfect for that style which makes him look ominus and terrifying in a very silent way which he shows a lot of body language in the whole film and the guy who played Turkell did good also which he is just despicable in a way that you would hate him the most. So if you liked or did not like the first Maniac Cop then I would recommend checking this out instead because this one does not screw around at all but does have over the top moments which the police station massacre which is very intense but still B-grade in a good old fashion way.
SEPTEMBER 14 VHS MOVIE REVIEW : MANIAC COP 2
From moria.co.nz
USA. 1990.
Director – William Lustig, Screenplay/Producer – Larry Cohen, Photography – James Lemmo, Music – Jay Chattaway, Special Effects Supervisor – Jim Carter, Makeup Effects – Dean Gates, Production Design – Gene Abel & Charles Lagola. Production Company – The Movie House Sales Co/Fadd Enterprises. Cast:
Claudia Christian (Susan Riley), Robert Davi (Detective Sean McKinney), Robert Z’dar (Matt Cordell), Michael Lerner (Commissioner Edward Doyle), Laurene Landon (Officer Teresa Mallory), Bruce Campbell (Officer Jack Forrest), Leo Rossi (Steve Turkell), Paula Trickey (Cheryl), Lou Bonachi (Detective Lovejoy), Clarence Williams III (Blum), Andrew Hill Newman (Citizen), Santos Morales (Convenience Store Clerk)
Plot: Police officers Jack Forrest and Teresa Mallory are deemed fit to return to duty following the Matt Cordell affair so long as they pass a mental health check. They are sent to departmental psychologist Susan Riley but are unwilling to give up on their story about the existence of Cordell. Jack is then murdered. Riley begins her own investigation and encounters Cordell as he starts killing police all over the city. Meanwhile, Cordell is befriended by serial killer Steve Turkell. When Turkell is arrested, Cordell bursts into the police station to free him, slaughtering police en masse, all as part of an ambitious plan to return to Sing Sing and exact revenge on those who disfigured him.
Maniac Cop (1988) was a lightweight but enjoyable B-budget psycho-thriller that worked largely through the characteristically quirky script from Larry Cohen, better known as the director of It’s Alive (1974) and sequels and Q: The Winged Serpent (1982). It was expanded into a three film franchise, starting with this and followed by Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (1992). This sequel reunites Larry Cohen, director William Lustig and original stars Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon and Robert Z’dar.
The general low expectations of sequels leaves one completely surprised by what an extraordinary film Maniac Cop II is. It is one of the rare sequels that improves tenfold or more over its predecessor. Larry Cohen goes for broke on his script – it is immediately apparent during the opening, which offers an hilarious sequence where a petty hood holds up a convenience store only for there to turn out to be no money and he is reduced to forcing the clerk to scratch instant lotto tickets at gunpoint and happens to win $5000 just as the Maniac Cop arrives, slaughtering the clerk with the hood’s gun, leaving the hood to then be arrested as the police arrive for a crime he did not commit. The film is filled with quintessentially Cohen-esque vignettes – the Yuppie dressing down the cop who is towing his car away or the breathtaking sequence where a blind news vendor describes how he lost his sight in a hand grenade explosion during the War that killed the other soldiers and left him buried in frozen corpses – “and that was just how the flesh of the killer felt.” The most unusual plot development is where Cordell and the serial killer befriend one another in a Of Mice and Men relationship of sorts – there is even great pathos to the scene where Cordell struggles to simply say his name.
It is not just Larry Cohen’s script but also William Lustig’s direction that make Maniac Cop II an awe-inspiring B movie. Lustig directs enthralling sequences unlike anything that any other action director has ever dreamed up – a cop car pursuing a cab that is driving on its steel rims in a shower of sparks, or Claudia Christian handcuffed to the steering wheel of a runaway car and left to run while hanging along on the outside as the car heads into oncoming traffic. There is a spectacular shootout in a police station that rivals the similar sequence in The Terminator (1984), a sequence that opens with the great image of cops shooting on a target range and the target range suddenly shooting back at the cops and Cordell emerging to stride down the aisle of the range. A remarkable film.
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