Directed by:
William LustigScreenplay:
Larry CohenCinematography:
James LemmoComposer:
Jay ChattawayCast:
Tom Atkins, Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon, Richard Roundtree, William Smith, Sheree North, Barry Brenner, Victoria Catlin, Corey Michael Eubanks (more)Plots(1)
Innocent people are being brutally murdered on the streets of New York by a uniformed police officer. As the death toll rises Detective Frank McCrae (Tom Atkins) heads the investigation in the face of a city-wide panic while City Hall desperately searches for a scope-goat. A young cop, Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell), finds himself under arrest as the chief suspect, having been the victim of a set-up by the real killer and a mysterious woman phone-caller. Getting no help from his superiors, Forrest, his girlfriend Theresa, team up with a doubtful McCrae and set out to solve the puzzle before the Maniac Cop can strike again. Only in the 80's could horror be this good! (Monster Pictures)
(more)Reviews (1)
A typical late 1980s B-movie that went straight to video, with all the pros and cons that come with it. Cohen's script is not great, but director Lustig learned a lot from Sam Raimi, and so the dark atmosphere of nighttime N.Y., where innocent citizens are mowed down by a uniformed officer, is ultimately the film's greatest asset. There’s a decent amount of blood, the murders are well thought out, and only the final hand on the pier doesn't bode well. Normally, it would have left my mind after a few days, but for my distant nostalgic memory of begging to watch this film (as the title and original VHS cover had already inspired a sacred terror in my childhood soul), I'll give it 4 stars.
()