MANIACAL
PLOT-A killer escapes from a mental hospital. Take a wild guess what he does when he gets out!
VIOLENCE-Old-school gore galore! Heads are crushed and blown apart, guts are ripped out, throats are slashed, and there are even a few interesting stabbings.
SEX/NUDITY-A couple brief sex scenes, one featuring an obligatory big-chested topless girl.
WHY I WATCHED IT-I became an instant fan of director Joe Castro earlier this year when I saw his previous film TERROR TOONS, which is definitely one of the most ambitious and bizarre independent horror movies I've ever seen. I found out about his new movie MANIACAL and of course was stoked to see it (did I just say "stoked"? Does ANYONE say that?), and the gracious folks at Cinemacabre, the film's production company, sent me a screening copy.
THE DOPE-While MANIACAL isn't as off the wall and imaginative as Castro's TERROR TOONS, it does have something really special going for it: a tried and true horror formula that lends itself to lots of gross death scenes. But MANIACAL has more in common with H.G. Lewis's classic BLOOD FEAST than it does with films like HALLOWEEN or FRIDAY THE 13TH, and that made me real real freakin happy. The guy who plays the killer has that same crazed look horror fans remember Fuad Ramses had, and the gore is right on the money. Lewis himself once stated that, due to his low budget, he was not able to make super-realistic gore effects. Instead, he just made them so gross and bloody and chunky that it didn't matter. That's the school Castro comes from, and that's exactly where MANIACAL scores highest. Cheeseball acting, corny but effective music, and by-the-book storytelling do not get in the way of this movie's agenda: the guts! Castro also does double duty as FX artist on MANIACAL, and uses the same trademark camera trickery as he did in TERROR TOONS to cut at just the right moment, fooling the eye and producing quality on-screen shocks. I'm a die-hard horror fan, and I had to rewind several of these scenes to try and find the precise moment Joe switched from the real actor to a fake head. It's seamless! It rocks! Bravo Castro! You're the man, bruh.
MEMORABLE SCENES-The killer uses his bare hands to crush a guy's head against a wall. All kinds of gross stuff squirts out, and for added effect, there are lots of sick squishy sounds to please your ear and turn your stomach (several of the death scenes have this).
NOTES-MANIACAL is set for home video release in January 2003, and the DVD will feature behind the scenes & interview footage, trailers, stills, reviews and more.
(November 2002)
(Stills courtesy of CINEMACABRE)