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[Blu-ray Review] ‘Maniac Cop’
Why do you guys like Maniac Cop? And by “you guys” I mean whoever created the demand for multiple sequels and this upcoming Blu-Ray? Maybe it’s Bruce Campbell fans, maybe it’s Tom Atkins fans, or is it just people who had a really good year in 1988? I mean, I love Atkins and Campbell as much as the next guy but as Atkins himself insinuates in his supplemental interview, it’s far from the best work he’s ever done.
Maniac Cop starts out promisingly enough, with a hulking uniformed figure choking a woman on the run from two pre-Giuliani street thugs. It sets up a nice, pulpy atmosphere that film is only able to maintain in fits and starts. Maniac Cop’s main problem is that it’s unable to decide what kind of movie it is. It alternates between actually having a sense of humor and then being incredibly dour for what it is. I like the moments of levity and carnage that recognize the game the film is supposed to be playing, but too often they’re beset by a stiff script with flat direction.
Skinny Bruce Campbell is required to play it almost too straight as the philandering and wrongly accused cop Jack Forrest (who gets over the death of his wife in what must be some kind of record time). Tom Atkins’ Frank MacCrae is given slightly more pathos but none of it adds up to much. Laurene Landon’s character is never developed enough for the audience to feel any kind of investment in her survival. Adding to our rogues gallery of wasted performances, Robert Dzar’s titular villain looks utterly ridiculous in the daylight (where the 3rd act of the film takes place). The movie also features probably the single weakest “it’s not over yet” final shot that I have EVER seen.
All that being said, nostalgia is powerful stuff. I’d actually never seen the film before but I found myself hankering for the gold old days of hard boiled 80′ slasher films – albeit ones that have half decent kills. The carnage in Maniac Cop is practically non-existent. There’s plenty of offings, but none that are remotely scary or memorable. Many of them are played almost off-camera with synth stabs indicating the supposed wounds being inflicted.
With all that out of the way, if you’ve seen Maniac Cop and are one of the film’s seemingly many cult fans, I can report that the transfer is actually pretty good. Grain is well preserved, the picture is clear and the colors are solid and stable. I suspect this was never a terribly good-looking film, but the print on display here seems fairly pristine.
EXTRAS
Maniac Cop Memories: Interview with Robert Z’Dar – A 12 minute conversation with the actor behind the film’s villain. He would like you to know that he has had two hip replacement surgeries and is thus ready to return to work!
Out The Window: Interview with Tom Atkins – A candid interview with Atkins wherein he recalls having a good time on set but admits that Maniac Cop is not one of his favorite films, ranking it far below Night Of The Creeps and even his brief appearance in Lethal Weapon.
Three Minutes with Danny Hicks – Take a guess.
The supplements are sounded out with a few trailers and some additional scenes filmed for the Japanese television version that don’t really add much.
Score: 5/10
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‘Herencia Diabólica’ – 1993’s “Mexican Child’s Play” Finally Has a Blu-ray Release [Review]
Did you know that there is a Child’s Play-inspired film from Mexico? If you didn’t, you can thank Vinegar Syndrome’s new label Degausser Video for making 1993’s Herencia Diabólica available for the masses to watch. Or at least for the VS hardcore fanbase, Chucky completists and anyone else who needs something like this in their lives.
Director Alfredo Salazar, known for his writing connection to the 70s Santo film series, also serves as the writer here to bring us a film seemingly inspired from the Child’s Play franchise. While it has been recently labeled as the “Mexican Child’s Play” (there’s a special feature on the disc with that very title), the killer doll concept is where the comparison should start and end. Despite having some seeds planted by that franchise, Salazar delivers a story that blossoms into something unique.
Tony (Roberto Guinar) receives a letter informing him that his aunt has died, and he has inherited her estate in Mexico. He quits his job and uproots his life in New York with his wife Annie (Holda Ramírez) to relocate south of the border and move into his new crib. Now I know what you’re thinking, what person just quits their job and drags their wife to another country without having reliable monetary income? Tony does, everyone, Tony does.
And what’s the first thing they do once they arrive in Mexico and check out the estate? They hit the bedroom, naturally. We are treated to a sex scene with an erotica song that feels like a knockoff of “Sadness” by Enigma (remember them?). Sounds fun and all, but the scene takes place completely in the dark and we see absolutely nothing. Maybe that’s why the sexy-time tune was pumping, so we could know what was exactly going down.
While Tony goes on a job interview, Annie explores the estate’s grounds in a tedious chore to experience, going room by room, plodding along. But it does lead us to her discovery of our antagonist—the evil clown doll, Payasito! Of all the things in the house, she decides to bring this monstrosity down to show Tony when he gets home. What an exciting way to celebrate (sic)! Then out of nowhere, she spouts off some exposition about rumors that Tony’s aunt dabbled in the dark arts and now we know where our title Diabolical Inheritance (the English translation for Herencia Diabólica) originates. For those of you who keep score for things like that.
Before proceeding with this review, you really need to visualize what Payasito looks like to truly embrace the rest of the film’s shenanigans. While Chucky resembles a cute ginger child, Payasito resembles a small clown that is much larger in stature than Chucky. That’s because Payasito is performed by an actor (Margarito Esparaza) in clown cosplay whenever he’s on the move (like Mannequin 2), and makes some really horrible facial expressions. Chucky dresses in “Good Guys” overalls and a striped shirt, but Payasito wears a new wave Santa hat while sporting a Sgt. Pepper jacket and Peter Pan tights. As you can now tell, he is quite beautiful.
Back to our story, Payasito begins to spook Annie cerebrally until she becomes unnerved to the point of having a complete mental break down, making her easy prey to eliminate. She dies but the unborn child survives, with Tony believing that her death was caused by her mental instability. Fast forward some years later and the couple’s surviving spawn has grown into child Roy (Alan Fernando), who at this point has already bonded with Payasito to help him over the loss of his mother. Dun-dun-duuunnn!
Meanwhile wealthy Tony remains single, still grieving his late wife, until his blonde assistant Doris encourages him to move on with his life and start seeing other people. And by other people, she naturally means herself. As the old Kanye West song lyric goes, “I ain’t saying she’s a gold digger…”, and it seems that she might be until we learn more about her character. Doris is played by the stunning Lorena Hererra who has an extremely extensive resume in Mexico, and she carries most of the film quite well during the feature’s second half. The singer and former Playboy centerfold for their Mexico edition is by far the most recognizable face in the cast.
Doris and Tony do indeed hookup and she moves into La casa de Herencia, where she does her best to impress Roy and lessen his obsession with the doll. There is a scene where they go to a nearby park without Payasito that is filled with famous fairytale figures, such as Pinocchio, Cinderella and King Kong! What, you didn’t know King Kong is a fairytale? Me neither. But Roy continues to be obsessed with Payasito after their trip, much to Doris’ chagrin.
Her actions to separate him from Roy gets Payasito angry, setting up the film’s most memorable scene. We already know that Payasito is a devil doll like Chucky, but now we learn he also has the power to invade people’s dreams like Freddy Krueger! Does Payasito enter the dream world and concoct a creative way to kill Doris in her sleep? No, he harnesses his power to sexually assault her instead. Yes that actually happens. After she awakens, Doris grabs the doll and tosses him into a lake, only to find him waiting for her by the time she gets back to the house. So now we know he also maintains the ability to “transport” like Jason Voorhees too. This doll is the total package!
More insanity happens before we close out the film with the longest victim chase sequence ever. It makes the previously mentioned painful house search scene seem like an eyeblink. It feels like it’s the film’s entire third act, filled with so much padding that you could soundproof an entire three-story house.
So how’s the transfer? Considering it was created using a mix of VHS and film source elements from 1993, they did one heck of a job! The work they put into it is especially noticeable in the dream invasion sequence, with the pulsing multi-colored psychedelic visuals. Super trippy stuff. Even the film’s score provides a pretty chill vibe, during the times when Payasito isn’t on the prowl.
If anything you read has piqued your interest in the very least, you should give it a shot. But if not, it is best to leave this doll on the shelf.
Herencia Diabólica is now available to purchase at VinegarSyndrome.com.
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