Day 236: "You're mine now and forever...and I'm so happy.

1980's Maniac is one of those seminal horror films that helped to define the genre.  This movie was one of the first to take a more "realistic" view of serial murder.  A seemingly normal, if only a bit quirky, photographer by day has a much darker and sinister side that comes out in his spare time.  He is a predator, through and through.  He has had a traumatic childhood, due to the abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother, and is now taking his revenge on random women that he encounters.  This film is an uncompromising and brutal look into the life of a serial killer, albeit a fictional one, but the similarities to real life killers like Bundy and Gacy are unmistakeable.  Horror films since have borrowed heavily from Maniac, most noticeably Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.  both are shot in a documentary style, not suffering from the quick jump cuts and other editing tricks used today to artificially heighten tension when it's not in the story. 

Starring Joe Spinell, who also wrote the script, he brings a real creepiness to the part, as he seems so normal in his daily life, but so brutal in his hidden one.  This was a really uncomfortable movie to watch at times because of the great performance Spinell puts in.  Special effects legend Tom Savini also makes an on-screen appearance here.  Most exciting for me was the casting of Caroline Munro.  She was my first real crush as a kid, and I'll see anything she does.

This is not a gore fest from beginning to end.  The story has its ups and downs, but always returns to its core as a horror film.  The real horror here is that this isn't a faceless or sarcastic killer who is unbelievable as a person.  This is a guy who could be your neighbor.  Maniac is a really good movie, but you can tell that it was the beginning of the flood that was to come.  7/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!