Plot in one sentence: A series of kidnappings disrupt the quiet life of a provincial French town.
What works:
-Nothing at all. But there’s enough enjoyable weirdness to warrant one viewing for a die-hard Eurotrash fan.
What doesn’t work:
-Having a maniac killer in the title when there isn’t one in the movie.
Instead, there is a small cult that kidnaps and tortures prostitutes, a village retard that brings stray cats for an odd American surgeon to operate on plus some more vaguely exploitive mumbo-jumbo.
“Maniac Killer” is the most technically competent Andrea Bianchi film I’ve seen, but it’s very boring nevertheless. There’s nothing happening for the majority of the running time, action and torture scenes are way too brief and badly-edited to have any impact.
The “ass-kicking good guy” role is taken by Bo Svenson (“Inglorious Bastards”)
Main villain here is portrayed by Robert Ginty of “The Exterminator” fame, Professor Osbourne is played by former US
Eurociné regular Olivier Mathot has a small part as a police inspector, and Henri Lambert of “Trans-Europ-Express” and “L’abime des morts vivants” plays a grizzled butler.
“Maniac Killer” has nothing to make it worth recommending.
This is a rather small-scale picture, with sadly underplayed exploitation elements.
Unless you’re a Mario Bianchi/ Eurociné completist, “Maniac Killer” can be easily skipped.
Directed by Andrea Bianchi
Written by Marius Lesoeur, H.L. Rostaine
Starring: Chuck Connors, Bo Svenson, Robert Ginty, Olivier Mathot.
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