Maniac

There was a time when New York City was dangerous, both in the physical and moral sense. A time when hookers were more common than rich housewives with dogs stuffed in their purses. When Times Square was a place to get cheap thrills, not cheap TVs and discount merchandise. The cinema of the ‘70s captured this very well (perhaps none better than Scorsese’s Taxi Driver), but William Lustig’s Maniac is a worthy document of NYC’s sordid past, a surprising psychological profile and a down ‘n dirty exploitation movie to boot. Joe Spinell plays serial killer Frank Zito as a tortured soul, driven to murder by the memory of his prostitute mother. The fact that his character evokes sympathy despite the atrocity of his crimes (expertly and gruesomely executed by Tom Savini, who also has a small role) is a testament to both Lustig’s direction and Spinell’s performance. By all rights Maniac should have been simply another Halloween clone (it was certainly advertised as such) but instead it stands out like a long straw amongst the dozens of other slasher sequels produced at the same time. It’s not an enjoyable film to watch, although Savini’s technical work will give gore films something to “oooh” and “ahhh” over. Instead, it’s a dark journey into a disturbed mind, leaving you pummeled and more than a little numb, not unlike Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. Maniac was at the forefront of the controversy surrounding cinematic violence and Blue Underground’s Blu-ray does an incredible job of gathering TV reports and newspaper clippings that show just how crazy it all got (Gene Siskel admitted to walking out after just a half-hour)! Other extras include the great Joe Spinell Story documentary, two commentaries, interviews and publicity material.

Cross another item off the Movies You Never Thought Would Hit Blu-ray list. Troll 2, the infamous #1 worst movie of all time as documented in the awesome Best Worst Movie, is out in full 1080p lossless audio along with a standard DVD so you can take along to enjoy on family trips. This atrociously acted semi-sequel to the original Troll has inspired fan screenings across the country in the same vein as The Rocky Horror Picture Show where participants quote their favorite lines and relish every terrible moment. Truth is Troll 2 isn’t that bad. It’s competently directed, written and edited. The special effects work well enough (monsters turn their victims into great globs of green goo which they then suck up with alliterative glee) and there are no obvious gaffes or goofs so common in the Ed Wood films. It’s really the community-theater-quality acting that makes Troll 2 a memorable turkey. George Hardy (the real subject of the Best Worst Movie documentary) tries to keep things together, but his surrounding cast members turn in performances that are either robotic, melodramatic or just plain loopy. MGM’s Blu-ray is like polishing a turd, but the whole affair would be much more worthwhile had they included a copy of Best Worst to go along with it.

No horror film compares very favorably to the original Halloween. John Carpenter’s movie established the modern slasher conventions, but did so without spilling a drop of blood. High Tension, by contrast, is drenched in the red stuff; spurting from severed heads, gushing out of axe wounds and spraying from a circular saw. Yet director Alexandre Aja (who went on to handle The Hills Have Eyes remake and most recently Piranha 3D) has obviously done his homework. His camerawork has the same sense of menace, his killer the same emotionless drive, and his film often achieves the same level of white-knuckle suspense. But High Tension wasn’t satisfied with being just another slasher movie; it features a final act twist that’s improbable, illogical and just plain unnecessary (not to mention homophobic in the extreme). I won’t spell it out for you, because for 90 of High Tension’s 110 minutes it’s a brilliant horror movie debut and one of the best straight-up slasher movies of the last decade. It deserves to be seen by everyone who thinks they’ve “seen it all.” But the inherent flaws only prove once again how special Halloween really was, and how hard it is to match up to a masterpiece. Lionsgate’s new hi-def transfer is a bit underwhelming. The extras (including commentary and Making Of) are worthwhile, but the transfer doesn’t really live up to the best Blu-ray has to offer.

Is there anyone left out there who hasn’t seen Psycho? Unfortunately, the answer is probably yes. At the risk of sounding like an old fogey, kids today rarely pick up a movie made before 1992. I’m not sure why that is (and not sure I want to know) but going back to black-and-white would be like buying a CD from a brick-n-mortar store instead of downloading from iTunes. Perhaps Gus Van Sant’s shot-for-shot color remake would make the cut, but even then I’m not sure (“Vince Vaughn without a Will Ferrel cameo? Come on!”). Simply put, Psycho is one of those movies that changed cinema forever. And like other works of art whose influence are so widespread, it’s difficult to go back and appreciate exactly how original and revolutionary it really was at the time. Universal Blu-ray should go a long way towards rectifying that, with several featurettes on the making of the film, Hitchcock’s career, interviews, storyboards and marketing materials. But most satisfying is the pristine hi-def transfer that makes Hitch’s careful compositions, Bernard Herrmann’s shocking score and Anthony Perkins unrivaled performance as the mild-mannered (but certifiably insane) Norman Bates that much more impactful. Kids, do yourselves a favor and give this one a try. And stay off my lawn!!

Far be it from America to be the only country to get stuck in a creative rut. For almost an entire decade Japanese horror movies seemed to consist of nothing but ghost kids with black hair haunting people from a variety of electronic devices: phones (The Ring, One Missed Call), TVs (Pulse) and toaster ovens (The Garlic Bagel Terror). So I made that last one up. But Hollywood might still be buying! In fact, Mirrors 2 (and the original Mirrors with Keifer Sutherland) were based on the Korean import Into The Mirror about an ex-cop turned security guard (Nick Stahl of Terminator 3) who must solve a series of purported suicides which are actually caused by a vengeful spirit lurking in the world on the opposite of the mirror. Mirrors 2 sticks fairly close to the original storyline, sporting some creepy mirror image scares that all lead up to an embarrassingly typical murder mystery. You can see for yourself since 20th Century Fox has very generously included the Korean original on the Blu-ray along with the usual Making Of, deleted scenes and visual effects featurettes. So while neither movie has a whole lot to recommend it, at least you’re getting two for the price of one!

Losing your virginity is different for everyone. In my case, I was seventeen in the basement of some dingy teen club. It was awkward, confusing and I wasn’t sure I even did it right. But when it was over, I knew I wanted to do it again. But The Rocky Horror Picture Show is like that, you never know - . Wait, what did you think I was talking about? Sex? Oh no, this is about those unfortunate “virgins” who’ve never experienced the whacked-out rock ‘n roll bliss that is Rocky Horror. The very definition of a “cult” movie, like Dr. Frankenfurter’s buff creation Rocky evolved into more than the sum of its parts. It’s an interactive, hyperactive, glorious, ever-changing road show that has been playing on screens constantly since it first opened in 1975. The story of Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (an impossibly young and sexy Susan Sarandon), who hide out from a rainstorm on their honeymoon in a castle populated by cross-dressing, tap-dancing, gender-bending weirdos from another planet, is bizarre enough on its own. But the awkward pauses and strange performance almost seem like they were designed for the rehearsed “additions” that fans insert while they watch the show. Too intimidated to have a good time? Then check out Fox’s new Blu-ray which includes (among many other special features) a sing-along feature designed to teach you what to shout and when. Even if you get a line wrong, watching Rocky Horror is a guaranteed good time. Just make sure to do it with someone you love.