Maniac Cop (1988)

Maniac Cop (1988)
Director: William Lustig
Writer: Larry Cohen
In New York, people are slain and strangled to death brutally on the open street. All witnesses agree that the murderer was in a cop's uniform. Soon the police searches and finds a suspect in its own ranks: Jack Forrest, turned in by his own wife. To prove his innocence, he has to investigate on his own.
'Entertaining but slightly television feeling crime horror yarn. About cop Matt Cordell played wonderfully by chisel jawed Robert Z'Dar who instead of helping the public kills them. The films packed with familiar faces like Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon, Tom Atkins and Richard Roundtree along with many cameos including Evil Dead’s director Sam Raimi. New York is one tough place to live and it’s about to get so much tougher, as one of its cops goes on a killing spree. Takes a few deaths before the links to them being committed by a police officer surface to the press. Who are quick to jump on the case by calling him the Maniac Cop. Doesn't take long before the local New Yorker’s trust towards the police breaks down, and an innocent cop on the beat is gunned down while 100s of more people report on who they suspect the cop. One of the these is a cops wife who suspects her own husband Jack Forrest played by Bruce Campbell, she follows her husband to a seedy motel as he sets off to work the evening shift, only to find out he’s having sex with a female coworker. She flees the motel only to be killed by the real killer, causing husband Jack to be blamed and wrongly taken in. Doesn’t take long though for the identity of the true killer Matt Cordell to surface, the problem now being how to stop him. Was a big hit on vhs this film and its following sequels back in the late 80's early 90's its pretty hokey and slightly aged also it oddly feels like a gory episode of The Equalizer.'

(7 out of 10)