Maniac 1980

William Lustig’s 1980 psychological slasher film maniac could very much be a typical film of its era. The film centres around Frank Zito (Joe Spinell) a serial killer with an abusive childhood who in the streets of New York kills young women before thinking their scalps to put on mannequins as he befriends a photographer named Anna (Caroline Munro). This can very much be just another splatter film but what makes maniac stand out is the psychological depth and realistic betrayal of serial killer protagonist creating an experience unlike many other horror films of the era.

With maniac We are put into the perspective of Frank Zito the protagonist and serial killer of the film both narratively and literarily with the POV shots showcasing the perspective of the serial killer. The film maniac deviates from a loss of slasher films in the genre as instead of following the innocent protagonist throughout the film we follow the killer. This is further showcased when he kills the woman with a straight razor and the guy with fibre wire. As opposed to other slasher movie killers there is a realistic nature to both the film itself and how Frank kills his victims. This idea maniac being different from a lot of other slasher films is further shown when Frank wakes up from his bed screaming and crying. This seems to be a genuine level of psychological depth to the character of Frank Zito. Throughout this scene we are showing a portrait of his mother surrounded by candles in a almost religious SQA, hinting to the idea that he sees her as a invisible godlike. Controlling causing him to worship her to an extent our God. This gives the character more depth and unlike a lot of slashing you protagonist makes Frank a genuinely scary person. As opposed to a supernatural killer this is merely a normal person who kills women. In scalping there heads and putting her hair on mannequins the film shows a more realistic portrayal of a serial killer with inconsistencies that go hand-in-hand with a lot of real life killers. An element of Frank’s philosophy seems to be the idea of beauty being a crime punishable by death and ideology that Frank most likely drop from his mother due to her being a prostitute and neglecting them throughout his childhood.

The following scene shows Frank roaming about the dirty sleazy streaks going for a brothel for prostitutes. The Frank Sebastian his man around showcases the idea of him wanting nothing else but to kill. Within the film Frank seems to have both a feather versus attraction to an psychological fear of women stemming from his abusive mother which caused him to lash out and ultimately kill showcased with him strangling the prostitute during this scene the actress changes to a different woman showcasing he sees his mother in the women’s kills and therefore target’s people that look like her in order to kill the source of his abuse and destroy the reason he is this why. But he gets a joy and gratification from these acts as he wants to destroy his mother as a symbolic representation of the subconscious primal id. But this causes fear within him as he cries over the prostitute’s death showcasing a duality to his character as he scalps her hair and puts it, making a very serial killer like trait.

Frank collect manikins with dead women’s scalps on them, so he does not feel alone and that in his mind he has the love of women. He has a dualistic mindset of blaming himself and his manikins for his work which could be interpreted as the voice of his mother. He collects manikins as not for apart from his mother due to his fear of abandonment. He wants to escape the dominating presence of her to an extent but ultimately trust in what he believes he would want.

If again we are showing a much more realistic betrayal of the serial killer is supposed to what is commonly seen in horror films of the era with Frank packing a shotgun into a guitar case. In him feeding the dull invocation of the scenes symbolises himself being trapped by his mother as well as the scars of his past as he is a prisoner in his own mind. Within maniac the typical setup of the slasher killer and his victims were subverted with the realistic death of two people being shot guns to death in a car. Instead of a traditional over-the-top killing only found in slasher films the victims in the come across as acts that were committed by a serial killer. The film then shows news reports of events that have just occurred. If maniac shows a very realistic portrayal of a serial killer as it delves into the protagonist subconscious. Talking to his manikins he wishes to receive company from women due to the loss of his mother figure. He ultimately needs companionship in his life and therefore kills women, so he is not alone.

 As Frank sees Anna at the park he goes to look at the manikins shop further cementing the idea of collecting women as a replacement for his mother. When then shown a classic horror movie setup of the serial killer stalking a nurse through the subway before stabbing her to death in a public toilet. Again, maniac shows a gritty realism in its portrayal of a serial killer. As Frank talks to his victims as the nails the scalps on their heads and he acts like a mother’s gelding his children. This further indicates the idea of Frank embodying the personality of his abusive mother like a split personality disorder causing these violent tendencies. Frank then goes to her apartment where they struck up a conversation. In this scene Frank acts nice and charming as they could possibly be a nice person underneath it all. But the scars of Frank’s past will never let him live a normal life. With his mother abusing and abandoning him a barrier was forged between himself and everyone else creating a fear of women stemming from his mother which causes him to lash out and kill.

Frank’s and Anna’s discussion of keeping women in photos to showcase the beauty of model Frank strikes up a kinship with her. He sees her capturing people in photos like he does with his manikins so that they both in their own individual way owning them forever so they can never leave them. Frank wants Anna due to the fact that she is a woman. If he wants her to give him the acceptance and love that is mother didn’t as not having this causes him to kill women in order to try and find companionship with them. He tries to forget a part of himself but ultimately can’t let go he doesn’t want to share his mother and wants people to replace her as his own personal comfort hence why he collect manikins in order to create a life for himself and a life avoided of a mother figure.

In Frank bonding with and the film shows the remnants of what he could have been if not for his psychopathic tendencies as there is a genuine level of sympathy and depth to the character of Frank not seen with lots of horror movie villains in this era and obviously. When Frank steeled Rita’s neck is so he can go to her house to kill her and ultimately manipulate Allah the film showcases a level of intelligence and maniac is more than just a slasher film. With Frank giving Rita the necklace whilst unlocking the door it shows a level of subtlety to the film. Frank wants to kill Rita because she is a person invading the relationship, he and Anna have Frank wants Rita all to himself to be his own personal form of comfort as a replacement for the mother he never had. Frank then tacks and ties up Rita. As he does, he talks to her like his mother he ultimately sees his mother in the victims he kills highlighting the abuse of his past. He wants to collect women as a replacement for his neglectful mother. The film showcases Frank’s childhood fears and abandonment issues with his mother projected through the women he kills. Frank ultimately wishes to kill his mother both literally and metaphorically. His mother was a prostitute hence why the prostitute was one of his victims. Frank felt neglected and abused by his mother as this dark past shaped his mind. Therefore, he wants to keep his mother close due to the fear of losing her in childhood Frank collect women to feel closer to his mother.

The line “I warned you not to go out tonight” which is also the tagline for the film relates to his relationship with his mother has he doesn’t want the abuse neglected and abandoned again. That being said her influence is still very much part of Frank’s psyche as he respects her death through lighting candles and still hides in the closet through the abuse of his prostitute mother showcased the fear and repression of Frank as he tries to fight his own inner demons in the scars of his past. Frank playing with children’s toys shows how he has a child’s brain that still clings on to the past and wants the love of his mother. Frank wants the childhood he never had and has a victim of abuse and neglect his morphed into a crazy dangerous individual.

Frank invites Anna to dinner but asks if he does not mind them stopping off at his mother’s grave before they go to which she accepts. Frank wants to connect with Anna as he sees as his salvation as throughout the film is shown that they do generally seem to like one another. Frank is shown to still have regret over what happens and shows the scars of his psychological mind through his abusive past when he cries over his mother’s grave. He breaks down in front of Allah somewhat emitting that he was the one that killed Rita before lashing out and trying to kill her. Anna then attacks him and escapes as the film showcases the idea of him trying to destroy the abuse is mother caused him symbolically by killing women. However, maniac shows that ultimately Frank is a monster that cannot have happiness as there is no sense of redemption for the character. In Anna attacking Frank and escaping we are shown the beginning of the end and the downfall of Frank. Frank’s debilitating mental state showcases the scars of his past and the abuse at the hands of his mother as acts such as locking him in the closet to punish him shows a twisted form of love punishment in his mother abusing Frank for being a “bad boy”. Frank cries over the grave of his mother before a hallucination takes place of the corpse of his mother coming out of the ground to attack him. Frank is ultimately facing the punishment for the what he has done with justice being delivered where it was her Frank the most by delving into his inner psyche digging up the scars of his past.

In the final scene of the film we see his hallucinations as the victims in the form of the manikins come to life and attack Frank whipping him to pieces. Although incredibly violent this film is a deserving death with the scars of the past coming back to haunt him. However, when the police arrive the find Frank a line and into bed with a knife plunged into him alluding to the idea, he stabbed himself to death. This further showcases the realism of maniac and do what we saw was merely a hallucination with the film ending by Frank’s eye open with a flash forward effect.

Unlike a lot of slasher films of the era what sets maniac apart is the psychological depth the film dives into within the character of Frank Zito betraying the life of a serial killer in a realistic way was also commenting on the psychology of his mind and the catastrophic events that would cause such a disturbing sequence of events to occur.