Maniac Cop 2

Maniac Cop 2
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	William Lustig
Produced by	Frank D'Alessio David Hodgins Larry Cohen
Written by	Larry Cohen
Starring	Robert Davi Claudia Christian Michael Lerner Bruce Campbell Robert Z'Dar
Music by	Jay Chattaway
Cinematography	James Lemmo
Editing by	David Kern
Distributed by	Movie House Medusa Pictures
Release date(s)	July 18, 1990 (1990-07-18)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$4,000,000 (estimated)

Maniac Cop 2 is a 1990 American action horror film directed by William Lustig and written by Larry Cohen. It is the sequel to Maniac Cop (1988) and stars Robert Davi, Claudia Christian, Michael Lerner and Bruce Campbell.

Plot

Surviving being impaled by a pipe and plunging into a river at the end of the previous film, the undead Maniac Cop Officer Matthew Cordell (Robert Z'Dar) acquires a junked police cruiser and continues his killing spree through New York, attacking a convenience store in the middle of a robbery and killing the clerk (the thief subsequently being killed in a shootout with police). As Cordell stalks the streets his enemies Officers Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell) and Teresa Mallory (Laurene Landon) are put back on active duty by Commissioner Edward Doyle (Michael Lerner) who has the two undergo a psychiatric evaluation under Officer Susan Riley (Claudia Christian); while Jack is content that Cordell is long gone and wants to go on with his life, Teresa is convinced that Cordell is still alive (his body never being recovered) and is still plotting his revenge on the city for ruining him.

While out at a newsstand Jack is knifed through the neck by Cordell, leaving Teresa distraught and prompting her to decide to appear on a talk show to inform the public about Cordell, the police having kept Cordell's supposed return covered up (Commissioner Doyle was involved in originally framing Cordell and sending him to Sing Sing). While en-route to a hotel in a taxi Teresa is joined by Susan and the two are attacked by Cordell, who kills the cabbie and forces Susan and Teresa off the road. After handcuffing Susan to the wheel of a car and sending her into the busy streets, Cordell kills Teresa by snapping her neck. Gaining control of the car Susan crashes and is found by the police and given medical attention.

Elsewhere a stripper named Cheryl (Paula Trickey) is attacked in her apartment by serial killer Steven Turkell (Leo Rossi) who has strangled at least six other exotic dancers over the course of several months. As Turkell brutalizes Cheryl, Cordell arrives and disposes of a pair of officers earlier called by Cheryl before helping Turkell escape. Grateful for the help Turkell befriends Cordell and takes him back to his apartment, where Cordell stays for a short while before leaving. After Cordell leaves Turkell goes out to find another victim, but is ID'd at a strip club by Cheryl and arrested by Susan and Lieutenant Sean McKinney (Robert Davi). Placed in holding cell in the police station, Turkell taunts Susan, telling him Cordell will break him out. Turkell's assumption proves correct, with Cordell breaking into the police station and massacring the bulk of the police force in a hail of gunfire before breaking Turkell and several others out. Using Susan as a hostage Turkell, Cordell and another criminal named Joseph Blums (Clarence Williams III) hijack a prison bus and head to Sing Sing, Turkell having convinced himself Cordell wants to free all the inmates and create an army of criminals. Following Cordell are McKinney and Doyle, the former convincing the latter to reopen Cordell's case and dig up and then rebury his casket with full honors, McKinney believing this will appease Cordell.

Getting into the prison using Blums's (who was set to be transported to the prison the following day) paperwork Cordell and the others kill a guard for his keys. Shortly after entering death row Cordell is contacted over the prison PA system by Doyle, who admits to Cordell that he was set up and states that his case has been reopened. After hearing Doyle's announcement Cordell abandons Turkell, Blums and Susan and heads deeper into the prison, where he is attacked with a Molotov cocktail by the three inmates who originally mutilated him. While burning Cordell kills the three inmates and begins assaulting the other prisoners, only to be attacked by Turkell, who realizes Cordell was never his friend and only used him. As Cordell and Turkell fight the two crash through a wall and fall onto the bus below, the two killers seemingly dying when the bus explodes.

Sometime later Cordell is buried with full honors alongside other fallen officers, two of the few attendees to his funeral being Susan and McKinney. As Cordell's casket is lowered McKinney throws Cordell's badge into the grave and leaves with Susan, giving a monologue about how there is a little bit of Cordell in every officer and that every member of the force needs to rise above becoming a Maniac Cop. Before the credits roll Cordell's hand busts through the lid of his casket and grabs his badge.

Release

Maniac Cop 2 is the first film in the series to suffer cuts by the MPAA with some of the violence trimmed to get an "R" rating, most notably the police station massacre, which appears in its entirety as a flashback sequence in Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence (which was also originally rated NC-17).

Reception

Maniac Cop 2 grossed $75,788 in the UK, $120,000 in Germany and HKD 653,859 in Hong Kong. ^[1] The film got mostly positive reviews. It has a 43% "rotten" rating at Rotten Tomatoes, with one reviewer calling it a "A thrilling, inventive 'B' film." ^[2] Variety called Maniac Cop 2 "a thinking man's exploitation film, improving on the 1988 original." ^[3] TV Guide said the sequel "lacks the element of suspense present in the first film [...] Still, it delivers excellent action (including a spectacular sequence in which Susan, handcuffed to the steering wheel of a runaway car, must first climb inside, then bring the vehicle under control on a crowded highway), some spectacular fire effects and a number of quirky characterizations--a Cohen specialty." ^[4]

William Lustig considers Maniac Cop 2 to be his best film, saying "It was the film [where] I felt as though myself and my crew were really firing on all cylinders. And I think we made a terrific B-movie", and also thinks its superior to the first Maniac Cop film. ^[5]

Home video release

Maniac Cop 2 was first released on VHS by Live Home Video on June 13, 1991 in its R-rated version. In 2007, First Look Studios released the film onto DVD in fullscreen.

References

1. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100107/business
2. ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maniac_cop_2/
3. ^ "Maniac Cop 2". Variety. December 31, 1989. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117792923?refcatid=31. 
4. ^ http://movies.tvguide.com/maniac-cop-2/review/128244
5. ^ "Alamo Drafthouse William Lustig Series; Exclusive 'Maniac Cop 2' Poster and Interview!". BloodyDisgusting. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/23353. 

External links

• Maniac Cop 2 at the Internet Movie Database
• Maniac Cop 2 at AllRovi