This day and age horror films rarely all that shocking and sadly most of the older ones have lost their edge because of it. Some of the most shocking films in the genre came at a time when the industry wasn’t watered down with everything you could want on film. In 1980 director William Lusting (Maniac Cop series) teamed up with writer/actor Joe Spinell to unleash their take on the slasher genre, Maniac upon the world. Now Blue Underground is bringing the 40th Anniversary Limited Edition of the film home in a brand new 4K Restoration.

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Maniac follows a deeply disturbed man, haunted by the traumas of unspeakable childhood abuse. When these horrific memories begin to scream inside his mind, Frank prowls the seedy streets of New York City to stalk and slaughter innocent young women. Now Frank has begun a relationship with a beautiful photographer, yet his vile compulsions remain. These are the atrocities of a human monster. Maniac is one of those films that does feel completely dated yet still works to perfection. There is just something so strange about the whole thing, but keeps it simple while being complex as well.

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Star, writer and producer Joe Spinell is so good here. He brings an ever changing persona from nice guy to troubled to completely crazed. Through it all you can’t help but stay on guard waiting for when him to lose it in the best way possible. Despite the film being a lower budget feature it still sports some truly great gory visuals thanks to the always awesome Tom Savini who also has a great death sequence in the film that still holds up. Even when you think things are getting more normal for our troubled crazy it takes some uneasy turns right back to the root of his issues that pay homage to the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho.

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This cult hit is a must have for any fans of the slasher genre and offers up not only a great looking 4K restoration from a recently discovered 16mm original camera negative but also tons of bonus content including commentaries, trailers, TV & radio Spots, interviews, and so much more. As if this wasn’t already enough to add this to your collection this 3 Disc Limited Edition set also includes the original motion picture soundtrack and collectable booklet with a new essay by Michael Gingold.

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Grab your copy of the Maniac 30th Anniversary Edition available now from Blue Underground. To order your copy head over to https://mvdshop.com/products/maniac-limited-edition-blu-ray-dvd