RATED- R
RUN TIME- 80 MINS
WRITER(S)- DAN POVENMIRE
STARRING- ROBERT R. SCHAFER, BARBARA NIVEN AND ROD SWEITZER
DIRECTOR- ADAM RIFKIN
Synopsis taken from IMDb
psychopath cop decides to kill everyone who he thinks has broken the law.
Once I was a few minutes into this one I could tell why so many people seem to like it. It has the genuine feel of a grindhouse film, with it's gritty interior and exterior. This is more like a throwback to the 70's exploitation flicks than it is a near-mid 90's movie.
In this film, Psycho Cop crashes a bachleor party, and honestly I'm glad he did. I didn't think any of the strippers were attractive, maybe it was a 90's thing, but I have a higher standard than what was in this movie. So I was extremely dissapointed with the fact that out of a handful of near-naked darlings, there wasn't one that I was wanting to look at.
No, like the first film, there is no character developement or likeable characters. Really, it's just a bunch of mindless guys acting like fools and thinking they're cool. Not having good characters does either two things, it either kills the whole movie or it makes the movie fun. This was the latter.
The writing is so simple that it's totally fine if you text, chat, or get up to eat with this movie playing, and the only thing you'll miss is bad acting or worse dialog. Trust me, I did all of the above and was still able to follow the movie completely. It's literally a cop shows up to a party and starts killing people, there's nothing to it.
What struck me was that somehow it was actually really enjoyable! I wasn't looking for good acting or dialog when I went into watching, I didn't even know what to expect. I just went in hoping it would be better than the original, and it was.
The kills are a little better, but the effects are still bad. Due to the fact that I actually sort of liked this fim, I didn't mind the flaws. I just saw it as a fun movie. You don't have to stare at the screen the entire duration, you can even have it on as background noise and only catch bits and pieces and it'll be one that you'll enjoy.
I liked the ending of this installment because it resorted in the civilians getting back at the corrupt bastard and jumping the living hell out of him with weapons. Of course it didn't keep him down but, it was a good redemption scene that for some reason reminded me of "The Warriors". It was probably just the rough around the edges type of scene it is.
I can't say that I'm a big fan of either film, but I certainly didn't mind this one. This is a good film in comparison to "Maniac Cop", unlike it's predecessor. I approve this movie, it's a lot of fun, and it's an easy watch.
RATED- R
RUN TIME- 87 MINS
WRITTER(S)- WALLACE POTTS
STARRING- ROBERT R. SHAFER, JEFF QUALLE AND PALMER LEE TODD
DIRECTOR- WALLACE POTTS
Synopsis taken from IMDb
Six college students on their weekend vacation are humiliated and killed one by one by a psycho cop.
If you're a follower of this blog, then you know that a few weeks ago I reviewed the "Maniac Cop" trilogy. And the one thing that kept popping up is "Psycho Cop" and "Psycho Cop 2", however, I was in no rush to see them. Reason being that I already saw it as a copycat series, especially since the first film came out only a year after the first "Maniac Cop" film.
Speaking of which, just like "Maniac Cop" this film was harshly criticized by Police Interest Group. I find this funny, because I can see why they'd complain about these movies. On the other hand, I think these films are a wakeup call to a lot of unhonest cops out there who get away with things. No doubt that these films are extreme cases of police brutality, but they're driven by the "what if this really happened?" idea, due to how corrupt cops can be and what they can often slide by with.
Finally curiousity got the best of me, and I caved and watched it. Everybody knows that I'm an 80's horror child, I'm a sucker for it and can never get enough of it. This film being an 80's film, actually didn't do anything for me. I'm not hating it or bashing it, but I just didn't find the appeal in it.
It's a cheap little nasty without much story, it's just a bunch of college kids being killed off one after another, there's really nothing to it. That's a good thing and a bad thing, because looking at it from one perspective it's nothing more than a forgettable movie. One the other hand, it's an easy and fun watch. So rating this one isn't easy.
The deaths aren't anything that I haven't seen before, they're pretty generic and I don't think it's because it's a dated movie. I think that back in 1989 that there were way better effects and deaths in films that came before it, and after it.
Really, the best way to describe this film is to say that it's a sleazy murder movie that doesn't offer anything in the way of story or character developement. You just watch things happen and then the movie's over. I watched the film 2 or 3 days ago, and I can honestly say that I don't remember hardly anything about it! That happens a lot though, but what else can you expect when you redo what's already been done and done better than what you're doing? I feel like this movie was made just to make a horror film, I felt no real need for it at all with how it offered nothing new.
Once watching the film and talking about it amongst friends, I came to find out that a lot of people didn't like this movie. I also discovered that a lot of people love the sequel, so I watched that one, and the review will be coming soon.
Overall, I can't say that there was anything that I hated about this film, it was just kind of there, take it or leave it. I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again, and I wouldn't purchase it unless I got the sequel with it. If you're in the mood for a cheesy 80's flick with bad dialog and acting, than it's an easy watch. Otherwise, it's not worth the time of day.
In what was an attempt to cash in on "Maniac Cop", it fell far too short. Fun movie, but not a good one.
