Lustig. In addition to the trailers, Japanese scenes and the Z’Dar interview, two new featurettes are included: an enjoyable 11m inter- view with a jovial Tom Atkins and a brief conversation with co-star Danny Hicks. Audio options are DTS-HD (6.1, 4.0, 2.0), but in the release’s one prominent shortcom- ing, the commentary has been removed.
MANIAC COP received a small theatrical release, but found a big audience on home video and also did well overseas, leading to the first sequel, which Lustig pitched as “Frankenstein Meets the French Connection.” Opening with the climax of its forerunner, MANIAC COP 2 finds Cordell still on the loose. Soon adding Forrest to his list of victims, the murder- ous cop (now looking even worse for wear after spending an ex- tended time underwater) finds an unexpected ally in serial killer Turkell (Leo Rossi), who has been preying on the city’s exotic danc- ers. Detective Sean McKinney (Robert Davi) and police psycholo- gist Susan Riley (Claudia Chris- tian) soon overcome any doubts
that Cordell is indeed still alive when the latter is almost killed by him (a terrific stunt sequence in which Christian is handcuffed to a driverless car that is careening down a hill). Further investigation and Cordell’s subsequent actions reveal that corruption played a part in his prison sentence. Aided by the enthusiastic Turkell, Cordell heads back to Sing Sing to finish off the prisoners who sliced up his face and left him for dead. While it does not deviate too far from the original picture, MA- NIAC COP 2 offers a smooth, well-produced continuation of the story that takes the action and excitement up a notch with a big- ger-is-better approach. Thanks to a substantial increase in budget, the car chases are more elaborate, there are extended fire stunts (in- cluding a repeat of the decelera-
tor fall—this time with two stuntmen, both of whom are bathed in flames!) and Lustig for- goes the comparative restraint shown last time by making the bullet hits extra gory. Cohen again provides a reasonably sturdy framework for the mayhem along
with some witty throwaway lines and a nicely-played sequence where a blind WWII vet (Robert Earl Jones) relates how Cordell’s icy coldness reminded him of the dead comrades whose bodies kept him from freezing after he was badly wounded during a winter battle. Perennial bad guy Davi proves to be an engaging anti- hero and his work is complimented by another fine cast of character actors (including Charles Napier and Clarence Williams III), with Rossi having a field day as the bearded lunatic (inspired in part by Bela Lugosi’s Ygor character from SON OF FRANKENSTEIN). MANIAC COP 2 was among the earliest titles to be offered on laserdisc with theatrical 1.85:1 matting, despite the fact that it was released direct-to-video state- side. Thanks to the rights chang- ing hands several times, it took years for the film to reach domes- tic DVD, which it finally did in 2007 with a lackluster presenta- tion. Lustig mentions being criti- cized during production by one of the producers, who felt that the film was too dark-looking for
This impressive burn stunt from MANIAC COP 2 has been augmented with additional CGI flames in Blue Underground’s new transfer.
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