(1980)
Dir - William Lustig
Overall: MEH
Director William Lustig's Maniac was his first non-porno movie and it became a textbook "video nasty" for its time. Supported by Caroline Munroe, co-writer/lead Joe Spinell, and Tom Savini, (who besides doing the top-notch gore effects as is his specialty, also appears as one of the title character's victims), Lustig's vision here is bleak, bloody, and actually a little boring. So, one too many b's. Though Spinell is very effective as the heavily panting, overweight psycho killer, it was already a cliche in 1980 to have your murderer be yet another emotionally disturbed mama's boy. Maniac's script is not really put together properly as the sub-plot with Munroe springs up randomly and appears to have several scenes missing from it, making it unclear as to its purpose in being there since it clashes so hard with the rest of the behavior and motivation from Spinell's title character. There are a few murder sequences that unfortunately suffer too much from the horror format. Since we know that all of these no-named women are doomed, there is no suspense in waiting for them to finally get all sliced and diced; a wait that occasionally seems to take forever at times. Though things like this plod the movie down, the mood and complete lack of humor does make it pretty creepy even during the slow bits.
(1987)
Dir - J. Michael Muro
Overall: MEH
Cinematographer J. Michael Muro, (who worked on everything from numerous James Cameron films to Dances with Wolves), has a lone directorial effort under his belt and it is the absolutely asinine Street Trash. Deliberately designed to be as offensive as possible to find a devote, midnight movie/video nasty audience, it is a frustrating combination of bizarrely exceptional camera work, practical gore effects, absolutely no plot, and unbearably terrible performances. When the dialog is not in the "so bad it's hilarious" camp, it is overlapping with guido after guido after guido yelling profanities over each other to the point of nausea. Muro definitely delivers on the trash element of the title with necrophilia, rape, racism, and women-beating all mixed with homeless people being portrayed as raving, Neanderthal lunatics who revel in playing keep-away with somebody's severed penis. As ridiculous as Street Trash certainly is, it would be easier to appreciate it as hilarious garbage if not for the meandering lack of a story where random characters and "plot" lines abruptly come in and out, going nowhere in the process. It becomes aggravating and tedious far too quickly like a kid at recess who keeps picking stuff out of his nose and relentlessly chasing you around with it.
(1989)
Dir - Steve Miner
Overall: GOOD
Genre director Steve Miner, (several Friday the 13ths, House), worked with a script from future director David Twohy, (The Riddick Trilogy, Below), on Warlock, a pleasantly silly film whose budgetary constraints are noticeable yet not detrimental. Twohy initially conceived of a far grander story, but limited funding resulted in some major rewrites that basically makes the movie a part fish out of water comedy and part Terminator rip-off with black magik, neither of which is a bad thing. As a horror film, it is severely missing in anything spooky or at all frightening, though an early scene featuring Mary Woronov's medium nearly qualifies even if it is still played somewhat for laughs. Julian Sands was cast against type as the diabolical title character and Richard E. Grant was straight off the heels of Withnail and I, each actor getting to speak in threatening old English at each other in a very Dracula vs. Van Helsing way. The script does a good job of keeping its rules straight while simultaneously giggling at them, plus most of the poor visual effect work can be forgiven due to the era and lack of funds. Another director would take on the following, even lesser-financed sequels, (with Sands returning for second as a totally different warlock), but the initial one here stands on its own just fine.
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