I picked this one up because of its rep as a big cult classic and I heard it was a "so bad it's good" movie, but overall it treaded the line between being an actual "good" movie and a "so bad its good" movie. So overall I would say it's just a "bad" movie, but one did have some entertainment value to it. The film is about exactly what it sounds like, a "maniac cop" that goes around killing innocent people, but what's interesting is that the killer may or may not be an undead former police officer (that is what attracted me to this film). The film has somewhat of a traditional 80s slasher feel to it, but it tries to hard to be an intelligent mystery with a twist (which it's not), the twist and overall "mystery" are pretty predictable and have easily found solutions (they actually show you the name tag on the uniform of the killer in the movie's opening sequence). Tom Atkins plays the cop who is on the trail of the maniac cop throughout most of the film, and Bruce Campbell (who appeared in this film and it's 1st sequel in between filming Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness) plays the prime suspect who claims he's innocent. I loved Tom Atkins in The Fog, Halloween III, and of course Night of the Creeps, he's still good in this film but I think the writing was a little hokey overall for everyone in this film. Bruce Campbell really shines with his typical slapstick style towards the end of the film, and that quite frankly is the best part of this movie. In the last 15-20 minutes or so is when the most action occurs, Bruce Campbell starts being Bruce Campbell, the maniac cop is revealed and all the good stuff happens, the rest of the film is not as entertaining as the ending. Also another problem with the film is when they finally do reveal the killer's face the makeup is so bad and actors face is so bizarre that all the ominous scary atmosphere of the film and persona of the killer gets washed away with the first glimpse of the killer's face, which needless to say is a big let down. The titular cop is played by cult and B-movie veteran Robert Z'dar (along with his inhumanly large jaw, which is all natural by the way), and he went on to reprise his role in the film's following two sequels. The film itself is directed by William Lustig who aside from this film and its sequels is most known for the infamously gorey 80s slasher Maniac. Overall the film was alright but it could've been so much better if it made up its mind and went with full on seriousness, or full on wackiness, it was too in-between for me so I give it a 3/5. It did have a great tag-line though: "You have the right to remain silent...forever!" You can watch the trailer below:
Just watched this one last night. This is another one that I've been meaning to watch for forever, but just never got around to it, but I finally got around to it and it's well worth a watch. For those of you that aren't familiar with this movie's premise, here it is: Bruce Campbell plays an elderly Elvis (the real one who switched lives with an impersonator back in the 70s) living in a nursing home in texas with a black man who's convinced he's JFK (Ossie Davis), and their nursing home and its residents are under attack by an ancient mummy, and Elvis and black JFK have to save the day (that is quite possibly one of the craziest sentences I've ever written). If you are a sane intelligent human being, chances are you read that synopsis and said "oh my god, that sounds crazy," for some of you it should make sense though if I told you the movie was directed by Don Coscarelli (Phantasm series, John Dies at the End (2012). For those of you who don't know the insanity that is Don Coscarelli let me explain/describe the other movies he's best known for: Phantasm (1979) is the story of a boy and a disgruntled Ice cream man battling a demonic/alien mortician named "the tall man" and a metal flying orb with blades on it that drills through peoples skulls, and John Dies at the End (2012) (which I previously reviewed) is about two college aged men who take a mysterious drug called "soy sauce" and become paranormal interdimensional warriors. So this film fits perfectly into Coscarelli's usual brand
of craziness. Bruce Campbell is hilarious and very believable as an elderly Elvis who regrets switching identities with an impersonator so he could escape fame and start over, he misses Priscilla, Lisa Marie, and the fame. But with the arrival of the mummy wreaking havoc on the Shady Oaks rest home he has found a new reason to live; to save the shady oaks residents. The chemistry between Cambpell and Ossie Davis is perfect and the movie is laugh out loud funny. It's also great to see Campbell in another role after Army of Darkness (1992) where he can call everybody "baby" and be "the king" again. The movie is relatively low budget (like most of coscarelli's movies) but the makeup and special effects are effective. Also make no mistake, though this is a definite comedy, it is a horror movie, a horror-comedy, the creepy atmosphere in the old folks home at night is very well done. The humor is pretty vulgar, that's just a head's up in case vulgar humor's not your thing. There are also lots of great lines like " I hate to tell you this Jack, but Kennedy wasn't black." "I know that, they dyed me this color!" If you're a fan of wacky movies, or horror movies/horror comedies, I highly recommend this one. Also if you like either Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) or The Big Lebowski (1998) this one has a similar wacky feel to it. I give it a 4.5/5; This film is available to be streamed on Netflix, and it is also available through Xfinity OnDemand with Comcast. For some reason Blogger won't let me upload the trailer I want as a youtube clip so I'll put the link to the better version of the trailers for it here.
