Exploring Maniac Cop

GoodBadFlicks investigates the major cult classic Maniac Cop. Directed by Bill Lustig.
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Movies, games, and the occasional editorial.
From A-Z list films, video games, and other overlooked goodness.
Schedule -
Monday - 1 PM EST New Main Show Episode
Friday - Unscripted reviews of movies currently in theaters and VOD
Also occasional episodes of Good Bad Games and other assorted stuff at random times.

[@simplegarak]

Z'Dar? Campbell? This movie could have been retitled "War of the Chins."

[@linda10989]

Z'Dar would win, I'm afraid. But Campbell is funnier

[@BritanniaPacific]

Nate Winchester or z’dar could have been in army of darkness. But I was thinking about what would’ve happened if Campbell and z’dar switched roles.

[@retrogore420]

Boooooo

[@LB74]

Jay Leno should be involved in that somehow.

[@simplegarak]

Funny you say that since two weeks ago I just found this film: www.imdb.com/title/tt0097081/

[@thedeepcutpodcast]

Thank you so much for championing movies that average horror fans have either forgotten or haven't seen. I try so hard to do the same thing at our video store

[@GoodBadFlicks]

You are welcome :)

[@raptorbadger3131]

Did someone say SPACE COP?

[@Gfffg544]

It’s makes me really sad that Robert Z’Dar passed away because I absolutely love the maniac cop series and Z’Dars performance as the maniac cop is amazing very threatening and good I even love maniac cop 3 and they could have done a maniac cop 4 before 2015 but no and I understand that maniac cop 3 didn’t do that well but I rather have a maniac cop 4 then a remake and I don’t think the remake will ever be made but they could do a bride of maniac cop where at the end of maniac cop 3 Matt Cortell’s “bride”could come back and avenge cortell but if they one day do a maniac cop 4 PLEASE CALL IT BRIDE OF MANIAC COP

[@alexanderarkum4793]

I'll make u a deal cecil.....ill watch and thumb up any video you make but u have to make more and faster

[@GoodBadFlicks]

I'm going as fast as I can lol

[@daredevil595]

Campbell hated it due to a divorce he was going though at the time.

[@dsandoval9396]

That BITCH! How dare she divorce a national treasure!

[@GDark08]

Mmm, yeah, I can see how that would be maybe conflict with how his character in the film was having an affair with his wife. Little too close to home...

[@Scout-164]

@@dsandoval9396 Christine Deveau isn't a bitch. She was tired of how long her husband was being away from home. They were married for about 6 years, and they also had two children, but Bruce was away constantly. He wasn't even home for 2 of those years, and she knew that his work schedule likely wasn't going to change, and it was majorly upsetting to her, so she decided this was over. Campbell said it best where that they maintained themselves and didn't cause problems in front of the kids, even if he couldn't prevent the inevitable. I found out through his biography.

[@Scout-164]

@@rockdesu Production's not going to wait as you deal with martial problems, bud.

[@wimvanderstraeten6521]

I love your "Exploring" videos. Your love for B movies really shines through. Keep up the good work.

[@justindenney-hall5875]

Wim Van der Straeten Cecil Trachenburg is one the best cult movie critics since John Bloom AKA Joe Bob Briggs.

[@NEWmr180787]

Agreed! The genuine enjoyment really shines through! It's nice to have such positivity and interesting information and trivia in videos like this. KZbin needs more of it.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Thank you!

[@justindenney-hall5875]

GoodBadFlicks Thank you Cecil for continuing to produce this series in spite of youtube's bullshit, though I would really miss you I would understand if you did quit because one's Family should always come first.

[@justindenney-hall5875]

Jazz Man "That Would be the tits"? Is that a new slang term lol ?

[@bbutters2]

Robert "That Face" Z'dar was intimidating beyond hell as Maniac Cop when I first watched this.

[@UNIT522]

Dude, I just watched all 3 MC movies not too long ago , not a bad series as far as slasher flicks go .....

[@GoodBadFlicks]

:)

[@Dashyrre]

Yo I forgot your channel name last year. Finally will get back to it, great content!

[@PatrickSilent]

The third one was the weakest one, but they are all good. Especially the second one. That prison scene at the end! Great fire action.

[@iandruke2271]

"It was about a good cop who was seemingly back from the dead" What? He was definitely not a good cop. He is described as being extremely violent and straight up murdering suspects while he was a cop. He was admired by other cops for his extreme brutality and taking out the "bad guys". I liked how the film contrasts the "acceptable" violence the Maniac Cop commits while he was alive, with the "unacceptable" violence he commits when he becomes undead. The violence he commits while he's alive is seen as legitimate by society and applauded by the other cops because it is targeted at "undesirables". Then when he becomes undead, he now kills indiscriminately, so suddenly his violence is considered bad because now the "wrong people" are the victims of it.

[@shadow6543]

Criminals are desirable to you?

[@Thecatdrums3]

@@shadow6543death for all mistakes are desirable to you?

[@SilverSurfer166]

I remember watching this as a kid, and it really scared me unlike other horror movies. Something about being a little boy and being told that Cops are the good guys, and then seeing a Cop killing people really messed with my young mind.

[@mastervader218]

Reality check...Cops are not good guys. Although i do understand what you mean when we were kids and how conditioned we were.

[@JogVodka]

this movie hits differently when you grow up knowing how corrupt they are

[@shadow6543]

@@mastervader218 So are you a 2A die hard then? Or do you think you’d stop an intruder with a strongly worded message? Police are meant to be the good guys. They are ultimately just people and people are fallible.

[@lukemiller118]

"Maniac Cop" is one of my all time favourite Horror films, it's in my top 10 fave movies too!!! Love Tom Atkins

[@CelestialWoodway]

Shitty taste.

[@rossegan7244]

Tom atkins is a ledgend..the fog,escape from new york,halloween 3..he was even in lethal weapon. The man for sum reason always got the good looking women.

[@jbjacobs9514]

In terms of the cast, it is really a labor of love. I hope he realizes that! Thanks Cecil for this!

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Thank you!

[@xingcat]

I really have an affection for this movie. It's definitely something you can tell was built out of a singular vision.

[@NEWmr180787]

Love this movie and it's two sequels! Bruce, Z'Dar, Lustig and Tom Atkins all rock! Glad to see you cover this movie, I hope it inspires more folks in your audience to check it out and hopefully create new fans :D

[@GoodBadFlicks]

:)

[@charlesc5708]

Awesome vid! I remember watching Maniac Cop on HBO - the good old days!

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Thanks!

[@thebarbaryghostsf]

I love how the making of stories from so many of these films are almost more entertaining than the films themselves (almost).

[@xTravisMarx]

0:46 Cohen is a true visionary and is decades ahead of his time, I mean just look at his Apple watch lmaoo

[@ViktorKruger99]

Maniac Cop 3 bad? are you nuts Cecil? That movie is so good, like anything directed by that guy, Alan Smithee.

[@Vegeta8300]

Victor Kruger Alan Smithee is one of my favorite directors! The range of genres he does is huge. Not even counting the amount of films he has done! It's like dozens directors all wrapped into 1. He has even done a documentary about himself! The guy is a genius!! ;)

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Not bad but has problems due to a messed up production

[@everettvonscott]

+Vegeta8300 I was so sad when I heard he retired! Got too well known, couldn't handle the pressure.

[@alanalves7649]

Has lack of Cohen's anti-cop messenger

[@moomooold]

Jazz Man HA

[@paradisedemise3184]

Could you do an Exploring C.H.U.D?! That was so good.

[@dyingbreed5386]

Another low budget 80's gem.

[@VonWenk]

I think Lustig directed one of my favorite episodes of The War of Worlds TV series-"Among the Philistines."

[@AlbertSirup]

the first few minutes are literally a reel of some of my favourite quasi-exploitation horror movies. I love Inferno and The Stuff is (intentionally) hilarious!

[@AlbertSirup]

so is God Told Me So... i think i need to watch this movie and its sequel!

[@kazaloolovesgames]

I watched this film a few years ago and enjoyed it. It's a solid B movie.

[@AdmiralBison]

just want to make sure I am hearing this right. Campbell's character was cheating with a producer's wife (which I assume was a character in the movie) right? Not the actual actor was cheating with an producers actual wife in real life?

[@bad-people6510]

No. He was cheating on HIS wife. His referring to the possessive of the character. Jack Forrest was cheating on Jack Forrest's wife.

[@emilymmacisaac]

Thank you for researching and compiling such amazing resources for these smaller and forgotten films. So lucky to have these “exploring” videos. The fact that movie studios don’t give you 💰💰💰to produce these for their films is crazy to me.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Wow thank you! I appreciate the kind words. I love these movies and am happy to spread the word on them.

[@lukemiller118]

A CLASSIC from my childhood as i grew up watching this on old video & love it so much & Tom Atkins is a legend & my fave actor

[@jesseswarbrick7895]

I remembered Robert Z'dar from Tango and Cash when I first saw this. Both great movies

[@rossegan7244]

This pig and his cop friends broke my wrist my leg and my jaw...you broke that jaw.

[@TonySeagle]

I love that movie and I love love love how Maniac 2 starts out.

[@thepickles8833]

If you ever looked up Maniac Cop on Hulu, the expiration date unlike anything else on Hulu, expires in like year 3000.

[@TheSearcheronYT]

F. K. in the pickles. lmao

[@nono-lz9qr]

Heavy Metal Collector nice reference

[@paradisedemise3184]

Great addition. I completely forgot about this movie!

[@markcoleman4937]

YESSSSSSSSS!!! Thank you X infinity for doing an 'Exploring' feature on this. This ranks No. 3 on my greatest of all time list and No. 1 on my greatest movie taglines of all time list. Cheers Cecil.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Thanks!

[@Captstar2]

One of my favorite slasher flicks and villains. I had no idea about these facts. Loved every bit of it!

[@Gui.Vieira_]

They used to broadcast this movie A LOT on TV here in Brazil back in the 90's. I remember watching It several times when I was a kid.

[@DrowningSorrows1]

The blu-ray director's cut of Maniac Cop 3 is a lot better than the version most have seen.

[@BritanniaPacific]

It’s almost coincidental that I’ve chosen to write a paper about this movie for a class. I’m supposed to do an analysis for this movie, and there’s some real good information about it too. I’m ready for another viewing of this movie with this new info in mind.

[@Scout-164]

Although I enjoy Bruce Campbell in nearly all of his work, the MC trilogy tries to make Cordell seem sympathetic to the audience because he was a cop that was fucked over by the system. My problem isn't with the idea, but how Cordell is portrayed. The trilogy constantly tries to make Cordell seem like a victim, but all of his actions in the film make him like a humongous asshole, especially since he mostly murders civilians and good cops who are doing their job. It's even worse that he teams up with a serial killer in the second film so he can massacre numerous police officers and the inmates who cut his face up, and before that he murders Bruce Campbell's character simply because he stopped him from trying to turn NYC into an even bigger crime infested place. So look, I had some fun with the original, but the trilogy does very poorly in making Cordell look sympathetic. That's all I have to say.

[@TaiWoodz]

My girlfriend I just broke up with last month is close friends with Bill. Him and I even spoke on the phone recently. He sent me autographed blu ray copies of Maniac and Maniac Cop last week from Blue Underground. What a coincidence you just uploaded this. Thanks for this.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Sorry about the girlfriend but glad you liked the video :)

[@66cuda]

Thank you for this review, I added the blue ray to my amazon buy list on to buy, in the early 90's bruce was at the horror con by lax and I had a few stills signed and got the look of death from bruce when said I really liked maniac cop, I had both the tv edit and on vhs at the time

[@darkartsdabbler2407]

Bruce Campbell seems to be hard on a lot of his early work. Which is fair I think. He clearly takes acting seriously if you've ever heard him talk about it and he has definitely improved since his early days

[@stephaniecarr6984]

Loved loved this film! I always used to wonder what was up with Z'Dar's face? Found out recently that he suffered from Cherubism. Def distracting..but he was really good in this👍👍

[@howsitvingoing2048]

Why? Why would anybody give thumbs down? Ur movie reviews are better than some movies. If theres a movie that i despise... I'll happily watch your review of it!

[@GoodBadFlicks]

:)

[@njmfff]

You can't have 80s or 90s B movie without Buck Flower. One of my favorite scenes of his is in Wishmaster when he calls Reggie Bannister "bald-headed baboon".

[@TheHorrorMiserMontyG]

You're right Cecil, you can't get a better exploitation movie than Maniac Cop. Loved the first 2 but felt the 3rd one missed the mark.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

3 has a great story behind it.

[@terrybardy2848]

@@GoodBadFlicks I agree! It did show a twisted soft side of Cordell although he really didn't get the girl in the end! Thank you for this video.

[@karlijnmaren3818]

08:17 ...you used the Amsterdamned movie cover from Dick Maas. Good joice...!!!!

[@builtforsin7494]

I wish we could nerd out with both our movie collections. Would be so fun to watch movies with someone else who gets it.

[@sirtalkalotdoolittle]

Anyone who aspires to make B-movie exploitation and horror flicks is OK in my book.

[@root-beer]

Rip Larry Cohen

[@steveN111333]

This was an AWESOME movie !

[@whoknew2273]

This was a classic of its time remembering watching on VHS and it still good now

[@ANIpJs]

Congrats on another great video, this channel has quickly become one of my favorites. BTW you should consider doing an episode of Exploring on John Dies at the End. It's a fantastic horror comedy that would fall perfectly in with the type of films you show case.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Thank you! Yeah, John Dies at the End is terrific.

[@qqrk1372]

Mania, Maniac Cop, and Q. Saw all of them in the theater when they came out. THOSE were the days!

[@jamesmoss3424]

It's an fantastic 80's hidden gem horror movie. 😀👍👮‍♂️

[@CichlidAsh]

Remember renting this one on VHS it was entertaining enough and I liked it when it was released

[@LaktostheIntolerant]

Man, I could see Maniac Cop crossing into whatever horror franchise they wanted to. It'd be cool if he somehow hears of a masked murderer down in Jersey and decides to bring the law to Crystal Lake.

[@pimptastic4206]

You are always pumping out such great content! Much love brother!!

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Thank you! :)

[@kforcer]

Thing about this movie is, Frank McCray is the real star of the movie. He's the one you get to know and sympathize with, but somehow the movie seems to want you to view Bruce Campbell as the protagonist. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm upset over Frank McCray's fate. In any event, another great video.

[@Scout-164]

McCrae isn't the star though. His function in the film was to be a Decoy Protagonist, when it was Bruce Campbell's character that was the real protagonist since the plot centered around him. And personally, McCrae is an example of Decoy Protagonists done right, since you think he's going to survive, only to soon die and you're left with those who center around the plot. It's just a simple thing to put together.

[@johnivantaro6684]

They could have Kane Hodder with make-up to make him look more like Robert D'Zar if they ever do a remake/reboot.

[@JoeDredd2012]

7:53 I look to hearing your feelings on those Cecil I actually enjoy both part 2&3 a lot more then the first film nothing against it just that those sequels I watched more growing up.

[@WordUnheard]

150k subscribers! I'm very happy for you, Cecil. You deserve every subscriber and the many more to come.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Thanks Word!

[@devinharbert6071]

Review Maniac Cop 3: Badge Of Silence

[@slutsandguts8146]

Great choice of movies! Keep up the hard work on the "Exploring" series.

[@emaarredondo-librarian]

More trivia: The 4 songs that are briefly heard in the film were composed and sung by David Carradine and his then wife Gail Jensen (who wrote The Falling Guy's theme). Carradine played the main cop in Q The Winged Serpent, also with Richard Roundtree. Carradine and Larry Cohen had been friends since very young.

[@qweqqweq2090]

Did Bruce Campbell at any point say, "this is my boom stick!"?

[@mladenkulic446]

I recently watched this treasure of a movie couple of days ago. Good story, great cast, likable characters, and great brutal kills.

[@chriskim457]

One of my favorite "exploring" videos ever.

[@JoeChillton]

GBF, you sold me on this with Campbell and Atkins, thank you.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@otaking3582]

This is pretty much the only horror movie that actually NEEDS a remake, mostly because the subject matter is one that's far too real nowadays

[@gavman21]

Can you do the exploring on 1989 phantom of the opera

[@vladobuster3281]

You made my evening. Best review video I can get. I am waiting for part 2.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Thanks!

[@DonaldvsSephy]

Given the fate of Bruce Campbell's character in the sequel, it's almost a deliberate response to this.

[@Scout-164]

To this day, I still feel like they did Bruce Campbell dirty in the second film.

[@rowan7929]

wow, bruce thinks that this is his worst movie? but in congo he played for like 3 minutes and he even dies.

[@saloz9483]

As far as im concerned Tom Atkins was the real hero of the movie and I was sad when he got killed off. I did not care for Bruce cambells character in this movie and wish he kicked the bucket instead of Tom. Though besides that it was an ok flick.

[@bloodprincess800]

I'm glad to see this on your channel, as it's been a favorite of mine for a little while, now. I'm also dropping by to say that the more I dig into your channel, the more I like what I see. Can't say that I agree on every movie you go to bat for, but just to find a positive channel that's willing to give films a chance and be fair to them in a community rife with cynics, it's... it's such a nice thing to stumble on. Not to mention all of the movie trivia I'm learning about along the way.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Thank you! I don't expect everyone to agree with me all the time, I just like presenting some movies they may never have heard of or talking about films that deserve more positive attention. :)

[@bloodprincess800]

It's a real breath of fresh air.

[@VideoCop]

Its sort of destiny! I just got Maniac Cop 3 on blu in the mail today!

[@thejasonlundgren]

Maniac Cop is awesome! I haven't seen the sequels yet so I will check those out in the near future. Psycho Cop and its sequel sounds like an awesome watch.

[@NEWmr180787]

Part 2 is badass! Awesome stunts and action in that one, there's a scene similar to a certain scene in the first Terminator that i won't spoil, but it's something to behold, you'll know what i mean when you see it ;) Part 3 has its flaws but is a lot of fun too.

[@TimelordPrime]

Wait, there's a Bruce Campbell film I have never seen?

[@PrimoMagazine]

Maniac Cop II was also good. The scene where he was on fire was great.

[@blackphillip8519]

maniac cop 2 and 3 have the most insane fire and car stunts ever

[@JuddKramer]

This was a brilliant video, GoodBadFlicks. I'm surprised you made no mention of the legendary William Smith playing the part of the overzealous Captain Ripley. The guy has a voice that sounds like rusty nails being fed through a meat grinder.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Thanks for watching!

[@drewwar9344]

Too bad movies like this can't be made now a days people will get all butt hurt

[@christianrodney7124]

This movie was great I saw it a few days ago with my girlfriend we loved it

[@IAmMisterTterevel]

Goddam, Teamsters...

[@sweetwilliam2511]

Cohen is a great director. His movies are B-movie classics.

[@eliwilcox5351]

" you have the right to remain silent...forever"

[@jmorlar2852]

I loved Z'dar in Conan the Barbarian!

[@kungfew1396]

I'm still patiently waiting for diabetic cop! 🤗

[@JerkVegas86]

Lol

[@philipbourne]

Long Overdue but Well Worth the Wait. Well Done Cecil.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Thanks!

[@JnEricsonx]

I love one of the lines near the end of this film: "You're a brave man." "Not brave, scared shitless!"

[@ChibiFighter]

An Unexpected surprise, loved the video Cecil and I really dug the first movie nice little thriller blend and I'm so mad Bruce Campbell is down on his role bc I think it's one of his best.

[@IWasaTeenageTeenWolf]

From what I've heard, Campbell doesn't hate the film because of the film, but because he was going through a nasty divorce at the time. So his personal life tainted any enjoyment he may have had about starring as the lead protagonist of Maniac Cop.

[@350FPS]

Great to see back your "Explorin" series to B Movies :) I'm guessing is the new version of the Google Censor bot that got you back on this :) Great work as always! I'll catch your next Twitch session

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Not exactly. The previous films were a test to see what would get flagged. It became clear that everything I do gets autoflagged so why bother? I was seeing if there was any difference but it doesn't matter what I do, it all gets flagged no matter how tame it is.

[@350FPS]

Yep, that bot seems sort or arbitrary, same thing happened with me, when I started experimenting with gaming videos but after getting all of them demonetized even if I censored explicit language, I decided to keep my channel's focus on Airsoft and camping/hiking Anyway, as I said, it's great to see the "Exploring" series back to B Movies :) I really enjoy what you do In a non related note, I recently learned that you used to do editing as a day time job (I can't remember if it was twitch or in KZbin were you say it); I have always loved the movies, whatever if it is B Movies, mainstream or anything in between and learning to edit has open a whole new perspective on Cinema for me. Editors are like the linemen in a football, no one remembers them but everybody knows the Quarterback but if there weren't any linemen the QB couldn't make anything done :)

[@jasonsantos3037]

I love the Maniac cop trilogy.

[@thedrangler599]

I only came to this video because I looked up my name-Matt Cordell. 😂

[@crazychips123]

Ah yes love the exploring series.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Thanks!

[@MyersErik]

Favorite channel oon KZbin. Thanks

[@GoodBadFlicks]

:)

[@ajscrewu]

Fuck yes dude. Cover the second one and that one movie madman

[@brandonbarker8821]

One of my favorites. Thanks Cecil...best channel on you tube hands down

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Thank you so much!

[@simenkarlsen949]

I usually have no idea about the movies you cover in this series, but i dont care either because your content is so good!

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Thanks!

[@simenkarlsen949]

Cecil, i saw you did an "exploring the troll hunter" a while back, which is one of my favorite norwegian movies and i would like to recomend another norwegian low budget horror comedy. Its called "Dead Snow" im sure you will like it :)

[@shadyrecords4386]

I wonder what happend to the cop Who got caught drinking...😓

[@slipknotboy555]

shady records Me too. The shot's funny, but I hope nothing bad came of it for him

[@Fluoride_Jones]

+shady records He was probably promoted to captain.

[@nicolascuenca254]

His captain scolded him for making a pour decision.

[@shadyrecords4386]

Fluoride Jones 🤣🤣🤣

[@slipknotboy555]

Nicolas Cuenca Haha, great pun

[@mikebest5193]

Your exploring videos are addictive