Maniacts (2001)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Directors:

Curt Cressler
C.W. Cressler

Writer (WGA):

C.W. Cressler (written by)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Drama | Horror | Romance

Tagline:

Just two crazy kids in love...

Plot:

Two serial killers meet and fall in love in an asylum for the criminally insane. Upon escaping their corrupt captors...

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Skull Crushing | Queen Elizabeth II | Mental Hospital

Cast

Jeff Fahey	...	Joe Spinelli
Kellie Waymire	...	Beth Windsor
John Furlong	...	Prometheus J. Boley
Mel Winkler	...	Mason
Leslie Easterbrook	...	Matron Knull
Jeremiah Birkett	...	Jumpy (as Jeremiah W. Birkett)
Vincent Guastaferro	...	Tapeman
Bob Bancroft	...	Dr. Denton Speck
Simon Brooke	...	Carp
Bob Koherr	...	Bull
Christopher Maleki	...	Simon Burke (as Chris Maleki)
Robyn Reede	...	Therapist
Marion Ramsey	...	Hooker
Anthony Dilio	...	Esai (as Dilio)
John Patrick Patti	...	D.A. Ben Rogers

Also Known As:

ManiaX (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence/gore and language.

Runtime:

USA:92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Meat and Potatoes

Quotes:

Beth Windsor: We must've made a mistake... It's gotta be OK to kill people. Carmakers do it, doctors do it, governments do it all the time.

The greatest cinematic romance I have ever seen

I was very surprised to see that "Maniacts" was not what I expected in the least. In this very effective and touching movie dedicated to Joe Spinell, Joseph Spinelli (Jeff Fahey) is a serial killer known as the "Blueblood Killer". He's killed those he found to be parasites who made their living off of lying and thievery. In a mental institution for the criminally insane, he meets (along with a corrupt and murderous array of administrators and staff workers) another inmate, a female serial killer named Beth Windsor (Kellie Waymire), who killed people who attacked her as she hitchhiked. As they continue to fall more and more deeply in love with one another, the administration sees them as a threat to the reputation of the institution. Eventually, they are on the lam, taking up residence with a kindly (and somewhat psychic) old farmer who has had trouble with bankers and gang members. I don't want to say much more about the plot for fear of spoiling the surprisingly down-to-Earth surprises within. Let's just say that it's definitely not as cliched as it may sound. Most of the actors hold their own very well, and the ones who don't still ably contribute to the often very comical feel of this unconventional movie. Every time it threatens us with a cliche, it defiantly resists. I highly recommend "Maniacts", as it is that rare occasion where the mix of hilarious dark humor, touching romance and drama, and airborne-gore-style ultraviolence is actually so well-concocted that it seems effortlessly achieved (even when it actually takes extreme and true talent to create something with this kind of power).