America's Favorite Zombie Officer Returns on 4K with Blue Underground's Maniac Cop II and III

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Submitted by Stu Moran on Thu, 11/25/2021 - 19:16

In 1988 William Lustig directed the film Maniac Cop, written by Larry Cohen, which received lackluster reviews and box office revenues at the time. But later, when released onto the home video markets, the film became a cult classic, spawning two follow up sequels which have recently made their way to a 4K release.

Two years after the first film, Lustig reassembled the cast to create Maniac Cop 2, again written by Larry Cohen and starring Robert Davi, Claudia Christian, Michael Lerner, and Bruce Campbell, with Robert Z'Dar returning as the baddie in blue.

Maniac Cop 2, which many see as an improvement on the first tale, is full of murderous mayhem, jump scares, and strippers, and continues the story of our undead detective on his mission of revenge and cleaning the streets of crime, leaving them washed red with blood.

In 1993, Lusting and Cohen brought Robert Z’Dar back from the dead one more time for Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence. Often touted as the weakest of the Maniac Cop trilogy of terror, it was panned and review bombed upon release, and only until recently has begun to find its place walking that thin blue line between horror and comedy.

Borderline unwatchable at times, Cohen diverts from his tried-and-true blue revenge tale and introduces a witch doctor that brings our hero back to the living to do his bidding, instead of sticking to the formula of a zombie cop walking the beat, ridding the streets of the scum and criminals – a formula audiences loved and expected from the first two previous outings.

The transfers to 4K and Blu-ray look gorgeous and really bring these films back to life. Even if the story is lackluster at times, the crystal-clear definition brings you directly back into the time the films were made and detains your imagination.

So if you want a good old fashioned horror double-feature night, lock yourself up with these two cult films, and I guarantee you won't remain silent from all the jump scares that await you.

Maniac Cop 2 3.5/5.0

Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence 2.5/5.0

Maniac Cop 2 Features and Specs

Disc 1 (4K UHD Blu-ray) Feature Film + Extras:

Audio Commentary with Director William Lustig and Filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn

Theatrical Trailers

Isolated Music Track

Disc 2 (Blu-ray) Feature Film + Extras:

Audio Commentary with Director William Lustig and Filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn

Back On the Beat – The Making of MANIAC COP 2

Cinefamily Q&A with Director William Lustig

Deleted Scene