Maniac is a 1980 American slasher film, about a disturbed and traumatized serial killer who scalps his victims. It was directed by William Lustig and written by Joe Spinell and C. A. Rosenberg. Joe Spinell also developed the story, and stars as the lead character. Frank Zito is a middle-aged, overweight, Italian-American loner living in an unspecified borough of New York City, where he works as the landlord of a small apartment complex. Unbeknown to his tenants, Frank is a schizophrenic serial killer who spends his nights stalking and killing women, scalping them and bringing the scalps and... their clothing back home to decorate his steadily growing supply of mannequins. Once a mannequin has been decorated to his satisfaction, Frank sleeps with it for several nights, using them to carry on one-sided conversations with his deceased mother, an abusive prostitute who subjected him to years of physical abuse before dying in a car accident and leaving him orphaned. Inexplicably, after several nights, Frank grows tired of each mannequin, posing them around different parts of his apartment before seeking out another victim.
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| Release date: | December 26, 1980 |
| Directed by: | William Lustig |
| Runtime: | 87 Minutes |
| Music by: | Jay Chattaway |
| Cinematography: | Robert Lindsay |
| Screenplay by: | Joe Spinell |
| Estimated budget: | $550,000 |