Maniac Cop 2

Immediately following the events of the previous film, the titular Maniac Cop, proving that you can’t keep a good (or bad) undead cop down, has survived the events of the previous film, and is continuing his wanton path of destruction through the streets of New York, killing any and all who have wronged him or get in his way. To help him achieve these goals, he teams up with a new, living maniac, the Times Square serial killer. This of course catches the attention of a whole new group of very befuddled police officers, who now find themselves forced to contend with a hulking supernatural killer, instead of the weasley little run-of-the-mill psychopath they thought they were tracking.

Now that this and the first Maniac Cop are once again fresh in my mind, I think it’s a fair assumption to say that Maniac Cop 2 is probably more along the lines of what the first film was initially aiming for. Because the sequel fixes a LOT of the issues the first film had, polishes them up to a gleam, and turns the sequel into a ripe spectacle of scenarios and set-pieces that fit in more to the movie’s rather ridiculous premise. Of course, while doing that the film also creates its own unique set of problems, but even with those in mind, at least no one can ever claim that the movie is boring.

So, you remember I mentioned those multiple moments of downtime the first film had while it was busy setting up the story? That issue is completely gone in this sequel. Naturally, the movie does spend some time introducing all the new main characters (since most everybody from the last film is dead now…), but by this point the film also rightfully assumes that you already know the rest of the general plot. So instead of wasting the viewer’s time with long stretches of story-telling or detective work, it intersperses its new plot points with deaths, nudity, or action sequences. Meaning the film never goes too long without showing you either blood, boobs, or Claudia Christain getting dragged down the road while handcuffed to a runaway car. Sure, some of the action scenarios may not make a whole lot of sense and seem a bit over the top, but hey, this IS a movie about a murderous, semi-undead, supernatural cop. If you come into this film not expecting ridiculousness and things going BOOM! then… Well, honestly I don’t know what the hell you think you’re doing here.

Oof…this looks like a dangerous stunt.

The film also improves upon the first by virtue of being able to show a lot more of its action this time around. While it is still quite bloody, much of the violence of the first movie was implied, rather than shown, probably due to a combination of lower funds, and because they were treating it more like a ‘horror’ film than the action one this sequel semi-morphed into. But considering all the new set-pieces, it’s pretty clear that this sequel not only changed genre gears a bit, but that it also had a much higher budget. So instead of, say, simply showing the aftermath of the Maniac Cop taking out an entire precinct worth of police, this time you actually get to see him barge his way into the building and cause all his bloody mayhem. In real time. With blood splatter and everything. It’s great. Couple that with all the car chases and action scenes, and any worries about ‘vagueness’ should fly right out the window.

The downside to all this action and mayhem, however, is that the plot of the film is pretty bare bones, if not head-scratchingly non-existent in parts. I mean, yeah, the simple gist of it is that the Maniac Cop is still out for revenge against the department that betrayed him, blah blah blah, but if you stop to think about what he’s actually doing and what’s happening on screen for more than a few seconds, then his motives really don’t make any sense. In the first film, the Maniac Cop’s seemingly odd behavior did end up coming together, when it was shown that he was trying to create a fall-guy for his murders, so that he could slip past police detection and more easily get revenge. In this film though?… I actually have NO idea what the hell his plan was supposed to be. He’s killing innocent people and letting criminals go free, which, to be fair, really isn’t that much different from the first film. But he’s also teaming up with a doofy serial killer and kidnapping a psychologist? I mean, I think he ultimately did get what he wanted in the end, but for the life of me I can’t figure out how all of that was somehow supposed to correlate with him getting a posthumous pardon. I’d love to look into his head and see how he figured out that particular flow chart. But then again, he is much more zombie-like in this film, so maybe all the inevitable brain-rot that’s going on in his decaying corporal form means that his plan was never going to make all that much sense to begin with.

Beyond that though, Maniac Cop 2 is actually pretty on-par, quality-wise, to the first film. It’s a film that looks good, sounds good, and has an impressive cast that’s probably leagues better than a schlocky movie like this deserves. That said though, I do think the movie’s numerous action scenes end up making this sequel feel a lot more “fun” in comparison to the first, even though the plot is thinner than a piece of transparency paper and filled with a dozen holes. So whether you’re looking for more of a horror or action title may determine your ultimate level of enjoyment. But if you like cheesy horror and action sequences, then I think it’s safe to say you’ll be in for a good time.

Maniac Cop 2 is available on a variety of streaming services.

Maniac Cop 2 is also available on DVD and Bluray.

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