MANIAC COP 2 (1990) (Blue Underground 4K UHD Review)

MANIAC COP 2 (1990) 

Label: Blue Underground

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: R

Duration: 87 Minutes 

English: English Dolby Atmos; English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English SDH, Français Canadien, Español Latino Americano, Português do Brasil, Español Castellano, Français Parisien, Deutsch, Italiano, Mandarin (Traditional & Simplified), Korean, Japanese, Russian Subtitles 

Video: 2160p UHD Widescreen (1.85:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)

Director: William Lustig 

Cast: Robert Davi, Claudia Christian, Michael Lerner, Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon, Robert Z’Dar, Clarence Williams III, Leo Rossi, Charles Napier

You Have The Right To Remain Silent… FOREVER!

Matt Cordell the Maniac Cop returns from a watery grave in this action-packed sequel from director William Lustig (Maniac) alongside writer Larry Cohen (Q the Winged Serpent). Having somehow survived being impaled through the chest at the end of Maniac Cop (1989) the big guy is back on the beat and patrolling the streets of NYC with a vengeance. His first order of business is to interrupt a robbery in progress at a bodega where a junkie with the gnarliest teeth you've ever seen is holding a shotgun to the face of the cashier. When he finds that the cash drawer empty the junkie directs the cashier to start scratching off lottery tickets looking for an instant winner. Funnily enough the cashier scratches off a 5 grand instant winner, and that's when Cordell arrives on scene. The shopkeeper cannot believe this fortunate turns of events, and plans to pocket that winning ticket for himself, but things don't go the way he thought they would and the Maniac Cop blows him away, much to the surprise of the disbelieving junkie. As cop cars arrive the undead cop disappears leaving the armed junkie there trying to explain that he's not the one who killed the clerk, but the NYC cops blast him to pieces just the same. It's a great opener and the film rarely let's up from there.

Also returning from the last film are officers Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell, Mindwarp) and Theresa Mallory (Laurene Landon, The Stuff), whom after passing a psych evaluation have been placed back on active duty by Commissioner Doyle (Michael Lerner, Barton Fink). Forrest is happy just to be back on duty but Mallory is convinced that Cordell will return again (and she's right!) and causes quite a fuss about it. For my tastes Campbell and Landon exit the film far too early at the hands of the grudge-holding Cordell, and they're replaced by new protagonists cop psychologist Susan Riley (Claudia Christian, The Hidden) and hard-boiled Detective McKinney (Robert Davi, The Goonies). 

Minor spoiler alert, Forrest is taken out by Cordell with his patented knife-baton, stabbing him through the neck in  brutal fashion, but Campbell deserved better! Afterward Cordell steals a vintage police cruiser and chases after Mallory and Riley, there's a great chase sequence with bare tire rims sending sparks flying off the street with plenty of vehicular carnage. In the aftermath the Maniac Cop snaps Mallory's, neck but only after she attacks Cordell with friggin' chainsaw! With Mallory out of the way Cordell handcuffs the psychiatrist to the steering wheel of the car and sends it careening out-of-control down a busy street!  The action sequences in this first sequel are fantastic, with a bit of a larger budget it's great fun to see what Lustig is able to throw up on the screen! 

There's an weird subplot with a serial killer named Turkell (Leo Rossi, Halloween II) who's murdering strippers around NYC, Maniac Cop shows up during one of his attacks and the two become fast friends, with the serial killer leading Cordell back to his pad for some psycho-bonding between like-minded killers, it's a weird team-up but somehow it works.  I have to hand it to Larry Cohen for a wacky but awesome script on this one. We have this weird buddy psycho-killer pairing and a demented Bride of Maniac Cop subplot here that never gets boring, it's weird as all get out but never dull. When Turkell eventually lands in a jail cell he tells the cops that his buddy Cordell is coming to bust him out and he ain't just blowing smoke up their asses. Maniac Cop arrives and completely destroys the police station, it's a bloody massacre with terrific action oodles of bloodshed and broken glass. Lustig seemed to really enjoy breaking glass in this film, and setting people on fire, but more on that in a minute.

Somehow all the major players end up back at Sing Sing Prison so that Cordell can have his revenge on the death row inmates who fucked-up his face and killed him in prison years earlier. It's during this killing spree that Maniac Cop is bombarded with Molotov cocktails and engulfed in flames, but that does not deter him in the slightest - he just keeps killing the inmates who mutilated him! The man-on-fire stunt work during the last 10 minutes of this film are worth the price of admission all on their own, it's awesome! Manic Cop 2 is a bad-ass revenger, and even when it gets a bit silly it never get's too silly for it's own good, I loved it. 

Audio/Video: Blue Underground previously issued Maniac Cop 2 (1990) on a 2-disc Blu-ray back in 2013, this utilizes the same 4K scan of the OCN with the benefit of Dolby Vision HDR 10 color-grading supervised by Director of Photography James Lemmo. The first thing that struck me was how nice the grain structure looks, with very nicely resolved, details and textures that are more defined and the primaries have a nice HDR pop to them, but not in an overcooked sort of way. Additionally the HDR offers deeper blacks and better more layered contrast, slightly improving depth over the Blu-ray counterpart. 

We get a Dolby Atmos remix that is robust, offering a fully immersive experience that comes to life during the action sequences, plus Jay Chattaway's creepy and atmospheric score sounds great. Also included is an uncompressed DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles.  Fans of the score will enjoy the isolated music track on the disc presented in uncompressed DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo. 

Blue Underground carryover the archival extras from past releases beginning with an Audio Commentary with Director William Lustig and Filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, plus the Back On The Beat - The Making Of Maniac Cop 2 making-of documentary featuring director William Lustig, writer Larry Cohen, actors Robert Davi, Leo Rossi, Robert Z'Dar, Michael Lerner, Claudia Christian and composer Jay Chattaway. Davi is great fun as he talks about being hoodwinked into taking on the role by Lustig, while Lerner laughs about playing an Irishman. Director Lustig and actress Claudia Christian sorta take a few jabs at each other during their interviews, neither seem enamored with the other. During the Cinefamily Q&A from back in 2012 Lustig let's loose a ton of great anecdotes about Larry Cohen, Joe Spinell, Leo Rossi and Robert Z'Dar plus the great crew who worked on the film and the possibility of a sequel/reboot. 

Finishing-up the special features we have Trailers, a deleted scene featuring Sam Raimi (Evil Dead), a Gallery of posters and pics plus an uncompressed Isolated Music Track and it's D-Box Motion Code Enabled. Sadly no booklet with words from Michael Gingold celebrating the film or soundtrack CD to accompany this one, but still a great set of archival extras. 

The 2-disc UHD/BD combo arrives in an oversized black Scanavo keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork. It also includes an embossed slipcover, basically the same design as the 2013 Blu-ray edition this with the same artwork on the discs inside. 

Special Features: 

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

- Audio Commentary with Director William Lustig and Filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn

- Theatrical Trailers: International Trailer (2 min), UK Teaser Trailer  (1 min), French Trailer (2 min), German Trailer (2 min)

- Isolated Music Track (DTS-HD MA 2.0) 

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 (47 min) 

- Cinefamily Q&A with Director William Lustig (29 min) 

- Deleted Scene (2 min) 

- Theatrical Trailers: International Trailer (2 min), UK Teaser Trailer  (1 min), French Trailer (2 min), German Trailer (2 min)

- Poster & Still Gallery

- Isolated Music Track (DTS-HD MA 2.0) 

Maniac Cop 2 (1990) is a fun, violent and kick-ass revenger with some fantastic action, brutal deaths and a finale that's engulfed in flames. This sucker is action-packed from start to finish and a shit-ton of fun, this is definitely a 90's horror entry that doesn't gets it's proper due! As with all of the Blue Underground 4K UHD catalog upgrades this another gorgeous presentation that is to please fans, and hopefully it will earn it some fresh eyes from those who haven't seen it yet. 

DVD Review: Alien from the Deep (1989)

 

Alien from the Deep (1989)

Label: One 7 Movies
Region: Region 0 NTSC
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 92 mins
Video: 1.33:1 Full Frame
Audio: English Dolby Digital Stereo, Italian Dolby Digital Stereo 
Director: Antonio Margheriti
Cast: Daniel Bosch, Marina Guulia Cavalli, Robert Marius, Luciano Pigozzi, Charles Napier

Alien from the Deep (1989) is a late-period film from the prolific Italian exploitation director Antonio Margheriti whom I'm familiar with in name only unfortunately. Obviously a director near n' dear to Quentin Tarantino who named a character after him in the film Inglourious Basterds (2009) but that's about the extent of my Magheriti knowledge until now so thanks go out to One 7 Movies for pushing this one across my desk. A quick glance at the artwork will tell you that this is yet another in a long line of 80's Italian Alien knock-offs (and it is) but it's been thrown into the Magheriti genre blender with a few scoops of action, some jungle adventure and some intentional and not-so intentional comedy.


Enviormental activists Jane (Marina Guilia Cavalli) and cameraman Lee (Robert Marius) book passage on a freighter to a remote island to document and expose the environmentally unfriendly E-Chem Corporation who are dumping toxic waste into an active volcano. The E-Chem facility is overseen by the overly angry Colonel Kovacks (Charles Napier, Ernest Goes to Jail) and an army of mercenaries whom patrol. A scientist at the facility Dr. Geoffrey (Luciano Pigozzi) warns Kovacks that the mixture of molten rock and toxic waste is sending a plume of pure energy into outer space. At about the same time they're tracking a fireball that falls from the sky into the ocean. Whatever could it be? Perhaps an enormous alien-creature-robot with a giant black lobster claw, maybe.

The enviormentalists get the incriminating footage they seek but find themselves on the run from the seething Kovacks and his bumbling mercs. Lee is taken prisoner inside the facility and Jane escapes by hiding in a helicopter and in a rather awesome scene she jumps from the helicopter in slow-motion and into the river below. She continues through the jungle pursued by armed mercs who of course can't shot for shit.  Along the way she encounters a gun wielding snake hunter named Bob (Daniel Bosch) who definitely adds a fun Romancing the Stone (1984) flavor to the proceeding. They take cover in a cave where in true Stanley (1972) style venomous snakes aide their escape by taking out the mercs. The two travel to his shack and hatch a scheme to rescue Lee from the E-Chem facility which is made more difficult by the arrival of the gigantic alien-creature-robot with a huge freaking black lobster claw. The creature erupts from the ground Tremors-style and snatches victims, crushing them with it's giant claw but more often than not only disfiguring them with some nasty green secretion that infects them ...or something. It seems that perhaps the victims are mutating but it's not quite clear and the film didn't really carry through with that idea.

THE CLAW!!!!

The film is a cheapie and the effects are low-rent but the creature design is pretty awesome in it's badness, looking to have been constructed using leftover lengths of plastic tubing according to  poorly xeroxed H.R. Giger instructions. That enormous claw in not unlike the giant ape hand in King Kong Lives (1986) in it's utterly schlocky awesomeness. It sucks that the creature doesn't make an appearance for nearly an hour into the film but there's enough gun play, explosions and jungle chases to keep the momentum moving forward. While the consensus seems to be that this late-period Margheriti film is not one of his better ventures I must say this is a mighty entertaining film. The acting is pure b-movie badness but cheesily entertaining and Daniel Bosch as the gun toting snake-squeezer is a fun character, a total scene stealer. A lot of the film doesn't make sense but that's also why I love it. Example, our heroine Jane is randomly exposed to the creatures mutating secretion only so we can put her into a decontamination chamber aka The Wet T-Shirt-inator 2000. You just cannot NOT enjoy this kind of silliness.

DVD: Not sure if this full frame transfer is the original aspect ratio but it's a clean looking source print and while the image is soft from time to time and the black levels aren't as dark as blackest night there is a good amount of detail and the colors are pleasing. Audio options include English and Italian Dolby Digital stereo with no subtitle options which made watching the film in Italian prohibitive. Special features include the Italian Credits which look sourced from VHS and a Photo and Poster Gallery containing 35 images of behind publicity stills, theatricals posters and some VHS covers. Not the most comprehensive features but above average for One 7 Movies who aren't known comprehensive extras except for the Sex and Black Magic (1982) release which had a few nifty supplements.


Special Features:
- Italian Credits
- Photo and Poster Gallery


Verdict: Great cinema it ain't but this was entertaining b-movie fromage. Margheriti amps up the entertainment value with awesomely terrible dialogue and some fun set pieces with plenty of action and there's no shortage of exploding miniatures. It's definitely cheese but it's the kind of cheese that goes great with a few cold beers and nachos so grab some brewskies and settle in for some awesome schlock cinema.  2.5 outta 5