MANIAC DRIVER (2020)
Label: Reel Gore Releasing
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 75 Minutes
Audio: Japanese DTS-HD 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Kurando Mitsutake
Cast: Yôta Kawase, Ayumi Kimito, Keisaku Kimura, Tomoki Kimura, Iori Kogawa, Yoshiki Kondô, Ai Sayama, Kiichi Sonobe, Yoshiki Takahashi, Saryû Usui
In Maniac Driver (2020) a deranged Tokyo taxi driver (Tomoki Kimura) cruises the city streets picking up fares and fantasizes about the attractive young women in the back seat, and then when the mood strikes he stalks and kills them. This advertised as a Japanese giallo, and true enough we have a motorbike helmeted killer wearing leather gloves, which we've seen previously in Italian gialli like Strip Nude for Your Killer and Nightmare Beach, but it feels more like a Roman Porno flick along the lines of Zoom In: Sex Apartments (1980) without the whodunit aspect and loads more nudity and carnage. As the identity of the killer is not in question this is more a character study/slasher than an actual whodunit, but it is plenty stylish and makes terrific use of moody colored lighting and has tons of nude women, courtesy of Japanese adult film stars, Saryu Usui, Iori Kogawa, Ayumi Kimito and Ai Sayama, who meet their ends rather unpleasantly while bathed in a psychedelic
cornucopia of colored light gel. A standout scene for me was a fantasy sequence featuring the taxi driver engaged in a samurai duel with a young woman, I thought it was quite well done. I also like the off-the-wall ending that introduces an unlikely love interest of a sorts.
As the film moves along we learn what has lead the demented taxi driver to commit such heinous sexualized violence, a personal and traumatic loss that has left him damaged, and he seeks to share that pain, and recreate the circumstances of his wife's demise. Directed by Kurando Mitsutake (Gun Woman) the pinky-giallo styled flick is well-shot, quite stylish, drizzled with old school gore, and moves along pretty briskly. I'd give it a definite recommend for lovers of stylish, low-budget gore, and it's pretty darn sleazy.
Audio/Video: Maniac Driver (2020) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Reel Gore Releasing framed in 1080p HD widescreen (2.35:1). This was shot on digital and the low-budget film looks quite good in HD with good depth and clarity, there's no digital-source related issues, and the colors look terrific. This is a film that makes good use of garish lighting during the stylish kill-sequences and it translated quite nicely on Blu-ray. Audio comes by way of Japanese DTS-HD MA 5.1 with optional English subtitles, the track is well-balanced and sound good, dialogue is never a chore to decipher and the killer's muffled/distorted kackle sounds good n' creepy, plus the retro synth score is full-bodied and robust.
Extras include an English-language Audio Commentary by Kurando Mitsutake, a 30-min Making Of-Featurette, 25-min of Image Slideshows, and a pair of Trailers that run
4-minutes. The single-disc release arrives in a Red Keepcase with a Reversible Sleeve of Artwork, the main artwork is very Nightmare Beach inspired design, with the alternate reverse option having a cool Maniac/Taxi Driver slant to it.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary by Director Kurando Mitsutake
- Making Of-Featurette (30 min)
- Image Slideshow (25 min)
- Trailers (4 min)
Screenshots from the Reel Gore Releasing Blu-ray:
