A lot of people probably have not heard of “Maniac Cop” but this is a competent thriller. Many people consider this is a slasher film but I think it’s a lot more intelligent and a lot more action-packed than the majority of slasher flicks.

Somebody dressed in a police uniform is brutally murdering innocent citizens of New York City. Quickly dubbed ‘Maniac Cop’ by the press, the evidence suggest that the killer is actually a police officer and so Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell “Army Of Darkness”) is wrongfully arrested. Meanwhile Frank McCrae (Tom Atkins “Halloween III: Season of the Witch”) is close to uncovering who the real murderer is.

For most of the movie, Atkins plays the main protagonist but in the last third, the focus shifts to the Jack Forrest character. Campbell is usually great but here he is not given a great deal to do and does not even show up until the second act. Richard Roundtree (“Shaft”) is good as Commissioner Pike. The killer is played by Robert Z’Dar (“Samurai Cop”) and he does a good job considering he just hands to stand in the shadows and look menacing. Some may feel the decision to not have Maniac Cop speak makes him too similar to slasher villains like Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers. Sam Raimi (“Drag Me To Hell”) gets a cameo.

Some of the scenes with Maniac Cop terrorising New York are pretty entertaining and the action-packed finale is quite enjoyable. I did like this film but do not go into expecting too much; this is a low-budget picture that has a few bland moments. Also, Bruce Campbell fans are likely to be disappointed at the lack of screen time he gets and he does not get any great one-liners. I’ll give “Maniac Cop” a marginal recommendation but it’s still a recommendation.