Produced and directed by sexploitation specialist Dwain Esper (NARCOTIC; MARIJUANA, WEED WITH ROOTS IN HELL), this “educational” melodrama uses the scare-tactics so popular in this period of filmmaking, warning about the dangers of untreated insanity. Often considered to be the original “slasher” movie, MANIAC treads the line between experimental and exploitation with disturbing images of insanity that are still raw even by today's standards. Dr. Meirschultz (Horace B. Carpenter) is attempting to bring dead tissue to life. After murdering the doctor, his assistant (Bill Woods) takes over his persona and walls up the dead doc in vague similarity to Poe's The Black Cat. The actor's increasing dementia — told through a unique mix of horror film, study on mental illness, and whacked-out girly show — is subsequently chronicled. Along the course of his impersonation he “treats” a man (Ted Edwards) who believes he is the re-incarnation of the orangutan killer in Rue Morgue and tricks his ex-wife and blackmailer into fighting with hypos to eliminate them from interfering with his plans.
Writer: Hildegarde Stadie (story)
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