Maniac Cop

"You have the right to remain silent…forever."

1988 1h 25m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 556

ActionHorrorMysteryCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A killer dressed in a police uniform begins murdering innocent people on the streets of New York City.

“You have the right to remain silent…forever.”

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Cast

Tom Atkins
Frank McCrae
Bruce Campbell
Jack Forrest
Laurene Landon
Theresa Mallory
Richard Roundtree
Commissioner Pike
William Smith
Captain Ripley
Robert Z'Dar
Matt Cordell
Sheree North
Sally Noland
Nina Arvesen
Regina Sheperd

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: William Lustig
Writers: Larry Cohen
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

85 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 61% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

38 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Maniac Cop Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by William Lustig, shot by James Lemmo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jay Chattaway. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor David Kern shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

William Lustig directs. James Lemmo behind the camera. Jay Chattaway scores. David Kern cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

185 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $1.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Earned back only 61% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
438 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
5Part of the "Maniac Cop Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by William Lustig, shot by James Lemmo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Jay Chattaway. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor David Kern shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Tom Atkins and Bruce Campbell and Laurene Landon carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "You have the right to remain silent…forever.".
11IMDB entry: tt0095583 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 8 themes, including "new york city", "police", "investigation", "serial killer".

The technical file

Cinematography: James Lemmo
Original score: Jay Chattaway
Editing: David Kern
Production design: Jonathan R. Hodges
Costume design: Dorothy Amos
Makeup / hair: A.J. DeFlorio
Stunt coordinator: Spiro Razatos
Runtime: 85 min · 1h 25m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,100,000
Box office: $671,382
Return: 61% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Maniac Cop (1988)

Part of

Maniac Cop Collection

Maniac Cop is a series of American slasher films centered around a man in a cop's uniform starts killing people for no apparent reason in New York.

Also by

William Lustig

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

portnoyz2025-04-26
★ 7/10
Brought to you by Troma Team. This one is more of a straight slasher than the Toxic Avenger / Nukem High varieties. As good as other slasher movies of that time.

Production companies