Maniac Cop 2

Plot synopsis:
A man stumbles into a convenience store and shows the store clerk his shotgun and demands he empty the safe and cash register. The clerk says that he does not know the combination to the safe and he hits the silent alarm on the floor. With the register nearly empty, the potential thief forces the clerk to scratch off lottery tickets. After getting a $5,000 winner, the would-be robber sees a hulking man wearing a police uniform; the undead Maniac Cop, Matt Cordell (Robert Z'Dar), in the back of the store. The thief fires his shotgun, but the unaffected undead cop takes the shotgun away from him and beats him with the butt of the gun, and then shoots the store clerk dead. The Maniac Cop then hands the shotgun back to the crook and leaves out the back door. The man gets up and runs outside the front door where the real police are waiting. The man tells them that one of the cops was responsible for the murder, and the man gets gunned down for not dropping his weapon.The next day, the new police commissioner, Edward Doyle (Michael Lerner), tells Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell) and Theresa Malloy, that they are both cleared for the murders they suspected them of committing (in the previous 'Maniac Cop' movie), but he refuses to believe them that Matt Cordell is responsible for Cordell has been dead for over 10 years and that he died in prison. Theresa says that since they have not found a body in the river where the supposed Maniac Cop had driven into weeks earlier, Cordell must still be alive. The commissioner tells the two officers that they see the police psychiatrist Susan Riley (Claudia Christian). During their session, Susan suggests to Jack and Theresa that the so-called "Maniac Cop" was someone other then Cordell. Theresa is angry at Jack's willingness to accept that theory in order to keep his job.Meanwhile, Detective Sam McKinney (Robert Davi) is on patrol when he shoots and kills a holdup suspect. He is sent to see Susan over this incident. They discuss his indifference towards killing a man and also McKinney's old partner who committed suicide.That evening, Jack talks to Harry, a blind newsstand vender, when the unseen Cordell walks up and stabs Jack through the neck with his billy sick blade, sparing the blind Harry. At the coroner's office, Detective McKinney shows Theresa Jack's body and then rails her about their mild argument they had earlier. Commissioner Doyle and McKinney put "pressure" on Theresa so she will not go to the press with the story about "a dead man" being the Maniac Cop. McKinney sticks it to Susan for being a doctor.Another night later, a man tries to talk to a cop out of towing his illegally parked car away, and Cordell shows up by beating up the officer and driving the tow truck away with the cop hooked on the back whom is dragged to his death.The next day, Susan talks to Harry, who says that he brushed against Jack's killer and was reminded of the cold, dead flesh of lifeless bodies surrounding him in a trench during World War II. Harry claims that Jack's killer was "very cold" with no body heat at all... something only a corpse would be. Meanwhile, the man who avoided having his car towed is arrested and he tries to tell them that a cop who tried to tow his car away was killed by another cop, whose face he could not see. McKinney and Doyle discuss the recent killings, and the Commissioner avoids the detective's suggestions that Cordell is the murderer and again repeats that Cordell has been long dead.That evening, Theresa packs her bags and tells Susan that she is leaving town, but first going on a local TV talk show to alert people of the killings and that the Maniac Cop is back. Susan gets in the taxi with her to try to talk her out of running; when the cabbie stops for an apparently flat tire. Theresa sees that Cordell is right behind them, and attempts to drive away. Theresa crashes the cab, gets out and is thrown through a window by Cordell. The Maniac Cop handcuffs Susan to the taxi's steering wheel and rolls the car away down the road. After Theresa attacks Cordell with a chainsaw, he manages to wrestle the chainsaw away from her and snaps her neck with his super strength. Susan manages to get inside the runaway taxi and turn off the road, flipping the vehicle.Another day or so later, Susan goes on the talk show 'Criminals at Large' with Doyle and discusses her encounter with the still-living Maniac Cop, Matt Cordell. After the show, Doyle suspends Susan from the police force and orders her to keep silent about the undead cop.Across town, in a local strip club, a scruffy man named Turkell (Leo Rossi) watches stripper Cheryl on stage. Later, Cheryl is in a seedy hotel room, talking to her mother on the phone and lying about her job and place of residence. Someone starts to knock on the front door. Cheryl hangs up and tries to call for help, but the person evidently leaves. Suddenly, Turkell crashes through her window, knocks the woman to the floor, and puts his hand around her neck to strangle her. Cordell breaks through the door, and starts choking Cheryl. Cordell then throws two cops across the room when they enter to arrest Turkell and he and the undead cop escape.Turkell excitedly talks to Cordell and compliments his "gimmick". They go to Turkell's apartment where the man shows the officer pictures of his girls (whom are dead stripper victims; Turkell is a serial killer of exotic dancers). He notices that Cordell hasn't spoken a word since he rescued him and asks him his name. When Cordell doesn't answer, Turkell goes to get a pen and paper for Cordell to write it out, until Cordell manages to whisper his name through his decomposing vocal cords. Later, Turkell asks what happened to Cordell and why he still manages to live despite that he is clearly dead and rotting. As Turkell goes to sleep in his bed, Cordell remains sitting in a chair and thinks back to his sentencing and his attack in the showers at Sing Sing by the three inmates who killed him (in a recycled flashback scene from the first 'Maniac Cop').The next day, the police put the word out that Cheryl died in the attack so the serial killer will relax. Susan visits Cheryl where she sees her neck bruises and asks what the cop's hands felt like. Cheryl says: "like ice!" McKinney, Susan, Detective Lovejoy and Cheryl go to the strip club where the woman points out Turkell and the man is arrested. McKinney goes to Turkell's apartment and finds the photos of the dead strippers, including one of Cheryl.Susan is at Turkell's cell, wanting to talk to him about Cordell. Turkell says that if she wants to know, she should just stick around. Meanwhile, the zombie-like Cordell shoots and kills a number of police officers at a shooting range (from behind the targets), grabs a gun, walks into the police station, and begins shooting all the officers and people that are in his path. Susan is taken hostage by Turkell who breaks out of his cell with his cellmate, Blum, whom get some guns from the precinct armory as well as police uniforms. Turkell tells Susan that they are going to Sing Sing to break out all the prisoners on Death Row to begin a crime spree. Turkell, Blum, and Cordell get to a prison bus and Turkell gets in the driver's seat and escapes by plowing through some cop cars. McKinney rides with Doyle as they chase the prison bus to Sing Sing, where he tells the commissioner that the only way he can stop Cordell is by reopening the "rights violations" case against Cordell and sign a confession, admitting to setting up the troublesome officer up for finding out about "payoffs" involving the mayor, the governor, and most of New York's high ranking police officials.Turkell and the bus arrive at Sing Sing and since Turkell is disguised as a police officer, the cop at the front gate allows them in and says that the prisoner they are transporting (Blum) has been "delivered". But just then, the warden tells the cop over the phone that Blum was broken out of jail an hour ago and tells the cop to seal off the prison. As Cordell and Turkell begin to release all the prisoners from their cells, over an intercom, Doyle tells Cordell to stop and that his conviction will be reversed due to perjury at the trial committed by himself, the former commissioner Pike as well as most of the high ranking officers on the police force. As Turkell calls out after him, Cordell walks past the Death Row inmates and into the general population as the prisoners are beginning to riot. It is here that Cordell finds the three prisoners who attacked and killed him many years ago. One of the prisoners who attacked him throws a burning bottle at him, and a fiery Cordell, grabs, kicks, and throws his enemies against a wall. As Cordell burns a fourth man to death, a forlorn Turkell stabs him with the cop's Billy stick knife. Cordell grabs Turkell, and the men burn and both of them break through the burning wall and fall all the way down into the prison bus which explodes.In the final scene, Cordell is awarded a proper funeral and burial. McKinney drops the officer's badge on the semi-buried casket. After McKinney walks away with Susan, Cordell's hand pushes through the coffin and grabs his badge.

Tags: cult, revenge, grindhouse film, murder, flashback

Review:
The film starts off with a recap of what happened at the end of the original Maniac Cop and this leads to the police force believing that Matt Cordell drowned and his body got washed away.
So, it's up to detective Sean McKinney and police psychologist Susan Riley to put a stop to this macabre madness."Maniac Cop 2" is a pearler of a trashy sequel that's just as dark and entertaining like its predecessor maybe more so.
Robert Davi paints an convincing performance as the hard-ass detective Sean McKinney who's on the trail of Cordell and Claudia Christian is equally good as police psychologist Susan Riley.
Michael Lerner is excellent as the slimy Commissioner Edward Doyle and there's some quick scenes with Charles Napier, Sam Raimi and Danny Trejo.Director Lustig manages to grab you with some well set-up explosive thrills (like the terminator style slaughter of a police station) and he makes the most out of the very grimy and atmospheric backdrop of New York.
This direct-to-video follow up still holds up well as one of the better B-films of the early 90s.We all know the story of how dedicated NYPD officer Matt Cordell became the Maniac Cop after being framed by his superiors and sent off to prison as part of a corruption cover-up.
Bruce Campbell and Laurene Landon return briefly from the first film though neither of them survives very long, and new characters are brought in to deal with the psychotic officer: grizzled NYPD detective Robert D'avi (of the James Bond flick "License to Kill") and police psychologist Claudia Christian (who went on to "Babylon 5" as well as lots of other genre TV/film).
The ante is upped this time because the Maniac Cop has hooked up with a partner for this second installment (Leo Rossi of "Halloween II" fame), a serial killer who's been stalking strippers and prostitutes on New York's seedy streets.
That doesn't take away from the fact that "Maniac Cop 2" works beautifully both as an action flick and a horror/slasher movie.
Car crashes, shootouts, throat impalings, explosions -- whatever your taste in carnage, "Maniac Cop 2" will have a scene that satisfies.The (slightly) larger budget when compared to the first "MC" go-round allows for nastier makeup on the Cordell character (who by this time is basically a hulking, undead Jason Voorhees type in a cop uniform), better set pieces, and improved stunts and pyrotechnics.
Robert Z'Dar returns as the super cop, turned maniac cop; Matt Cordell in this surprisingly good sequel to the surprisingly good 1988 horror-thriller, Maniac Cop. This time, however, he's not alone in his fight against the police force as he's found an accomplice; the local serial killer.
(except maybe a second sequel, of course).The directing and writing/producing team of William Lustig and Larry Cohen return to helm this movie, and do a good job as they did in the first.
Of course, his role in the Maniac Cop films is nothing like the Ash that we all know and love, but B-movie fans have come to expect a certain kind of performance from Bruce and that wasn't what he gave in the first movie.
Also new is Claudia Christian, who pretty much does what Laurene Landon did in the first film, and Leo Rossi enters the fold as Matt Cordell's newfound friend, who also happens to enjoy strangling strippers.
Also like the first film, the sequel features several instances of lovely black humour, portrayed best by Maniac Cop saving a man from a parking ticket, and then taking the traffic officer away...literally, on the back of his crane truck.
Of course, this point is lost somewhat under the violent gun battles; but the fact that the movie is actually trying to convey a point is admirable from a film that you wouldn't expect any kind of meaning from.Overall, Maniac Cop 2 is a lovely piece of B-grade cinema.
Maniac Cop 2 reunites several of the original Maniac Cop cast members including Bruce "Evil Dead" Campbell, Laurene Landon, and Robert Z'Dar as the main title character.Officer Matt Cordell, a.k.a. the notorious Maniac Cop (Z'Dar) is back from the dead.
The Maniac Cop shows no mercy as he dispatches a good number of unfortunate victims who stand in his path of death and destruction...No one believes the story of the Maniac Cop, except for Detective Sean McKinney (played by a woefully charming Robert Davi).
McKinney is the only other Police Detective willing to go into the case of the "Maniac Cop." However, as Cordell continues to remain impervious to bullets and gunfire, his wraith only continues to grow...Maniac Cop 2 is a superb, fast paced sequel with great car crashes and plenty of intensive action sequences!
This maniac kills strippers.The brilliant shootout in the police station rivals The Terminator and the pace is fast.Again featuring a brilliant B-list cast including: Bruce Campbell, Robert Davi, Charles Napier and Babylon 5 star Claudia Christian..
Exploitation legends William Lustig (director) and Larry Cohen (writer/producer) team up once again for this better than you'd expect sequel to the b-grade classic 'Maniac Cop'..
Forever." Once again director William Lustig ('Maniac', 'Vigilante') and writer/producer Larry Cohen ('God Told Me To', 'Q The Winged Serpent') team up for this better than you'd expect sequel.
Robert Z'Dar reprises his role as Matt Cordell the "maniac cop", but like the original the supporting cast steals the movie from him, and in this case are the main reason to tune in.
B-grade legend Bruce Campbell and Cohen regular Laurene Landon from the first movie put in an appearance, but the rest of the cast is new - Robert Davi (Bond baddie in 'License To Kill'), and Claudia Christian (then best remembered for her bit in 'The Hidden', now for her recurring role in 'Babylon 5') as cops, and Leo Rossi ('The Accused') as a creepy serial killer who befriends Cordell.
Many people, including William Lustig himself, think 'Maniac Cop 2' is the best in the series, but I still prefer the original.
Hulking, undead officer Matt Cordell (Robert D'Zar) returns from his apparent watery grave to wreck yet more carnage in this entertaining sequel to the 1988 film.Whilst in my opinion not quite on par with the original, this one nonetheless certainly ups the action sequences.
Acceptable followup set in New York about the huge supernatural police man , Matt Cordell, Robert ZDar, who joins forces with another murderer , Leo Rossi, executing various grisly killings.
At the same time, Cordell executes a relentless vendetta against the nasty criminals who attacked him in prison.There's a monster-like on the loose on the streets of NY and a Police Inspector, Robert Davi, and the police psychiatrist , Claudia Christian , set out in chasing him at whatever cost .This B movie contains shocks , violence , horror , chills , high body-count and a lot of blood and guts .
This second one was as worthy successor to the superior original and it also has a fine cast as Robert Davi, Leo Rossi , Claudia Christian , Charles Napier ,Michael Lerner , Paula Trickey, Clarence Williams III, among others.
**SPOILERS** More violent then the original "Maniac Cop" with a far higher body count "Maniac Cop II" starts where it's predecessor left off with Matt Cordell,Robert Z'Dar, crashing into the East River on a hijacked police patty-wagon and being according to the official police report swept out to sea, we could only hope.Out of the night this giant killer policeman is back but this time to take care of some unfinished business, and loose ends, from the first "Maniac Cop" film.
Cordell want's justice in his own warped and twisted way and that's to have his name cleared and those in the police department and NYC political hierarchy who set him up and had him convicted and sent to Sing Sing to be brought before the bar of justice.It's hard to be critical of the rampaging "Maniac Cop" Matt Cordell since he does have a reason for his actions even though a lot of the people that he murders in the film had nothing to do with his being sent to prison an innocent man.
The movie brings out, unlike the first "Maniac Cop", that Cordell was getting too close to exposing, like another Frank Serpico, corruption in the police and Mayors office.
I thought this movie was the best in the series.Matt cordell the evil cop is at it again and truly shows his anger.Some scenes are scary as hell and make you think twice about cops.New york scenery is great and Leo rossi is great as a sleazy physco killer.Robert davi is really good in this movie,he plays a selfish cop who really wont put up with much garbage..
It's nice to see Bruce Campbell and Laurene Landon back, and series additions Robert Davi and Claudia Christian have palpable chemistry, which makes the movie's escalating plot register more than one might expect.
"Maniac Cop 2" is a fairly lucklustre cross between a slasher and an action flick.The first one was mostly forgettable, but did have an atmosphere, a memorable villain, and the presence of Bruce Campbell.This sequel is muddled.
He feels more like a vigilante than a villain, and his quest for revenge against the guys who slashed his face up (with the footage reused in this sequel) is understandable, not fearsome.As an action movie, it has nothing of note.The third Maniac Cop is by far the best.
A very good Action packed Horror Thriller & Robert Davi is a very cool tough detective character now on the hunt for The Maniac Cop but in my opinion it's not as great as the Cult CLASSIC 1988 original & that's because of the great TOM ATKINS!!!
MANIAC COP 2 is still a very good dark Thriller & still had that gritty tone & seedy New York City atmosphere & plenty of gore & killings & shoot outs so yeah a very good sequel & very good movie, they just shouldn't have killed off Detective frank McRae (Tom Atkins) as he was a fantastic character & could have returned for this sequel & would have made it better but I've been a fan of the excellent Robert Davi for as long as i can remember?
Of course, this is hardly The Godfather Part II or Toy Story 2, but, with an increased budget and B-movie maestro Larry Cohen back on writing duties, director William Lustig pulls out all the stops to deliver a hugely entertaining, if formulaic, slasher follow-up.
Jack (Bruce Campbell) and Teresa (Laurene Landon) are also back, although they don't last very long, as we are replayed the climax of Maniac Cop, where the seemingly bullet-proof psychopathic ex-cop Matt Cordell (Robert Z'Dar) was last seen in the driver's seat of a van heading straight into the sea.Naturally, Cordell's body is nowhere to be found and he is soon spreading terror once again across New York City, gunning down an innocent convenience store clerk who was in the process of being robbed.
As it was revealed at the ending of the first movie, Matt Cordell, the maniac cop (Robert Z'Dar) is alive and returns to exact his mission.
When another spate of violence against officers occurs, a detective ties them to a previous rampage committed by the undead Maniac Cop Matt Cordell attempting to continue his original quest for vengeance and recruits the two survivors to stop him.This one here is incredibly impressive and manages to have a lot of things going for it.
the first Maniac cop was a classic, the third part i have not seen in years so i can't say how it was i don't remember, Maniac cop 2 pops up on cable every few months, i thought it was ok, nothing great, it is fast paced for the most part but it's the same thing has the first part Cordell out for revenge, and what i don't understand is how can you kill off Bruce campbell?
Maniac Cop 2 (1990) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Sequel to the 1988 cult film has the psychotic cop (Robert Z'Dar) back and this time he's killing any fellow officer that he can find.
Was it perhaps "let's take everything that part one didn't have, but make it worse"?If you grew up with watching movies during the 1980s and 1990s, then there are some pretty familiar faces on the cast list, which includes Charles Napier, Robert Davi and, of course, Robert Z'Dar as Matt Cordell.
It was also nice to see Bruce Campbell return to the movie, although I was quite surprised with his minor role that he had here.The effects in "Maniac Cop 2" were pretty bad, and they came off more as being laughable than believable.
And it made Matt Cordell look more like a hilarious low-budget puppet than it made him look like a mutilated police officer."Maniac Cop 2" pretty much suffers from being a sequel as well, because it doesn't reach the first movie to even mid-level.
In fact Maniac Cop 2 while not being quite as exciting or fresh as the first movie, adds a whole demented spin to things that is wonderful to behold.Vicious zombie psychopath Matt Cordell is back, he's bigger, he's a lot scarier looking on account of a short sojourn at the bottom of the New York river, and man is he mad.
Starting his vendetta anew with a few random victims and the man who put him in the river in the first place, Jack Forrest (played for an alarmingly short period of time by an earnest and confident Bruce Campbell, as in the original film).Maniac Cop 2 plays up the 'unstoppable zombie SOB' element of the original, turning Cordell into a Voorhees style proper zombie cop as opposed to the disfigured mute from the original, but it works well, given that he's spent a fair while at the bottom of a river, he would have decomposed a bit, and given the increased action quotient of this addition to the series, it makes sense to have him more openly horrifying as he has to spend a lot of time on screen.
After Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell) and Teresa Mallory (Laurene Landon) defeat Matt Cordell (Robert Z'Dar) by drowning him in the river, they think all is well.
They're sent to Dr. Susan Riley (Claudia Christian) to prove their sanity and return to the force, but before they're reinstated, Jack is murdered and the force finally realizes they must accept the fact of Cordell's return and find a way to stop his murderous rampage, all the while trying to put a stop to a serial killer who specializes in murdering strippers.After seeing the terrific original for the first time, I decided to check out the sequels, the first being Maniac Cop 2 (1990), followed by Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (1993).
After a brief recap of the events in the previous movie, William Lustig's MANIAC COP 2 offers much more of the same violence and mayhem, albeit glossier and slightly less dark than in the original film.
Okay, so the story is predictable and barely links together a string of set-pieces, and said set-pieces are also familiar (the police station massacre is almost a direct reprisal from the first movie, but with better action), but it's all done with style thanks to Lustig and is never less than watchable.Three actors reprise their roles from the original movie: first up is the hulking Robert Z'Dar as the madman of the title, looking more zombie-like than ever this time around - he might as well be Jason (from one of the later Friday the 13th movies) in a uniform.
The stunts are very impressive, and the cast is just littered with familiar faces, who approach Larry Cohens' story with square-jawed conviction.Matt Cordell (Robert Z'Dar), naturally, has survived and goes on to commit a new series of murders.
Fans of "Maniac Cop" 1 will note with pleasure the presence of returnees Bruce Campbell and super sexy Laurene Landon, no matter if their characters are treated in a typical slasher sequel fashion.
However the maniac cop Officer Matt Cordell (Robert Z'Dar) is not dead, and makes an appearance, he kills the store clerk leaving the robber to be shot by the real N.Y. police when they arrive for a crime he didn't commit.
This exciting and action-packed sequel to the immensely enjoyable original has the unrelenting brutal badge-wearing wacko Matt Cordell (the hulking Robert Z'Dar) team up with scuzzy serial killer Turkell (delightfully played to the lip-smacking odious hilt by a bearded Leo Rossi) to wreak plenty of gory havoc in New York City.
Appearing in nice supporting parts are the always affable Bruce Campbell as doomed cop Jack Forrest, Laurene Landon as Jack's equally ill-fated girlfriend Teresa Malloy, Michael Lerner as a shady politician, Paula Trickey as a sexy stripper who narrowly avoids being offed by Turkell, Robert Earl Jones as a blind newstand vendor, Clarence Williams III and Danny Trejo as prison inmates, Charles Napier as a tabloid TV show host, and ubiquitous Cohen film regular James Dixon (Lt. Perkins in the "It's Alive" pictures) in his umpteenth police officer role..
The best scene is Maniac Cop attacking the police station like the Terminator.
Other than most horror villains, I think Matt Cordell a.k.a Maniac Cop had a good reason to come back and avenge himself in this sequel.
Director William Lustig and writer Larry Cohen did a great effort to make a worthy sequel to their surprising original.
This time he has a new "nemesis" in wily and street tough Detective Sean McKinney(Robert Davi is perfect form as a noirish archetype, a man of few words who gets the job done)who joins forces with police psychologist Susan Riley(Claudia Christian of "Babylon Five fame)in tracking down Cordell.
~Spoiler~In the original Maniac Cop, they killed Tom Atkins and replaced him with Bruce Campbell.
This time around the crazed cop, Matt Cordell, teams up with serial killer Leo Rossi.