Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence ** (1993, Robert Davi, Robert Z’Dar, Caitlin Dulany) – Classic Movie Review 8301

Director William Lustig’s and writer Larry Cohen’s 1993 slasher film Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence is more of the same in the second exploitative sequel with a further welter of violence and bad jokes as Maniac Cop returns from the dead more final time to seek revenge.

Robert Davi and Robert Z’Dar return as cynical investigating officer Detective Sean McKinney and Officer Matt Cordell, the killer cop from the original, now resurrected again by a priest practising the voodoo arts. It also stars Caitlin Dulany as Doctor Susan Fowler and Gretchen Becker as Officer Katie Sullivan.

Following Maniac Cop (1988) and Maniac Cop 2 (1990), it finishes the trilogy with more of a busy whimper than a big bang, though the series fans are taken care of with an intense atmosphere, plenty of grisly deaths, several shootouts, and some solid action thrills.

Also in the cast are Paul Gleason as Hank Cooney, Jackie Earle Haley as Frank Jessup, Julius Harris as Houngan Malfaiteur, Grand L Bush as William, Doug Savant as Doctor Peter Myerson, Robert Forster as Doctor Powell, Bobby Di Cicco as Bishop, Frank Pesce as Tribble, Lou Diaz as Lieutenant Leon, Brenda Varda as Gina Lindsey, Vanessa Marquez as Terry and Jeffrey Anderson-Gunter as Janitor.

Some extreme violent acts were edited from the original NC-17 version so that the film could be re-rated R for strong violence, strong language and drug content. It is also released in an unrated version on VHS.

Film-maker John Hyams (Universal Soldier: Regeneration) says the Nicolas Winding Refn-produced Maniac Cop remake plan is still on. ‘It will be a completely different thing tonally,’ he suggests.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8301

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