Maniacts 2003 Horror Movie Review

This review will be biased, as I have a soft spot in my heart for the mentally handicapped.


Jeff Fahey seems to have a gift for portraying these innocents convincingly.  Joseph finds what I can only call his salvation in Beth, who agrees with him on the purpose of killing, and seems a bit more sane, maybe.  She grounds him and gives him a purpose.  Joseph was not insane, he had a clear reason for doing the things he did, but his handicap saved him from the needle.


The cover art and description led me to believe that the movie was going to be a gore fest.  A gore fest for simple gore fest’s sake is a waste of time.  A bit of “gore with a purpose” comes across quite differently.  There are the right ones to kill and the wrong ones.  When the right ones get it, it somehow feels good.


Production quality was better than many of Fahey’s movies.  The humor fit perfectly.


The superhuman strength was one stretch I couldn’t make.  However, this was not meant to be a true-story-documentary, was it?


In the final analysis, after seeing Joseph’s last scene in the movie, you are suddenly stricken to realize that this is, in reality, A CHICK FLICK!


Every woman wants the kind of devotion and adoration Joseph gave Beth.  I got the impression that his effect on her was just as profound.  A movie “he” and “she” could both enjoy - together.