Considering that this promotional film was made in less than three hours on a presumably tight budget, this short really stands out as a sound and impressive piece of work. A young woman walking home alone gets attacked by two vicious muggers in a New York City back alley. A lone cop arrives on the seen, but turns out to be anything but your average police officer. Writer/director Chris R. Notarile does a sturdy job of creating and sustaining an effectively eerie atmosphere. The competent acting helps a lot: Kim Santiago is credible as the scared victim, Damien Colleti and Roberto Lombardi are suitably slimy and hateful as the scuzzy hoodlums, and hulking Scott Dadika makes for a truly fearsome and intimidating maniac cop. Notarile's moody cinematography uses both hand-held camera and a muted near black and white color palette exceptionally well; the shots of the maniac cop walking down busy Big Apple streets at the very start of the picture are genuinely creepy and striking. Notarile deserves extra points for wisely retaining Jay Chattaway's supremely shivery'n'spooky original score. Highly recommended to fans of the "Maniac Cop" flicks.
Review of Maniac Cop
