Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence

Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence is a 1993 American action slasher film written by Larry Cohen and directed by William Lustig. It is the third and final installment in the Maniac Cop film series.

Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWilliam Lustig
Produced by
Written byLarry Cohen
Starring
Music byJoel Goldsmith
CinematographyJacques Haitkin
Edited by
  • Rick Tuber
  • David Kern
  • Michael Eliot
Production
company
Distributed by
  • HBO
  • Academy Home Entertainment
Release date
  • July 7, 1993 (1993-07-07) (United States)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence was released in the United States on July 7, 1993, and received negative reviews.

Plot

A priest practicing the Voodoo arts resurrects Matt Cordell (Robert Z'Dar), who takes his badge and comes back to life to do his bidding. Meanwhile, a pair of cameramen who are hoping to make it big come across a convenience store robbery, where a police officer named Katie Sullivan (Gretchen Becker) intervenes in a hostage situation; she manages to wound the suspect but realizes that the clerk is his girlfriend, and she had let him in purposefully to rob the store. There is a crossfire, and while Kate is severely wounded, she ends up killing the clerk in return.

When rushed to the hospital, she is rendered comatose and brain dead, much to the chagrin of investigating officer Sean McKinney (Robert Davi). McKinney catches the report of Katie using excessive force in a hostage situation, which portrays the clerk as an innocent victim and threatens to free the badly injured Frank Jessup.

Meanwhile, stalking Katie's progress, Cordell goes to the hospital to watch her (killing a heckler in the process). He kills one of her supervising physicians with defibrillator paddles, then murders Katie's physician with X Ray radiation. The four reporters who had framed Kate are also slain by Cordell afterwards.

Meanwhile, McKinney and a physician, Susan (Caitlin Dulany), are investigating the murders and the strange behavior experienced by the comatose Kate. Their investigations lead them to Houngan (Julius Harris), who admits that he had brought Cordell back from the dead, and he is interested in Kate who is on the verge of death. At gunpoint, Cordell forces Houngan to attempt the resurrection on her, but he is unable to do so, stating her spirit is refusing to return from the dead to be with him. Cordell kills Houngan, and both he and Kate are set on fire in the process; she is immolated.

As they escape, Susan and McKinney are chased by Cordell, who survived the fire while remaining ablaze. He chases them in a beat up police car, while they ride in an ambulance. They manage to throw an oxygen tank into the burning car before both crash. However, before Cordell can back up on the other disabled vehicle, the canister goes off, blowing up the car. Later, the charred corpse of Katie is rolled into a morgue, next to the burned remains of Cordell. While the lone coroner, who rolled Katie into the morgue, is busy with his computer, the camera pans to the bodies, which shows Cordell's hand moving over to hold Katie's hand.

Cast

Release

Home media

Maniac Cop III was rated NC-17 by the MPAA and upheld on appeal.[1] It was released on home video in the United States by Academy Releasing.[2] It premiered on HBO in 1993.[3]

Blue Underground released Maniac Cop III on DVD and Blu-ray on November 19, 2013.[4]

Reception

Critical response

DVD Talk's Adam Tyner, who gave Maniac Cop III an overall grade of 1.5 out 5 stars, called the film "borderline unwatchable" and said "nothing about the movie works" due to drawbacks like the plodding and directionless pace, and witless dialogue.[5] Patrick Naugle of DVD Verdict said the cast was decent, and that while the plot was disjointed and overall the film was forgettable and "just not very good" it was still "an alright time filler" that was "worth checking out, if you're a big horror buff".[6] TV Guide, which awarded a 2 out of 4 stars, opened its review with, "After ascending to heights unusual for a modern B movie in Maniac Cop 2, the series drops back a couple of notches with this latest entry, which seems at a loss to find new things for its horrific antihero to do".[7] Michael Gingold of Fangoria rated it 2 out 4 stars and criticized the lack of emphasis on the film's antagonist.[8] Anthony Arrigo of Dread Central rated it 2.5 out of 5 stars and called it a disappointing sequel that "only manages to stay above water thanks to a powerhouse performance from Robert Davi".[9] Mike Pereira of Bloody Disgusting rated it 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "It's definitely the weakest of the bunch yet still delivers the qualities that have made the franchise sustain its cult following."[10]

References
  1. "'Twogether' appeal lost". Variety. March 4, 1993. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  2. "Video Briefs". Variety. December 27, 1992. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  3. Klein, Richard (March 29, 2013). "Trimark's 'Justice' to bow on HBO". Variety. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  4. Barton, Steve (August 30, 2013). "Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence Artwork and Specs Arrive". Dread Central. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  5. Tyner, Adam (November 19, 2013). "Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (Blu-ray)". DVD Talk. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  6. Naugle, Patrick (December 13, 2013). "Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (Blu-ray)". DVD Verdict. Archived from the original on July 9, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  7. "Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence". TV Guide. 1993. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  8. Gingold, Michael (November 19, 2013). ""MANIAC COP 3: BADGE OF SILENCE" (Blu-ray/DVD Review)". Fangoria. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  9. Arrigo, Anthony (December 7, 2013). "Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (Blu-ray / DVD)". Dread Central. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  10. Pereira, Mike (December 10, 2013). "[Blu-ray Review] The 'Maniac Cop' Sequels Are Given Above and Beyond Treatment!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
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