Maniac

Frank Zito is a serial killer who slaughters and scalps women, then uses their scalps to decorate his mannequins—until they’re so rotted that he needs fresh supplies. And naturally, it’s all his mother’s fault: a prostitute who abused him as a child. But then Frank meets photographer Anna D’Antoni. Can he get intimate with a woman without turning her into a fetish object? William Lustig began his directing career with real ’70s NYC porn, and it shows: Maniac is grimy, dangerous, mysterious, alluring (featuring XXX-rated icons Sharon Mitchell and Gail Lawrence in supporting roles). A masterpiece! (Olaf Möller)