THE FREEWAY MANIAC (1989)
Directed by Paul Winters
Media Home Entertainment VHS
Reviewed 08.09.07
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba

THE FILM
Have you ever body-slammed someone off the roof of an apartment building? Well I have. And I'll tell you what -- The Freeway Maniac gets it right. Very right.

Horror-comedies from the late 1980s tend to make one's ass itch. Blood Diner. Doom Asylum. I Was A Teenage Zombie. They're intentional. They're cocky. But alas, they are not funny. Regardless, today's trash dilettante is always conscious of the need to improve his-or-her sense of awareness. It's a calling; a mission. Everything must be seen. Can a happy medium exist between trash-horror and comedy? To find out, we suffer through Phantom Of The Ritz. We barely survive Flesh Eating Mothers. Then, as if by fate, justification takes the wheel and hauls ass. On the freeway.

Sly, humble, and completely ridiculous, The Freeway Maniac is a late 80s horror-comedy that cares. Positioned as a forthright slasher which takes place on a movie set, this film follows a credo set forth by Memorial Valley Massacre. Comedy is not the means to an end. It is, however, a powerful instrument in the subtlety toolbox. Skeptical? If so, then how about the F-way Maniac body-slamming someone off of a rooftop while clad in a blazer and/or tennis shorts? A Fat Fire Marshall pinch-hitting for our beloved Fat Sheriff? Cars blowing up for no reason? A funk rock song called "Nasty Kinky", which promises that all striptease girls are "NAS-TAAAY"? Wanton push-ups, big-rig hit 'n' runs, freak-outs, and wolf-howls (all courtesy the 'Maniac)?! If you're still suspicious, it may be time to retire those tennis shorts.

The Freeway Maniac has no motives, contains a minuscule amount of exploitation, and makes very little sense. It may bore you every now and again. Sure. But at what price is the wisdom of horror-comedy attained?

As they say, price is no object. Especially on the freeway.

AUDIO AND VIDEO
NAS-TAAAY.

EXTRAS
NAS-TAAAY NAS-TAAAY (that's extra nasty).

FINAL THOUGHTS
Leave it to 1989. By virtue of subversity, The Freeway Maniac proves that trash-horror and comedy can co-exist in a 90 minute timeframe without harming you. It just takes an inconspicuous film to do it. This is by no means a signal to track this sucker down, but if you want to laff it up, satisfaction is (mostly) guaranteed. Are you listening, Spookies?

Yeah, it hurts


I couldn't tell you


Get this man a freeway!


"Kinky Nasty"