It’s been a while since there was any news from the Nicolas Winding Refn-produced remake of William Lustig’s 1988 horror Maniac Cop, but apparently it’s finally ready to start production.
Variety reports that a deal is now in place for this new vision of the story about a gruesomely scarred cop who goes a brutal murder spree, and that it will shoot in Los Angeles this summer.
The script for the film was written by Refn and comics titan Ed Brubaker (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), and it will be directed by John Hyams. Hyams is the man responsible for turning the recent Universal Soldier sequels into films worth watching, with a distinctive visual style and a real sense of…weirdness, so he’s potentially a very good fit for this. The delays have apparently been down to rights and finding the right backers, but Lustig is on board to produce.
Refn’s producing partner Lene Børglum told Variety that the new Maniac Cop “will not be a pure horror film but rather a contemporary and realistic action thriller.” Given the CVs of the assembled creative talent, we’re willing to bet that there will still be some blood.
Casting is now underway, so we should expect to hear who’s playing the brutal killer, the man framed for his crimes and the dogged cop on his tale very soon.
“Set in the present, Maniac Cop follows a determined L.A. police officer who sets out to reveal the truth about the brutal murders of innocent people by one of her fellow cops.”
The original film was set in New York and starred Bruce Campbell, Tom Atkins, Laurene Landon and Richard Roundtree. It also had the tagline “You have the right to remain silent…forever.” and the remake will have to work hard to top that.
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