Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence (1993)

Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence is a 1993 action slasher film written by Larry Cohen and directed by William Lusting, and an uncredited Joel Soisson and starring Robert Z'Dar as the Maniac Cop again.

It is the third and final installment in the Maniac Cop series.

Plot
A priest practicing the Voodoo arts resurrects Matt Cordell, who takes his badge and comes back from the dead 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 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. 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, are investigating the murders and the strange behavior experienced by the comatose Kate. Their investigations lead them to Houngan, 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

 * Robert Z'Darsky as Officer Matthew Cordell/Maniac Cop
 * Robert David as Detective Lieutenant Sean McKinney
 * Caitlin Dulany as Doctor Susan Fowler
 * Gretchen Becker as Officer Katie Sullivan
 * Paul Gleason as Hank Cooney
 * Jackie Earle Haley as Frank Jessup
 * Julius Harris as Houngan Malfaiteur
 * Grand L. Bush as William
 * Doug Savant as Doctor Peter Myerson
 * Robert Forster as Doctor Powell
 * Bobby Di Cicco as Bishop
 * Frank Pesce as Tribble
 * Lou Diaz as Lieutenant Leon
 * Brenda Varda as Gina Lindsey
 * Vanessa Marquez as Terry
 * Jeffrey Anderson-Gunter as Janitor
 * Jophery Brown as Degrazia
 * Vinnie Curto as Kenyon

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

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

Reception
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. 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". 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". Michael Gingold of Fangoria rated it 2 out 4 stars and criticized the lack of emphasis on the film's antagonist. 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". 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."