BootDigest
Such a frustrating disappointment
VividSimon
Simply Perfect
Arianna Moses
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
Foreverisacastironmess
I felt greatly let down by this pitiful excuse for a movie. I wasn't under the impression it would be Shakespeare but going by the cool cover art I did think it would at least be something of a monsterfest type film along the lines of "Spookies", which is one of my all-time favourite fun horror movies. But sadly it soon turned out to be nothing but a confused tiresome mess that I found downright insulting in its plain unapologetic stupidity. Like the number one thing that bugged me about it was the most obvious thing: Where, who, and what the f**k were the Neon Maniacs!? Oh they just magically sprung from the scary iron door beneath the Golden Gate Bridge.. Pathetic! I'm not five years old, give me something to go on! You don't know if they're mutants, demons, robots, nothing! So not cool! I hated the music that'd instantly start playing whenever they appeared, it really grated on me. And some of the actors were really awful, like the main guy Steve who played a cheesy rock number near the end, he couldn't have said his lines with less feeling if he'd tried. There was just way too much wrong with it and too many gaping plot holes for me to ignore and I just couldn't enjoy it enough as a result, there was no story! And it's a shame because I really thought there were some interesting themes and the potential for something special buried deep in this hopeless picture that could've been great if the plot had been adjusted and it had been directed better. I think it could have been a classic of 80s horror instead of what it is. I liked the character of the teenage girl who was a horror movie buff not unlike young Tommy Jarvis from Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. I wish they would've done the story so that the Maniacs had been monsters from horror comics that had somehow come to life and they were after the girl because it was her doing - if nothing else it would have offered a passable explanation as to their laughable fatal weakness to water! And the thing with the trading cards when the fisherman gets axed in the back made me wonder if at one point they had considered going for something of a Garbage Pail Kids idea. Yet another neat angle that is just lazily discarded.. Again, shame, there was potential! And I did like the gang of monsters, there was some good eerie moments with them. The scene where the mad doctor chloroforms the poor guy and cuts out his still beating heart is very macabre and scary, and the weird little cyclops alligator thing was so adorable! All of the makeup effects on the monsters was nice, and they each had a distinct look and personality, but you can't build a movie just on that alone, at least not without a little information for the audience to go on, and it just feels horrendously incomplete and unfinished to me, not good enough at all, they should have shelved it. Anyway that's all just my opinion, if you love it more power to ya, but I don't get you man, I don't get you at all! Utter trainwreck, in fact I'd say that if you wanna see how not to make a movie watch this monster!
werethemeatmenandyousuck
While I found it ultimately disappointing, it was a nice attempt at being different. The movie had nice costumes,make up and some humor. But it was too uneven. I'm not sure the film makers truly decided what type of movie this was going to be. I disliked the music that was used for background music and I really disliked the live music scenes. The background music was largely responsible for giving the mixed messages about what type of "feel" a scene was supposed to have. i just didn't feel like the scenes that were shot, and what was put together in editing and post-production matched.But for B-movie, Video Nasty people I think its worth one watch.
roddmatsui
As bad films go, this one's pretty enjoyable.Anchor Bay, not long ago, released a wonderful widescreen DVD of NEON MANIACS. But you can also enjoy this on tape, because VHS copies are still floating around at used video stores. And perhaps an old VHS tape might be better for generating that 80's feeling... This is the infamous low-budget horror flick from 1985 that boasts a gaggle of weird, oozing monsters--each with a different look and method of killing--who come out at night, ready for action. The movie takes place in San Francisco--and the monsters actually make their home under the Golden Gate Bridge (!). Sure, why not? It could happen. The title monsters are NEVER referred to as "Neon Maniacs" by any of the characters. A narrator has a brief speech early on in the film and says something like "The children's path shall be darkened...by the SHADOWS of the...NEON MANIACS." (Yeah. Whatever.) But that's the only time you hear the term, and as a justification for the title, it's flimsy at best. AND, as noted by many, the monsters are NEVER explained in any way. At all! Near the end of the film there is a climactic scene at a high school costume dance featuring an astounding "Battle of the 80's Bands" (one a Rick Springfield knockoff, the other a lame heavy metal group) that will have you squirming and your face contorting into various peculiar grimaces and scowls. Yow! This is a time capsule film. You watch it to see what things looked like, what was going on twenty-odd (very odd) years ago. But please take care: What you see, you may find upsetting.80's horror had its own very unique and pointless stamp, and this is one of the best examples of an endearingly BAD 80's horror film--just as THE BREAKFAST CLUB is one of the best examples of an endearingly good 80's teen film. That is to say, NEON MANIACS, despite how awful it is, is memorable. It gives you a strange warm happy feeling inside when you watch it. And when it's over, you think about it--chortle to yourself over it. You might even recommend it to your friends. And you know perfectly well that it's not a good movie at all! That it's one of the worst movies you've ever seen!! See it tonight! Yes, it's crap. Yes, it's fun.
Backlash007
~Spoiler~ Neon Maniacs-where do I start? We've got an archer, a samurai, an indian, a doctor, a biker, a soldier, a hangman, an ape-man who reminded me of Lou Ferrigno's Hulk, and one guy who looks like the Toxic Avenger's ugly brother. They comprise the Neon Maniacs. The problem with the film is that we're given no backstory on the creatures. "Neon because they can only be seen in the dark; Maniacs because they kill at will." That's what the box reads. What I want to know is where in the hell did this motley crew come from? Why do they each have a spooky tarot card in their likeness? Also, If these monsters can only be destroyed by water, then why in the hell would they live inside the Golden Gate Bridge? Real geniuses, huh? Alas, these questions will never be answered. In fact, the problem we're presented with is never even resolved. The film is very open-ended and there is no sequel. I'm willing to forgive this I suppose because the writer went on to draft a screenplay for some little movie called Pumpkinhead. It also had some standout scenes including the first appearance of the maniacs in the park. Lots of gore here and good make-up. Neon Maniacs reminded me a lot of The Spookies in that in made no sense, but it was still enjoyable in all it's ridiculousness and fun to watch. "Neon Maniacs-just add water for edge-of-your-seat suspense and terror!" Note for genre buffs: Andrew Divoff is credited as the Doc and it's his first movie role.
