Revenge Of The Slashers: Frank Zito

“You want to look pretty, don’t you?”

Although panned by critics and released in varied censored versions, 1980’s Maniac still managed to develop quite a cult following and even spawned a 2012 remake starring Elijah Wood. The film focuses on the internal conflicts of Frank Zito, a man with a severe psychological disorder thanks to the abusive relationship he had with his mother. Mr. Zito is today’s featured slasher.

Zito seeks out women, savagely murders them, and then scalps them and takes their clothing or other items. He takes their scalps and secures them to the heads of multiple mannequins in his apartment. He dresses the mannequins in his victims’ clothes as well. He talks to himself and the mannequins as if they are alive. He also has conversations with his deceased mother. He befriends a photographer and discusses photography and “capturing” beauty with her. He develops a relationship with her but ultimately snaps and attempts to murder her and add her to his collection. She manages to escape and he ends up back in his apartment. He begins to hallucinate about his mannequins attacking him and apparently commits suicide…..or does he?

Zito is portrayed by Joe Spinell, who also co-wrote the film. The character of Frank Zito was inspired by Norman Bates from Psycho and real-life serial killer David Berkowitz, better known as the Son Of Sam. The Elijah Wood version of the character (seen below) is just as gruesome as Spinell’s, and his story is fleshed out a bit more than the original film’s version. That said, Spinell’s version is much more disturbing in my opinion.

Thanks for checking out today’s slasher. Tomorrow we’ll be visiting with a character portrayed by a major film star at the dawn of his career!