Neon Maniacs (1986)

A group of teenagers in San Francisco discover a nest of homicidal monsters living in a tower of the Golden Gate Bridge, but when they try to tell authorities, no one believes them.

Director:

Joseph Mangine

Writer:

Mark Patrick Carducci

Stars:

Clyde Hayes, Leilani Sarelle, Donna Locke

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clyde Hayes	...	Steven (as Alan Hayes)
Leilani Sarelle	...	Natalie
Donna Locke	...	Paula
Victor Brandt	...	Devin (as Victor Elliot Brandt)
David Muir	...	Wylie
Marta Kober	...	Lorraine
P.R. Paul	...	Eugene
Jeff Tyler	...	Wally
Amber Denyse Austin	...	Lisa (as Amber Austin)
James Acheson	...	Ray (as James Atcheson)
Chuck Hemingway	...	Gary
Bo Sabato	...	Manello
Jessie Lawrence Ferguson	...	Carson
John Lafayette	...	Thomas (as John LaFayette)
Gene Bicknell	...	Cozzie

Storyline

Something disturbing is going on in San Francisco each and every night. Certain locals who are out at night, are being set upon and slain, by someone or something, to be found in the morning mutilated or parts missing. Ocassionally they are never found at all ditto the parts that go missing. Tonight one teen is going to witness a massacre at the hands of this lethal mystery. And might be able to shed some light over it to the cops. That is if she survives the night.

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Plot Keywords:

night | massacre | monster | school shooting | arrow | 

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Taglines:

Night falls... So do their victims!

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 November 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dødens armé

Filming Locations:

Glendale, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cimarron Productions, Kelly Park Associates

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Andrew Divoff's film debut.

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Quotes

Natalie: What's his or her name?
Steven: Dog!
Natalie: You named your dog "Dog?"
Steven: See, I thought about 'Cat', but...

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Connections

References Blade Runner (1982)

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Soundtracks

"Treat Me"
Performed by Paul Simpson Connection
Written by Paul Simpson
Produced by Paul Simpson

User Reviews

80s cheesiness oozes from every frame.

A group of slow-moving, inter-dimensional maniacs, each with their own unique look and method of killing, emerge from under The Golden Gate Bridge at night to prey on the people of San Francisco. Having witnessed the creatures at work, high school students Natalie (Leilani Sarelle) and Steven (Clyde Hayes), aided by teenage monster movie fan Paula (Donna Locke), find themselves targeted by the maniacs and are forced to fight back with water as their only means of defence (despite the colourful killers living next to a river, plain old H20 proves to be deadly to them!).

When Neon Maniacs was first released on VHS, I thought it was junk, writer Mark Patrick Carducci failing to do his rather intriguing basic premise justice, director Joseph Mangine compounding matters with his uninspired direction, and the cast giving dreadful performances all round. Having recently given the film the benefit of a re-watch, I still think it's junk, but at least it now has the advantage of being nostalgic junk, the horrible clothes, nasty hairstyles, crappy effects, and awful pop/rock music (particularly during a terrible battle-of-the-bands scene) providing a reasonably fun time despite the overall technical shoddiness. Steve's hideous jacket; Natalie's big hair; Paula wearing her Nostromo baseball cap at a silly angle; the nasty neon tubing backdrop to Steve's band: it's delightfully dated elements like these that just about made this one worth watching.

5.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 6 for the trip down memory lane (the 80s were worse than I remembered), a couple of gloopy melting maniacs, and Leilani Sarelle in her swimming cossie.