L.A. Maniac, A Stern Warning for our Daughters

From our buddies at Troma, comes this ominous horror story, 2011's "L.A. Maniac" (aka "The Los Angeles Ripper").  Unlike many Troma films, this one is without humor.  I have stated many times on this blog that the demented and insane, who used to be confined to lunatic asylums, are now encouraged to mingle in society.  Unfortunately, this "enlightened" approach to mental health paves the way for total insaniacs to stand with you in line at the post office, or Target.  After 25 years in law enforcement, I can tell you that these less than stellar members of our communities look for one thing....opportunity.  A smile from a young an attractive lady which is a mere gesture of politeness is interpreted by these psychos as an invitation to disembowel. 

As our story begins, Grahm (Randy Tobin), the pristine soul that he is, rids the world of an unclean wench (prostitute).  Also, Kristy (Celeste Marie Martinez, who also co-wrote this film) arrives in L.A. from Ohio.  Naive and wide-eyed, Kristy is all about experiencing L.A. for all it has to offer.  She will live with her dysfunctional and paranoid Aunt Peggy (Beverley Bassette) and her loser cousin Angel (Chase Monroe).  As twisted fate would have it, Kristy and Grahm meet at a party.  Grahm is 100% enthralled with our naive protagonist, but Kristy is creeped out by the vulgar and over-eager dolt.  Grahm's interpretation of this first meeting is that Kristy is "all into" him, thus he begins stalking her.  Meanwhile, Grahm continues to pick up loose women and murders them.  As the film progresses, the murders get progressively gorier.  At some point, he will begin scalping his prey and eating their innards.  In one very stylish and disturbing scene, Grahm murders "the orange girl" (Moeko Maeda).  This killing is important to the ethos of this work.  "The orange girl" symbolizes a woman who has set herself apart as an individual, asserting her uniqueness to a society bent on conformity.  This is too much for our misogynist psycho, as a woman who has set herself apart will not be tolerated.

Totally blind to the violence going on around her, Kristy pursues a L.A. lifestyle.  She takes singing classes, though has no talent for it, and considers learning how to surf.  As Kristy delves deeper into a L.A. existence, Grahm plots.  Ultimately, the polite and lady-like qualities of Kristy will ensure that a bloody final confrontation will occur.  As each murder is more stomach turning than the one before, we cannot even imagine what Grahm has in store for our heroine.  When the final scenes do appear, they are hard to watch, brutal, and bloody. 

There is a subplot I must mention.  Kristy's voice teacher, Mrs. Crabtree (Dolores Quintana) provides a great diversion from the violence in this film....or does she?  As she teaches her untalented students to sing, Mrs. Crabtree's scenes conclude with one that ties this supposed diversion into the violence that is "L.A. Maniac."  This, of course, being a metaphor for Kristy chasing dreams, but being plunged into a meat-grinder of evil, instead. Very reasonably priced on Amazon, if your stomach can handle it, get yourself a copy of this horror tale.  Also, if your daughter seeks to run off to L.A. to make it big....show her this film.