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Stars: Jürgen Raffner, Henri Stuart, Anja Belle, Greta Krauss 
Director: Hedwig Schreck
Distributor: Astra United Film Distribution

“Freak!”

The second of a late-night Giallo Double-bill, Manhattan Zodiac ‘77 is an exploitive spectacle of a slasher and sleaze. An excellent throwback picture, this one has it all in abundance: grain, grit, and guts. With a yesteryear New York skyline as the backdrop, Manhattan Zodiac ‘77 is an essential time capsule for all horror fans. An uncomfortably immersive experience like none other.

Manhattan Zodiac ‘77 follows three parties of characters: a washed up cop, Stryker, (Jurgen Raffner) and his team; a couple of female friends, Emily and Eva (Anja Belle and Greta Krauss respectively) sharing a hotel room; and a grotesque serial killer, with a dominating performance by Henri Stuart. Opening with a murder, the Zodiac Killer’s actions and movements are the general baselines for the film, or the slimy glue that holds it together at least. Essentially, the cops can’t keep up with the murders, Zodiac can’t get enough of his depraved lifestyle, and the girls are in his war path. Somewhat obvious and expected in terms of story, but the journey from point A to Z is sometimes both unsettling and incomprehensible. Everything we want to experience in horror, basically.

Whilst formulaic actions for serial killer/slasher films may be present, much of Manhattan Zodiac ‘77 can be endured as a gritty snuff epic, given its specific technical presentation. Shot on Kodak Super 8, grit is mixed with grain, and super sleaze is a spectacle of great proportions. The edginess of the picture fully immerses the viewer into this world of terror. Under Hedwig Schreck’s creative arsenal, Manhattan Zodiac ‘77 is immensely successful in blending spices of Giallo and psychological thriller amongst the stew of serial killer thriller.

Despite its vulgarity-on-steroids approach, Manhattan Zodiac ‘77’s existence is a tremendous one. An obvious throwback and tribute to the slimy VHS of yesteryear, this exploitative endearment is a sign of a genuine love for film and genre cinema. Whether this film will kickstart a cultural reboot of throwback films, in this vein, is unlikely…the sheer existence of this slasher encourages an approach to not only filmmaking on film, but an admiration and acknowledgement of super lowbrow cult cinema. This modern application of Super 8 is one of the best ever seen.