Monday, December 8, 2025
This Monday, December 8th, Sacrilegious Cinema: Menagerie of Madness procures a daunting double feature specializing in serial killers with a night of psychological slashers. This pair plunges into the minds of madmen, presenting the perspective of the perpetrators as opposed to the victims’, with both case studies following maniacs with mommy issues, underlying unresolved childhood trauma packed with warped schemes and social constructs in how to manufacture a monster. This dangerous dyad reaches the summit of grindhouse cinema in its most raw and unadulterated form, culminating in a phantasmagorical crescendo to aid in the culprit’s perverse pathology.
First up, at 8PM, we stalk MANIAC (1980) Frank Zito in the sleazy streets of 1980’s era New York City, exploring his penchant to scalp his victims to later adorn his collection of mannequins with his newfound trophies to satisfy his paraphilic urges. The narrative is not followed through the eyes of his targets, however, but rather in the lens of our lunatic, using the scope of his twisted psyche for our reality in this gritty splatterfest.
Released in 1980 to much controversy, there is nothing tame about this sordid gorefest orchestrated by director William Lustig and perfected by master of macabre and legendary special effects artist Tom Savini. Joe Spinell exudes grotesque depravity as Freud’s poster child for the Oedipal Complex and his accompanying sexual dysfunctions, exhibiting shades of Madonna-Whore ailments— but the psychology delves much deeper than Freud—despite him dripping in psychic impotence as he confronts his mother with every causality.
Beyond Zito’s intimacy issues, Maniac explores his unbridled psychopathy amidst abandonment anxieties and fear of rejection, uncovering a deep insecurity rooted in the development of unhealthy attachment styles, ultimately embodying multiple typologies of serial killers through his myriad of afflictions. Spinell prepared for this role by intensively studying serial killers such as the likes of Gacy, Burkowitz and Bundy to elevate his interpretation.
The color palette and the degenerate decor was inspired by giallo films like Suspiria and Deep Red, and make for a grisly and claustrophobic viewing, erecting an impeccable atmosphere of dread and dissonance, immersing viewers into the trenches of Frank’s distorted mind. The grungey landscape is amplified by the maze of mannequins riddled throughout- adding an ambience wrought in the realm of uncanny valley while simultaneously serving as a totem for the deceased enhanced by prizes from his former victims, successfully becoming a surrogate to satiate his fiendish desires in light of his inability to perform with a real woman, marking the mannequins as a vessel for his lechery. With scream queen and sex symbol Caroline Munro as Frank’s foil, there will be plenty more to dissect in this exploitation era flick than just body parts. 
Then, at 10PM, we remain in the northeast but veer into the suburbs to meet the disturbed Donny Kohler, a man enmeshed with his mother, consumed by years of her sadistic abuse dating all the way back to early childhood, where she routinely punished her son with fire as a means to “burn the sin out of him”. Donny’s fascination with fire grew with age, behaving as both a manifestation of pain and pleasure, but kept under wraps until the day he returns home from his factory job to find the matriarch of the house deceased, unleashing an onslaught of complex emotions Donny is not furnished to deal with, and arousing pyromaniac impulses to cope with this bittersweet loss. With no one there to rule his life any longer, Donny acts on his deranged urges, luring unsuspecting women into his home to recreate his trauma while shifting the power dynamic in his favor to further perpetuate the cycle of abuse.
Played with astonishing unease by Sopranos star Dan Grimaldi, audiences are doused in delirium as they are exposed to a murderer’s maladaptive mind. DON’T GO IN THE HOUSE (1979), directed by Joseph Ellison, offers a glimpse into the other side of the coin, showcasing the terrifying inner workings of a serial killer from beneath a veneer of benevolence in the making of madness t Taylor a modus operandi. Moreover, this picture examines religion under the optics of zealotry, including biblical symbolism as well as the idealogy relating t fire’s cleansing properties in an attempt to add logic to the lunacy. Drawing inspiration from both real life serial killers and cinematic slashers that came before, Donny’s character incorporates aspects from the infamous H.H. Holmes and his murder castle in conjunction with the original mama’s boy Norman Bates from Hitchcock’s seminal Psycho (1960). Don’t Go In the House analyzes charred remains from the flames once scorched upon an innocent’s flesh, taking in consideration what threads of normalcy are left behind from the burns. Do not let the lackluster name deter you- what lies ahead is much more enticing than promised- though this movie comes with a warning label; do not proceed if seedy cinema isn’t your speed as this feature is as scandalous as they come, dressed against an equally bleak background to dampen the most sunny of demeanors. 
Are you brave enough to peer into the crazed musings of the demented? Make sure you don’t miss this double feature at Hot Wax Ybor.
FREE popcorn included with a
mandatory purchase- no cover charge with a 1 drink (or snack) minimum from the bar.
Remember to try our themed drinks for this week’s psychological slasher double feature.
(Movie nights offer psychological insight accompanied by behind the scenes information and observations by your horror hostess). 
