Get a load of the 'Maniac'. Nothing there that a good face wash and a painful dental visit wouldn't fix, if, that is, 5-years were spent on it. On the whole, it looks like the movie throws a bit of everything into the pot. Trouble is the drop-in ingredients-- horror, whodunit, romance, news-hound-- don't blend well.
Anyway, the plot's main question amounts to who's killing the Rineharts. It should be the Maniac, but we know it's not, though he does prey on necking couples; that is, when he's not hiding out in the bushes ready for his next close-up. An even bigger question is just what Lugosi's sinister Degar is supposed to be. That's a big a mystery too. Is he a house attendant from heck or maybe a dark agent from late night TV. What with his graveyard manner and sepulcher voice, at least he would keep unwanted guests away. Too bad the writers weren't sure what to do with their headliner, but it does get Lugosi's name on the marquee.
Then there's the comedy relief. Probably the movie was never a front rank choice on TCM, since it's a black man doing the embarrassing 'feets-don't-fail-me-now' brand of racial humor. And, for his humiliation, the actor's not even included in the credit list (IMDB). On the whole, however, the supporting cast performs ably, especially the women and the Rineharts.
All in all, the flick's a different kind of fright effort that unfortunately scatters impact. At least that's so until the finale, which is unexpected and cleverly thought out. There's also the completely novel "breaking of the fourth wall" by the Maniac, a real rarity, I would think, for its time. Too bad that the programmer's not good enough to really register, and not bad enough to make it as laughable camp. So where's Ed Wood when I could use a good chuckle.