When people think of the month of February, monster sci-fi horror movies are usually the last thing they think of. With Valentine’s Day being February’s primary holiday, most people think of love and romance and there are plenty of romcoms and other romantic content available to stream. But for those who love all things horror, Shudder has you covered this month with the arrival of a cult monster movie that is finally on streaming.
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New to streaming as of February 1st on Shudder, The Oily Maniac is a cult classic sci-fi fantasy monster movie that you might not have heard of. The film, originally released in 1976, is a Hong Kong horror film, which puts it in a somewhat niche area of interest, but don’t let that stop you from watching it. The Chinese-language horror film has an interesting premise and unlike anything you’ve ever seen.
The Oily Maniac Is Wild, Weird, and Highly Entertaining
In The Oily Maniac, a disabled man named Shen Yuan (Danny Lee) is asked to look out for the daughter of an old friend on death row and is given a spell that will transform him in order to do so. Using a spell, Shen Yuan is transformed into the wildly strong creature made out of oil and uses his transformation to become a superhero, hunting down and taking revenge on criminals. However, this transformation does not come without its risk, as anyone who abuses the spell is doomed to die horribly. It’s a strange premise and is in many ways very one of a kind, leaning into an almost grindhouse vibe for a monster movie.
It’s also not just a straight up monster movie. The Oily Maniac has a lot of different elements to it. It’s something of a superhero film, with the Oily Maniac out there going after bad guys ranging from bootleg plastic surgeons to pimps to even his own dirty boss. There’s also a surprising amount of sex in the movie along with lots of violence, giving the film a weird sleaze factor that somehow just works. We even get some courtroom drama action with things as Shen Yuan is a legal assistant when he’s not an oily vigilante.
Genuinely, The Oily Maniac is a movie that has absolutely everything packed into it, making it entirely unlike any sort of monster movie you’ve probably ever seen before. It’s not exactly high art — and to be fair, the visual effects leave a lot to be desired, though there is something weirdly endearing about the actual Oily Maniac transformation — but the film is surprisingly well put together. It’s an undiscovered gem for many horror and monster movie fans and with it now streaming on Shudder, it’s a perfect time to take this one in. And, bonus, there’s even a little snippet of the Jaws theme tossed in for fun. Truly, it’s a one of kind film that shouldn’t be missed.
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Image courtesy of Tor Books/Macmillan -
Official art by Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme
