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.
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.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
