Officer Matt Cordell (Robert D'Zar) returns yet again in this, the apparent final sequel to William Lustwigs 1988 original movie.

Far from being laid to everlasting rest after having his name cleared in the previous entry, our undead psycho slayer is resurrected here once more, this time by a voodoo priest (for reasons that are never actually explained) However it seems that beneath all that rotting flesh is a lonely heart as evidenced when he takes an amorous interest in a female police officer after she is gunned down during a drug store robbery. It seems that our misunderstood anti-hero wants her to join him in his un-death, again to be achieved by voodoo machinations. Before this, he resolves to bring about the violent dissolution of all those people who contributed to her comatose state and in addition those who would aggravate it (including in the later category the always excellent Robert Forster!)

Returning once more is the welcome face of Robert Davi who ironically shares a similar agenda to Cordell i.e. to punish those responsible, but who is none too compliant with the undead marriage plans.

It has to be said straight out that the film in question is not a patch on its two predecessors in terms of either story, script, action scenes or gore content. However, having said this and despite the hokey plot, the film does contain a few great set pieces including a cool scene where Davi rolls down a hospital corridor on a bed towards the bad guys and jumps out from under the covers with guns blazing.

Overall then, for fans of the series this is well worth a watch. Maybe with some luck we'll yet see Matt Cordell rise from the grave once more hopefully sometime soon for a fourth entry in the series….

Out of all the "Maniac Cop" series, this one was a letdown. However, out of due respect, I've always liked the character no matter what. This time, he tends to a policewoman who was gunned down during a stand-off. And Matt Cordell(Robert D'Zar) is enforced to "protect and serve". Since none of the other officers would help her, Det. Sean Kenny(Robert Davi) and Cordell are on the same page. Cordell takes on the usual trash crooked cops to be exact. I liked the part where he puts on guy under several exposures of X-rays. Then there's the scene where Kenny tells Cordell that she's been cleared of all wrongdoing. Somehow, underneath his hulking and ravaged exterior belies a interior that's anything but supernatural, it's human. Both went with the explosion, and covered in white. To me, it goes to show that love never dies, especially when Cordell touches the dead woman's hand from the sheets. I mean good grief, let her be. This version got a little sappy, yet will he continue the fight against crime, or will he settle down? This one got me baffled! 2 out of 5 stars!

Former killer cop, officer Cordell is resurrected to take care of some unfinished business and exact revenge on those who have disgraced a policewoman shot in the line of duty.

Despite being made in 1993 Badge of Silence reeks of the 80s farmore than Cordells rotten flesh, basically it's part slasher flick, part cop shoot 'em up. There's stunt doubles, car chases and cops on the edge. To its credit Larry Cohen's Maniac Cop 3 story touches on some topical issues, problems with gun crime, the TV/press manipulation and corrupt officials.

With a hint of the Bride of Frankenstein and a more blatant supernatural overtone Robert Z'Dar is reduced to a zombie with a bigger chin than Bruce Campbell as wronged cop Matt Cordell. It feels like Z'Dar has less to do this time around and through no fault of his own his character is a shade of grey with his motivations as murky as cities officials.

The casting is above par for this kind of flick. Robert Davi is on form as usual, returning as Det. Sean McKinney and pretty much owns each scene with a Dirty Harry grimace. Top character actors Robert Forster and Paul Gleason have welcomed bit parts with Ted Raimi putting in cameo.

Where as part one shocked because of its daylight surprise setting, two because of its dark tone, grit and seediness, part three is most notable for being the darkest looking instalment lacking it's own identity - it feels like an episode of the Equalizer starring The Terminator in places. However, where the aforementioned parts were low budget with a big budget results, edgy and delivered shocks, three falls short feeling rushed and underdeveloped retreading the antagonists past and redemption. Nevertheless, to director William Lustig's credit and writer Cohen part 3 manages to mix a voodoo element on the gritty police backdrop successfully unlike for example Halloween 6 which followed two years later.

Overall, while not as entertaining nor as well executed as its predecessor it's worth seeing if only for Caitlin Dulany and Davi's performances and also to hear Joel Goldsmith overlooked score.

With Maniac Cop 2, director William Lustig and screenwriter Larry Cohen imagined a mixture of bloody slasher and crime thriller The French Connection, and delivered just about the most satisfying sequel imaginable to an original that was hardly great. It delivered on car chases, action set-pieces and slasher mayhem, backed with a witty, sharp script and an impressive cast. It also delivered a full-body- burn climax that was as exciting as it was technically impressive. While part two looked at William Friedkin's classic thriller for inspiration, just where Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence found inspiration is anyone's guess, other than perhaps the sort of drivel you used to find buried on the bottom shelf of the video store. Lustig and Cohen have both disowned the movie since its release, and it isn't difficult to see why.

Citing studio interference, Lustig walked from the set half-way through filming for the movie to be picked up by inexperienced producer Joel Soisson, who is uncredited. The resulting film is less than a half-baked idea: a lumbering mess of a film, primarily made up of filler that is, at times, downright unwatchable. Having clear Matt Cordell's name and buried him with honours in tact, Detective Sean McKinney (Robert Davi) had hoped to have seen the last of the 'Maniac Cop'. His close father-daughter-like relationship with young police officer Katie Sullivan (Gretchen Becker) is ground to a halt when she is gunned down and placed into a coma by junkie Frank (Jackie Earle Haley), only for two 'nightcrawler' cameramen to smear her name with some edited footage. After being resurrected by a Voodoo priest, Cordell sees Sullivan as an equally tortured and unfairly disgraced soul, and sets about claiming her for his own.

It's hard to know where to start with Maniac Cop 3, as the film is so lacking in ideas and structure that it barely has a beginning, middle and end. When it hits a wall, it looks to its predecessor for ideas. So we are treated to another convenience store shootout, another high speed chase, and another finale involving a full body burn. In its defence, the climax mixes both a high speed chase and a full body burn, and while it goes on for a little too long, you have to appreciate the complexity of such an intricate set-piece. Cordell, again played by Robert Z'Dar, is relegated to little more than a glorified cameo in his own movie, appearing ever now and then to carry out a bloody deed seemingly for Voodoo priest Houngan (Julius Harris), whose motives are still unclear when the credits roll. As a fan of the first two Maniac Cop movies, it's easy to feel as cheated as Lustig did as he stormed off set.

In New York city , Policewoman is gunned down, staying in coma , and being accused of use excessive force by the nasty delinquents . Then the grossly disfigured police Robert D'Zar returning from his grave to wreak futher vendetta yet again, as he emerges to exact gory revenge as the good guys attempt to get rid of him once and for all . As the huge maniac cop goes on his vengeance, why never matters .

Run-of-the mill and routine sequel with usual elements as noisy action , thrills , chills , car pursuits , shootouts , grisly violence , high body-count and lots of blood and gore. As it is, despite abundant action and involving a fistful of murders , the overall effects is sluggish . A medium-budget slasher/thriller that too often saga, but it has more action than the previous entries , outstanding the final scenes when our starring Robert Davi and a nurse are mercilessly chased by the psycho killer , maniac cop throughtout the railway . Blood and guts fly as any plot shortcomings are intelligently masked by an array of lethal , sadistic and violent deaths . This is third of the William Lusting's Maniac cop trilogy about the cop goes beyond the realm of sanity and turns vigilante, being formed by the following ones : "Maniac Cop" 1988 with Tom Atkins , Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon , Richard Roundtree , William Smith , Shree North , Sam Raimi. "Maniac Cop II" with Robert Davi, Claudia Christian , Michael Lerner , Bruce Campbell , Clarence Williams III, Leo Rossi, James Dixon . An this "Maniac Cop III Badge of Silence" with Robert Davi , Paul Gleason , Doug Savant , Jackie Earle Haley , Robert Forster and of course Robert D'Zar as the zombiefied cop Matt Cordell . All of them were written by Larry Cohen and middlingly but professionally made.

The picture was regularly directed by William Lusting , who here used the frequent pseudonym Alan Smithee , giving a passable filck in which interpretations , occasional bizarre details and camerawork are solid enough , but both cutting and filmmaking are flabby and formulary. This craftsman filmmaker has made various films with plenty of violence , action and terror , such as : "Uncle Sam" , "Relentless" , "The Hit list" , "Vigilante" and "Maniac" . Rating : 5/10 . Average but passable and acceptable .

"Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence" is yet another solid sequel that is just as good as the previous two movies in the series. As weird as it may seem, the maniac cop (played again by Robert Z'Dar) seems to have a heart in this one when he starts protecting a female cop who was wounded in a shootout and was said to be too hard on criminals. Now the crazed cop goes on another killing spree and it is up to Robert Davi (repraising his role from "Maniac Cop 2" to stop him. If you're a fan of the first two, be sure not to miss this entry with the exciting climax with the crazed cop a flame behind the wheel of a car. *** out of ***** Stars.

Having watched all three of these movies within days of each other, the conclusion is essentially that they should have left it with the campiness and cheesiness of the first movie. Especially since it was just downhill after that first movie.

"Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence" actually didn't much sense, especially in comparison to the previous two movies. The overall here just feels like a series of random shots had been put together for a movie, as if they had given different directors free reigns to just do whatever they wanted and then patches their individual products together at the end during production.

The story line in "Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence" was laughable at best. It was so predictable that it almost hurt. You could essentially start watching the movie, leave for a while and come back, and you would still be fully up to speed with what was going on in the movie.

As for the characters, well Matt Cordell had turned into a farce by now here in the third movie. But if you enjoyed the second movie, then you might actually find some enjoyment in this third addition to the franchise.

The special effects were nothing outstanding, and just basically continued on in the same pace as the second movie. The effects, of course, show the signs of the age in which they were created. Just a friendly word of advice, don't expect too much here.

By now with the third movie it felt like they were just squeezing out the last drops available. It didn't really feel like there was any heart and soul added to this movie.

I have now watched this third movie, and with it I will let Matt Cordell rest, because it was definitely much needed after strained two sequels.

It's no surprise that the longer a franchise continues to make sequels, the less they capture people's interest. Especially for types of films that came from a certain decade. The 1980s was the decade known for extreme violence and horror icons to name a couple. While many of those now famous characters popped during the early years, there were some last minute late bloomers to the party. They were characters like Pinhead from Hellraiser (1987), Chucky from Child's Play (1988) and lastly Matt Cordell from Maniac Cop (1988). For the Maniac Cop franchise, while the story itself wasn't anything drastically new, it was given an interesting spin on things allowing it to stand out from the regular hack and slash crazy killer film. The first sequel followed a similar execution but included an unnecessary side character to main antagonist.

This official final installment in the series though would end up being the least popular. Mainly because returning director William Lustig walked off set after he learned the original intended narrative changed focus. The total amount of footage available to use was only 2/3 a standard theatrical film. So the fact that additional footage was shot as just filler is remarkable the movie is able to continue the story from Maniac Cop 2 (1990). Written by Larry Cohen, who also wrote for the previous two films and The Stuff (1985), the story picks up from the last film as some voodoo artist named Houngan (Julius Harris) resurrects Matt Cordell (Robert Z'Dar). Meanwhile, Sean McKinney (Robert Davi) returns with Katie Sullivan (Gretchen Becker) who end up getting entangled in an incident involving intentionally misreporting newscasters lead by Tribble (Frank Pesce).

The first thing that doesn't work in this sequel is the confusing motives for characters. Aside from a loose tie-in dealing with dishonest media coverage, Matt Cordell doesn't seem to have a clear intention. The first film dealt with the character getting revenge on the precinct that left him for dead. The second film was about getting revenge for fouling up his original plan. Here though, because he's resurrected by someone else he feels more like a vessel. Julius Harris' character explains the reason for Cordell's resurrection but it's all in vague platitudes that won't enlighten any viewer. The next piece to this feature that doesn't help are some typical clichés one would expect from the horror genre. McKinney ends up meeting this young medical worker Dr. Susan Fowler (Caitlin Dulany), want to guess what develops between them? The question is, why? Who cares?

Let's also not forget the dialog. But before that's covered, it must be made apparent that the actors cast in this film are all special in their own way. They all perform well and give good performances. This also includes the likes of Grand L. Bush, Paul Gleason, Jackie Earle Haley, Robert Forster and Doug Savant. However, it's what theirs and other characters say and do that make this entry so over the top. Cops make comments while on scene that are not appropriate, doctors visit lunch tables while wearing soiled aprons, reports using curse words while on a hot microphone. It's safe to say not even the characters from the first movie were that careless. The action and stunts in this movie are well staged. Again, because of the year it was released very little if any CGI was probably used. Therefore, all the action was probably live pyrotechnics.

With that said, visually speaking the film is adequate looking too. The special effects and violence are all practical and executed professionally. Behind the camera was Jacques Haitkin as cinematographer. Prior to this film he also worked on A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985). And later would serve second unit filming in the same role for The Expendables (2010) and Furious 7 (2015). However, the music composed by Jerry Goldsmith's son Joel Goldsmith was a bit of a letdown. Considering the family name, one would think Goldsmith would carry on the original motif composed by Jay Chattaway from the first two films. Unfortunately, he does not and the new one provided doesn't add a whole lot to it. Sadly, there's not even a score to get the full listening experience to see if there are some redeeming qualities. A missed opportunity because there are probably people who'd want to complete the collection of maniac cop scores.

As expect, it's the weakest entry in the series, but it's not unwatchable either. The actors provide some fluff from time to time and the visuals are on point. But the second sequel delves too much in over the top characters and uncertain motives. It doesn't help that the music isn't the same either.

In a word, wow! Maniac Cop one was awesome: great subject matter, assured direction, true excitement and Bruce Campbell. I thought I'd watch the sequel for a laugh and ... it too was awesome. Enter Robert Davi and some more great action and laughs. What's that I hear you say? A cheap eighties action/horror with an equal sequel? Well you won't believe this, but I watched number three last night and I was blown away. Once again this film is equal to the original, and also enjoys a new cynical humour which was great fun. In this movie the cops and reporters and doctors all have a really crass way of talking about death when Robert Davi ask's how his partner is doing he gets the reply "Put her in a rock garden", with her parents well in earshot! This kind of sick humour punctuates the impressive action and actually adds to the realism of the movie. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes to enjoy themself(which has to be everyone). Go watch!

Maniac Cop 3 is another great sequel to the 1988 Cult Classic original, part 2 was great but i enjoy part 3 more but the first film is the best of this excellent underrated Horror Trilogy. I just really think these flicks are so much fun.

The excellent Robert Davi is back in the lead role as tough Detective Sean mckinney (from Maniac Cop 2) who is again on the hunt for a newly resurrected zombie Maniac Cop, there's a nice night time voodoo atmosphere & this time the Maniac Cop "Cordell" is definitely a zombie & is out to murder once again, the Maniac Cop is very much like "Jason Voorhees" here as he's a big hulking silent,super-strong killer & is almost unstoppable.

Robert z'darr plays the matt Cordell aka the Maniac Cop & he's still the same in his movements & presence but more zombie looking this time.

Our Hero of this slick looking 90's Slasher-Thriller is of course the excellent rugged Robert Davi who is perfectly cast in the role of the no-nonsense,tough & gritty Detective sean Mckinney, Davi plays Mckinney serious & moody & like the equally excellent Tom Atkins in the first Maniac Cop, hes the best character & performance in the whole movie!!!

Davi has a cool presence about him, he looks rugged & comes accross like a Detective from an old pulp novel or even a bounty hunter, Davi is a class actor who appeared mostly in straight to video low-rent Thriller's during the 90's but he was always great to watch even if the B-movie isn't that good, Davi always gave a good memorable perfperformance & that's why he's one of my favourite actors along with Atkins, they both have that screen quality where you look forward to seeing them in anything. Davi is a true retro action star of the DTV B-movie era & has given us plenty of low-budget gems to uncover!!! Davi is great in The Bad Pack, The Zone, Night Trap, Center of the Web, Peacemaker & many more, go check out his awesome filmography.

Maniac Cop 3 is pure early 90s in it's look & tone, it feels like a 90s Dark Thriller with slasher elements here & there but it feels more like a Cop film or a Detective Thriller & that's fine, there is a darkness to this movie in it's style & visual look & a great new setting within a hospital abit like "Michael Myers" stalking the hospital in "Halloween 2" & it works well here as we've watched the Maniac Cop stalk the dark city streets in the other films so this is a nice new setting & feels fresh.

There's a little side story mixed in about a good lady cop who becomes abit of a bride of Frankenstein in a way to the Maniac Cop, its a fun little fantasy bit even if it's abit silly really it doesn't hurt the movie as it's so entertaining with a fantastic shootout scene in the hospital with "mckinney" taking on some street thugs in a hospital corridor, it's truly an Awesome action scene & there's another great bit where "mckinney" discovers a secret underground tunnel leading from the hospital to an old church where the Maniac Cop hides out along with the zoodoo witch doctor guy who brought him back to life, the look is lovely with candles all over the old church it's a great peice of production design in it's almost cosy look.

There's also the spectacular end car Chase sequence, it's Amazing.

Maniac Cop 3 is a thrilling sequel with a great rare lead role for Davi & some excellent action scenes & some real gory death scenes, it's great late night entertainment in it's old school 90s vhs Slasher Thriller feel.

The plot apparently was not the main consideration of the people who decided to make this, the second sequel to the 1988 surprise hit; that's the only way to explain why there are so many gaps in it (like "Who is that voodoo master?", "Why did he choose to resurrect the Maniac Cop" and "Why does the Maniac Cop kill / help good AND bad guys so arbitrarily?"). Since justice had been set straight at the end of the previous installment, there is no really compelling reason for the title character to return from his grave, so the whole movie seems pointless and unmotivated. But the lengthy chase sequence near the end is so fast-paced and well-done that made me raise the film's rating by half a star. (**)

After two decent movies made with the same director and writer you would think that this would be awesome like its predecessors, wrong! Pretty much everything is messed up in this movie. The biggest problem is probably the poor writing, what was the purpose? Why and what's going on? I have no idea what I've just watched, there is little to none explanation. I find this is kind of odd thinking that this is made by the same filmmakers that made Maniac Cop 1 and 2, two movies that has a rather easy and straightforward plot, the whole movie feels rushed and unfinished. There is not much good to say about this movie, even Cordell reacts unnatural compared with MC 1 and 2, but it does have some neat fire stunts. Anyway, a disappointing and by far the weakest movie in the Maniac Cop trilogy.

I am at a distinct disadvantage here. I have not seen the first two movies in this series, although I have seen a lot of Larry Cohen films. Fans of the series seem to think this is a good film. Judging it on it's own, it was pretty boring.

You never get a real good look at the maniac cop's (Robert Z'Dar) face, but what I did see was pretty grim. The death scenes seem to be staged to eat up the most film, not to give any thrills. Maybe if I saw the NC-17 Director's Cut, I may be more impressed.

The ending with the car chase with Z'Dar, Caitlin Dulany, and Robert Davi was pretty intense. best part of the movie.

Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence (1992) is currently available for free on Tubi, Vudu and Prime. The storyline follows ex-police officer officer Matt Cordell who is now dead and buried. A voodoo priest brings him back from the dead to do his bidding. The police officers from Maniac Cop II will have to spring into action to save the city from him again. This movie is directed by William Lustig (Maniac and Maniac Cop I & II) and stars Robert Davi (Die Hard), Robert Z'Dar (Tango & Cash), Caitlin Dulany (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) and Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen). The storyline and execution of the premise for this film is absolutely horrible. I was happy they brought back Davi from the previous picture. Robert Forster making an appearance in this was awesome and a nice surprise. I will give the film credit for some great shootouts but there wasn't enough great kill scenes and gore. Overall this is a below average addition to the horror genre that is worth seeing once if you enjoyed the previous two films. I'd score this a 4/10.

Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (1993) is very underrated and it might be the worst one in the series but is my second favorite Action horror flick from the 90's and I still love it. I even more love it than I like the second film. I know that this film is different from the first film that started all and I still think the director and cast crew did a great job in this final installment of Maniac Cop franchise. Claudia Christian,Michael Lerner,Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon,Clarence Williams III,Leo Rossi,Lou Bonacki,Paula Trickey and Charles Napier none of those actors from the second film come back for the third ride but I think new cast and new plot did a great job. I Love this film because it is an Action Horror flick from the 90's and the film is also dark not as dark as Maniac Cop 1 & 2 but still dark. Like I mentioned I love Action horror flicks and this one did delivered because it had some great action sequences and shootings that I did liked and I thought it was much better film than Maniac Cop 2 because Robert Davi's character Det. Sean McKinney had something to do than he did in the second film because wounded one criminal and through the rest of the film he didn't do anything except talking here he at least did something.

The end of the film when Matt Cordell was in flame again and he died caring his bride Kate and Sean didn't do anything I was mad because I thought the film ended without Matt burning to death again and that's it? No action sequences nothing? I was really surprised by the ending and that finally Sean did fought Matt and he defeat him that's what I love in this film. The chase sequences burning police car chasing an ambulance was an fantastic scene.. I am glad Joel Soisson took over the direction when the original series director William Lustig just left the film project and refused to shoot the additional scenes the producers wanted and quit the project.

Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence is a 1993 action horror film written by Larry Cohen and directed by William Lustig, and an uncredited Joel Soisson. It is the sequel to 1990's Maniac Cop 2, and the final installment in the Maniac Cop series, which began in 1988.

A female cop is gunned down and wrongly accused of using excessive force in a hostage rescue attempt. Maniac cop returns from the dead once more to seek revenge, destroying everything and anyone that stands in his way. A voodoo priest resurrect Matt Cordell from dead once again to get revenge on the people for framing fellow officer Katie Sullivan in hostage rescue attempt.

Robert Davi as Det. Sean McKinney did a terrific job as the main hero. The shooting scene in the Hospital was one of his best scenes in the film. He shoot three guys with two guns which was awesome including Jackie Earle Haley as the killer. He fought with Matt Cordell and he finally killed him on the end. Caitlin Dulany as Dr. Susan Fowler was awesome as Doctor in the hospital she did a great job. Gretchen Becker as Officer Katie Sullivan was amazingly fantastic, she shoot with automatic riffle Daisy Softair Model 15 MP-5K in the store on the robber Jessup this Action sequence was fantastic. Killing an insider the store clerk was Jessup's accomplice when she fired on Katie and Katie shooting her in the head was awesome, I love this scene.Jackie Earle Haley as Frank Jessup did a good terrific job as the villain in this film and Julius Harris also did a good job as a voodoo priest. Robert Z'Dar as Matt Cordell did a good job performing his character not that good as he did in the first two films but I still like his performance in here.

I love this Action Horror flick and I really miss Action Horror films form the 90's. Yes Maniac Cop 3 wasn't the best or that good like were it's predecessors but it was still a good film for it's third ride. They aren't any good Action Horror films today, it is so sad, I want to see movies like are this one today in 2015, but I want. I also love the main theme from Joel Goldsmith better than I did in the second film.

7/10 Grade: -B Studio: NEO Motion Pictures, First Look Pictures, Overseas FilmGroup Starring: Robert Davi,Caitlin Dulany,Gretchen Becker ,Paul Gleason, Doug Savant and Robert Z'Dar. Director: William Lustig,Joel Soisson. Producer: Joel Soisson, Michael Leahy Rated: R Running Time: 1Hrs. 25Mins.

The first Maniac Cop film is one of the supreme trash classics from the eighties; and its sequel, the imaginatively titled 'Maniac Cop 2' is about as good as a sequel could have been. However, in true sequel fashion; this third outing is extremely poor. The film is subtitled 'Badge of Silence', but 'Bride of Maniac Cop' would be more appropriate, since that's the road that the second sequel has chosen to go down. Once again, we have William Lustig directing a script written by Larry Cohen; this team worked so well on the first two films, but something hasn't clicked this time around. The entire movie feels like it cant really be bothered, with the plot serving only in dishing up the relevant elements for Matt Cordell; the 'maniac cop' to go on another killing spree. We see a voodoo priest resurrect the mental copper shortly before witnessing police officer Kate Sullivan gets killed during an armed robbery. For some, largely unexplained, reason; Matt Cordell decides that he wants to make Kate his bride. It's not long before Sean McKinney (the hard-bitten detective from Maniac Cop 2) begins to suspect that Cordell may be back on the scene.

One of the main problems with this film is the scenes with the maniac cop. There aren't enough of them for a start, and the ones there are merely show him powering his way through people, and this fails to capture the creepiness of the original. Robert Z'Dar is still imposing in the only role that his name is associated with; but his presence was much better handled in the previous two films. I quite like Robert Davi; he's no Bruce Campbell or Tom Atkins, but he looks the part as the experienced policeman, and definitely fits this sort of film well. The atmosphere is well created again, with a foreboding New York feel accompanying most of the street scenes; which is a shame since most of the film takes place in a hospital. The police force itself isn't portrayed very well, and there isn't a single scene that is really convincing. The film has a very direct to video feel throughout also, and no attempt is ever made to mask the fact that you're watching a worthless piece of crap. The violence is fairly heavy, although there isn't a lot of blood; and the final car chase goes on far too long, and manages to drain the last bit of energy from an already frail film. If you loved the first two, you might find something here. But then again, you might not. Skip it.

Larry Cohen once again returns to script this entry in the series; this time, undead cop Matt Cordell (Robert Z'Dar, "Tango & Cash") is resurrected by a voodoo master (Julius Harris, "Live and Let Die") for no really good reason. Matt takes it upon himself to clear the name of Kate Sullivan (Gretchen Becker, "Ed Wood"), a risk-taking, aggressive cop. Kate had been on the scene during a robbery, but so had an unscrupulous news crew, who edit their footage to make it look like she shot the "hostage" in cold blood. Also out to clear Kates' name is her protector & friend, Sean McKinney (Robert Davi, "Predator 2").

The least inspired of the "Maniac Cop" series (with the first sequel being the most interesting), this nevertheless makes for decent entertainment. However, this time Matt / Z'Dar just isn't given as much to do, as the action focuses on other lead and supporting characters. Davi is good as usual, and the cast includes a number of other familiar faces: Paul Gleason ("Die Hard"), Doug Savant ('Melrose Place'), Grand L. Bush ("The Exorcist III: Legion"), Jackie Earle Haley ("Watchmen"), Bobby Di Cicco ("The Big Red One"), and Frank Pesce ("Vigilante"), with Robert Forster ("Jackie Brown") and Ted Raimi ("The Grudge") contributing great cameos. It's the cast that keeps this watchable, although the stunts are well done (there are some effective fire gags) and the movie is reasonably well shot (by Jacques Haitkin ("A Nightmare on Elm Street")) in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

Considering that Cohen apparently concocted this script on the fly (dictating it over a car phone!), the story is fairly enjoyable, and it does move along pretty well. In any event, the prospect of seeing reprehensible characters get what's coming to them does always make for good visceral entertainment.

William Lustig, who'd directed the previous two entries, departed the project due to his frustrations with it; producer Joel Soisson had to step in to direct some additional material. (An early Blu / DVD release credited the pseudonymous "Allan Smithee" as director.)

In general, "Badge of Silence" is an okay sequel, but not a patch on its predecessors.

Five out of 10.