Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (November 26, 2025)
Given its title, 1976’s Shaw Brothers epic Oily Maniac could go a variety of ways. As it happens, the movie pursues a horror story, one based on a Southeast Asian folktale.
When local gangsters demand to take control of a coconut oil factory, chaos ensues and plant manager Lin Yaba (Feng Ku) accidentally kills one of the thugs. Sent to death row, he reveals a mystical tattoo to confidante and “nephew” Shen Yuan (Li Hsui-Hsien, aka Danny Lee) before his execution.
Yaba wants the physically disabled Yuan to care for his daughter Lin Chung Yue’er and Yuan expresses romantic feelings for her but finds himself rebuffed. Agitated by this rejection, Yuan invokes the inscription from the tattoo and finds he can now transform into a powerful oil-based creature, one who uses his powers to right wrongs.
Ergo the movie’s title. Though if you expect this movie to make a lick of sense, good luck with that.
Why an oil monster? Was this a commentary on the energy crisis of the 1970s?
Probably not. Instead… actually, I won’t even speculate what made the folks at Shaw Brothers think a tale about a dude who can transform into a grease stain and then take on oily humanoid form sounded like a great idea.
I suspect the studio took inspiration from DC Comics’ Swamp Thing. That character emerged in 1972 and doesn’t seem like a perfect comparison, but I can’t help but see a connection.
The biggest difference comes from the development of the roles. While Swampy comes across as an intelligent hero, Oily presents as little more than a rampaging nutcase.
Well, the title does tell us he’s a maniac! At least no one could sue the Shaws for false advertising.
That said, I reiterate that Maniac rarely gives us anything that seems logical or coherent. In a sane world, the movie would simply focus on Yuan’s desire to get revenge on the gangsters whose antics prompted the brawl that sent Lin to his demise.
Instead, Oily goes after a mix of unsavory sorts, mainly those Yuan learns about via his job at a law firm. Although this acts as a form of justice, it all feels oddly random.
Actually, it becomes clear that the producers mainly wanted to come up with a mix of sleazy situations that allow them to show lots of boobs. And I won’t complain about that.
Though these plot twists become nearly comical at times. Maniac find increasingly contrived ways to feature nudity.
The film does eventually come back to the main narrative related to the coconut oil factory and related baddies, but it takes a while. By the time the movie reconnects, the viewer probably won’t care.
Really, one can only potentially enjoy Maniac if one forgets about story and characters and sanity and just embraces the oddness of the whole project. The film throws out enough wackiness to make it watchable.
That said, Maniac never resembles a well-made movie, as it comes with a pretty wide mix of issues and its level of camp doesn’t seem high enough to delight in that manner. Despite copious nudity, the end product seems too disjointed to click.
Footnote 1: composer Yung-Yu Chen blatantly rips off John Williams’ legendary Jaws theme when the title character goes on the prowl. I guess those involved with Maniac figured Universal wouldn’t sue.
Footnote 2: the movie gets listed as The Oily Maniac in many places. Both this disc’s art and the opening credits lose the “the”, however, so I opted to stick with just Oily Maniac.
