Summaries

Synopsis

A man stumbles into a convenience store and shows the store clerk his shotgun and demands he empty the safe and cash register. The clerk says that he does not know the combination to the safe and he hits the silent alarm on the floor. With the register nearly empty, the potential thief forces the clerk to scratch off lottery tickets. After getting a $5,000 winner, the would-be robber sees a hulking man wearing a police uniform; the undead Maniac Cop, Matt Cordell (Robert Z'Dar), in the back of the store. The thief fires his shotgun, but the unaffected undead cop takes the shotgun away from him and beats him with the butt of the gun, and then shoots the store clerk dead. The Maniac Cop then hands the shotgun back to the crook and leaves out the back door. The man gets up and runs outside the front door where the real police are waiting. The man tells them that one of the cops was responsible for the murder, and the man gets gunned down for not dropping his weapon.

The next day, the new police commissioner, Edward Doyle (Michael Lerner), tells Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell) and Theresa Malloy, that they are both cleared for the murders they suspected them of committing (in the previous 'Maniac Cop' movie), but he refuses to believe them that Matt Cordell is responsible for Cordell has been dead for over 10 years and that he died in prison. Theresa says that since they have not found a body in the river where the supposed Maniac Cop had driven into weeks earlier, Cordell must still be alive. The commissioner tells the two officers that they see the police psychiatrist Susan Riley (Claudia Christian). During their session, Susan suggests to Jack and Theresa that the so-called "Maniac Cop" was someone other then Cordell. Theresa is angry at Jack's willingness to accept that theory in order to keep his job.

Meanwhile, Detective Sam McKinney (Robert Davi) is on patrol when he shoots and kills a holdup suspect. He is sent to see Susan over this incident. They discuss his indifference towards killing a man and also McKinney's old partner who committed suicide.

That evening, Jack talks to Harry, a blind newsstand vender, when the unseen Cordell walks up and stabs Jack through the neck with his billy sick blade, sparing the blind Harry. At the coroner's office, Detective McKinney shows Theresa Jack's body and then rails her about their mild argument they had earlier. Commissioner Doyle and McKinney put "pressure" on Theresa so she will not go to the press with the story about "a dead man" being the Maniac Cop. McKinney sticks it to Susan for being a doctor.

Another night later, a man tries to talk to a cop out of towing his illegally parked car away, and Cordell shows up by beating up the officer and driving the tow truck away with the cop hooked on the back whom is dragged to his death.

The next day, Susan talks to Harry, who says that he brushed against Jack's killer and was reminded of the cold, dead flesh of lifeless bodies surrounding him in a trench during World War II. Harry claims that Jack's killer was "very cold" with no body heat at all... something only a corpse would be. Meanwhile, the man who avoided having his car towed is arrested and he tries to tell them that a cop who tried to tow his car away was killed by another cop, whose face he could not see. McKinney and Doyle discuss the recent killings, and the Commissioner avoids the detective's suggestions that Cordell is the murderer and again repeats that Cordell has been long dead.

That evening, Theresa packs her bags and tells Susan that she is leaving town, but first going on a local TV talk show to alert people of the killings and that the Maniac Cop is back. Susan gets in the taxi with her to try to talk her out of running; when the cabbie stops for an apparently flat tire. Theresa sees that Cordell is right behind them, and attempts to drive away. Theresa crashes the cab, gets out and is thrown through a window by Cordell. The Maniac Cop handcuffs Susan to the taxi's steering wheel and rolls the car away down the road. After Theresa attacks Cordell with a chainsaw, he manages to wrestle the chainsaw away from her and snaps her neck with his super strength. Susan manages to get inside the runaway taxi and turn off the road, flipping the vehicle.

Another day or so later, Susan goes on the talk show 'Criminals at Large' with Doyle and discusses her encounter with the still-living Maniac Cop, Matt Cordell. After the show, Doyle suspends Susan from the police force and orders her to keep silent about the undead cop.

Across town, in a local strip club, a scruffy man named Turkell (Leo Rossi) watches stripper Cheryl on stage. Later, Cheryl is in a seedy hotel room, talking to her mother on the phone and lying about her job and place of residence. Someone starts to knock on the front door. Cheryl hangs up and tries to call for help, but the person evidently leaves. Suddenly, Turkell crashes through her window, knocks the woman to the floor, and puts his hand around her neck to strangle her. Cordell breaks through the door, and starts choking Cheryl. Cordell then throws two cops across the room when they enter to arrest Turkell and he and the undead cop escape.

Turkell excitedly talks to Cordell and compliments his "gimmick". They go to Turkell's apartment where the man shows the officer pictures of his girls (whom are dead stripper victims; Turkell is a serial killer of exotic dancers). He notices that Cordell hasn't spoken a word since he rescued him and asks him his name. When Cordell doesn't answer, Turkell goes to get a pen and paper for Cordell to write it out, until Cordell manages to whisper his name through his decomposing vocal cords. Later, Turkell asks what happened to Cordell and why he still manages to live despite that he is clearly dead and rotting. As Turkell goes to sleep in his bed, Cordell remains sitting in a chair and thinks back to his sentencing and his attack in the showers at Sing Sing by the three inmates who killed him (in a recycled flashback scene from the first 'Maniac Cop').

The next day, the police put the word out that Cheryl died in the attack so the serial killer will relax. Susan visits Cheryl where she sees her neck bruises and asks what the cop's hands felt like. Cheryl says: "like ice!" McKinney, Susan, Detective Lovejoy and Cheryl go to the strip club where the woman points out Turkell and the man is arrested. McKinney goes to Turkell's apartment and finds the photos of the dead strippers, including one of Cheryl.

Susan is at Turkell's cell, wanting to talk to him about Cordell. Turkell says that if she wants to know, she should just stick around. Meanwhile, the zombie-like Cordell shoots and kills a number of police officers at a shooting range (from behind the targets), grabs a gun, walks into the police station, and begins shooting all the officers and people that are in his path. Susan is taken hostage by Turkell who breaks out of his cell with his cellmate, Blum, whom get some guns from the precinct armory as well as police uniforms. Turkell tells Susan that they are going to Sing Sing to break out all the prisoners on Death Row to begin a crime spree. Turkell, Blum, and Cordell get to a prison bus and Turkell gets in the driver's seat and escapes by plowing through some cop cars. McKinney rides with Doyle as they chase the prison bus to Sing Sing, where he tells the commissioner that the only way he can stop Cordell is by reopening the "rights violations" case against Cordell and sign a confession, admitting to setting up the troublesome officer up for finding out about "payoffs" involving the mayor, the governor, and most of New York's high ranking police officials.

Turkell and the bus arrive at Sing Sing and since Turkell is disguised as a police officer, the cop at the front gate allows them in and says that the prisoner they are transporting (Blum) has been "delivered". But just then, the warden tells the cop over the phone that Blum was broken out of jail an hour ago and tells the cop to seal off the prison. As Cordell and Turkell begin to release all the prisoners from their cells, over an intercom, Doyle tells Cordell to stop and that his conviction will be reversed due to perjury at the trial committed by himself, the former commissioner Pike as well as most of the high ranking officers on the police force. As Turkell calls out after him, Cordell walks past the Death Row inmates and into the general population as the prisoners are beginning to riot. It is here that Cordell finds the three prisoners who attacked and killed him many years ago. One of the prisoners who attacked him throws a burning bottle at him, and a fiery Cordell, grabs, kicks, and throws his enemies against a wall. As Cordell burns a fourth man to death, a forlorn Turkell stabs him with the cop's Billy stick knife. Cordell grabs Turkell, and the men burn and both of them break through the burning wall and fall all the way down into the prison bus which explodes.

In the final scene, Cordell is awarded a proper funeral and burial. McKinney drops the officer's badge on the semi-buried casket. After McKinney walks away with Susan, Cordell's hand pushes through the coffin and grabs his badge.