Multiple Maniacs

John Waters’ gloriously grotesque second feature erupts in a carnival of depravity, where robbery, murder and blasphemy become the stuff of outrageous spectacle. Made on a shoestring budget in Waters’ native Baltimore, Multiple Maniacs is a gleefully anarchic assault on the peace-and-love idealism of its era, replacing flower power with filth, fury and fearless irreverence. At its centre is the Cavalcade of Perversion, a travelling sideshow populated by a troupe of misfits whose shocking proclivities are surpassed only by their magnetic leader: Divine, towering, outrageous and utterly unforgettable. Equal parts provocation and performance, the film remains a delirious testament to Waters’ singular cinematic vision.