Multiple Maniacs is a 1970 independent American black comedy film composed, shot, edited, written, produced, and directed by John Waters, as his second feature film and first "talkie". It features several actors who were part of the Dreamland acting troupe for Waters' films, including Divine, Mary Vivian Pearce, David Lochary, Mink Stole, Edith Massey, George Figgs, and Cookie Mueller. The plot follows a traveling troupe of sideshow freaks who rob their unsuspecting audience members.

A major restoration received national exhibition in August 2016, after initially screening in June at the Provincetown Film Festival.

Lady Divine (Divine) is the owner and operator of The Cavalcade of Perversion, a free exhibit of various perversions and fetish acts and obscenities, such as the "Puke Eater". The show is free, but the various performers must persuade and even physically drag reluctant passersby to attend.

At the finale to every show, Lady Divine appears and robs the patrons at gunpoint. This arrangement seems successful to Mr. David (David Lochary), Divine's lover, but Divine becomes bored with the routine and decides to murder the patrons rather than merely robbing them. After escaping the murder scene, he comes home to Cookie (Cookie Mueller), his prostitute daughter, and his new boyfriend Steve (Paul Swift), a member of the Weather Underground.

Lady Divine receives a call from Edith (Edith Massey), proprietor of the local bar, who informs him that Mr. David had been at her bar with another woman (Mary Vivian Pearce). Lady Divine heads there to catch them, but is raped on the way by two glue-sniffers. Meanwhile, Mr. David and his new lover Bonnie, a woman who desperately wants to be part of the troupe, engage in sex acts at the home he shares with Lady Divine, during which Bonnie anally penetrates him with a dildo.

While Lady Divine contemplates his rape, the Infant of Prague (Michael Renner Jr.) appears and leads him to a church. Making his way uncertainly into the church, Lady Divine prays, but is then approached and seduced by a strange young woman named Mink (Mink Stole). They have a sexual encounter in the church pew, with Mink inserting a rosary in Divine's rectum while describing the Stations of the Cross.

Now lovers, Lady Divine and Mink go to Edith's bar with the intent to kill Mr. David and his mistress, but they are too late: David and Bonnie, who have by this time decided that they have to kill Lady Divine to protect themselves, have left.

Mr. David returns to Cookie's house, intent on killing Divine, but instead he finds Cookie and fellow Cavalcade performer Ricky (Rick Morrow) there. An argument ensues, and Bonnie accidentally kills Cookie. They tie up Ricky and hide Cookie's corpse just before Divine and Mink return. When Bonnie tries to shoot Lady Divine, Divine attacks and kills her with a knife. He then turns on Mr. David and eviscerates him as well, cannibalizing his internal organs, and becoming even more frenzied. Ricky suddenly surprises Mink, who shoots him. In a fit of anger, Divine accuses Mink of betrayal and stabs her. Divine becomes even more crazed upon finding his daughter Cookie's body hidden behind the couch.