Maniac is a film I’ve heard a lot about as I’ve continued my foray into the horror genre. I heard it was a messed up serial killer film and a staple watch for the genre and thought it would be a perfect contender for this year’s Movie Buzzers October horror edition. Naturally I didn’t have immediate access to the original but I had access to Franck Khalfoun’s recent remake of the film starring Elijah Wood as the maniac and, well, it was an interesting experience to say the least.
In Maniac, Elijah Wood stars as Frank, a timid mannequin shop owner who restores classic mannequins and sells them, but that’s just what people see during the day. In actuality, Frank is a disturbed man who is plagued by his childhood memories of his mother and results in him tracking down young, attractive women and scalping them for his collection. When an artist named Anna (Nora Arnezeder) enters his life, he agrees to help her with her upcoming art exhibit but as their friendship begins to grow, Frank becomes more obsessed. After getting to know Anna, it seems like Frank may have found the one that could end his spree…or bring the worst out of him.
Let me say this right off the bat, I haven’t seen the original Maniac so I cannot compare the two and tell you which one is better. That being said, I knew there would be some form of scalping and oh was there scalping. Not only is their scalping but this is some graphic shit that I regretted watching while eating my Thai dinner, not sure why I thought it was a good idea. I have to give props for the gore effects used throughout because, while it wasn’t overly gratuitous, it was certainly realistic, effective and disgusting, perfect for a scalper serial killer film.
In addition to the gore effects, the one aspect of the film that I appreciated more and more as the film progressed was the first person point of view. We see about 98% of the film through Frank’s eyes, literally putting us in his shoes as he goes on dates, attempts sexual encounters, and attack and scalp his victims. We experience his migraines, listen to him talk to his mannequins, experience his flashbacks and freak out about his unresolved mommy issues. In terms of the photography choices it’s a rare move, one that I admire and a cool technical achievement.
Frank has this dual personality, he doesn’t want to kill but then an animalistic side takes over and he becomes this expert hunter, killing with any hesitation. Elijah Wood does a good job bringing the intensity but sometimes it’s hard to take his character seriously because he looks and sounds like a young boy. Additionally, his dialogue and the way it’s delivered aren’t always convincing and it takes away from the seriousness of the film.
Elijah isn’t alone when it comes to the faulty delivery, though his performance is the best, everyone in the film gives mediocre performances at best. Much of this has to do with the B-grade dialogue but most of it has to do with the B-grade actors chosen to round out the rest of the cast. None of the characters are memorable, no one leaves a lasting impression and most people sound like they just learned their lines or are performing in a crappy sci-fi channel film. Eventually, this all becomes distracting from the overall narrative, at least until Frank starts tracking his next victim.
Overall, Maniac was an ok horror thriller that has a decent story that’s thankfully enhanced by the cool cinematography choices. Unfortunately, the film is plagued by poor casting and acting that it takes the audience out of the film when we’re not being distracted by Frank’s intense stalking abilities and the scalping that follows.
Movie Rating: Everything in this remake is mediocre to forgettable except the cool serial killer point of view camerawork (5.3/10)
Special Features:
The Making of Maniac Documentary (65 min): An all encompassing documentary that takes us through all the stages of the film’s production. There are interviews with Franck Khalfoun, Alexandre Aja (screenwriter), Elijah Wood, Nora Arnezeder and other members of the production like the cinematographer, composer, make-up and effects artists and a few others. It shows us how technically challenging the film was to shoot since there were basically three people playing Frank: Elijah, the cameraman and Elijah’s double who would act as another arm since Elijah had to stand on the other side of the cameraman during certain scenes. It concludes with their trip to Cannes and the crowds cheering along with post screening interviews.
Deleted Scenes (4:09): A handful of deleted scenes that bring some clarity for certain parts of Frank’s hunt while others show him performing his craft, either killing or working on his mannequins. There was one deleted scene with cops who found him passed out on the street, I’m glad they took it out cause it didn’t fit at all.
Poster Gallery: A look at three of the alternative posters for the film
Trailer
The disc said it had commentary but I didn’t see it in the menu.
The movie looked solid in blu-ray, no complaints about the video or sound quality.
Disc Rating: 6.5/10
Maniac hit the Blu-ray and DVD shelves on October 15th from IFC Midnight
Recent Comments