JP's Random Review: Maniac (2012)

“A deeply disturbing and convoluted re-imagining of the 1980 original. Elijah Wood is one creepy dude, even without furry feet or a talking dog.” - The Creepercast

Director: Franck Khalfoun; Writers: Alexandre Aja,  Grégory Levasseur (screenplay), Joe Spinell (original screenplay); Stars: Elijah Wood, Nora Arnezeder, America Olivo, et. al.

The original Maniac (1980) came out of nowhere. While most of the slasher films of the period were trying to ride the Halloween wave, Maniac was inspired by the 1970's first person POV classic Peeping Tom. But it didn't stop there, it became Psycho, with a love for mannequins, which are creepy already.  As disturbing as it is to actually be a killer whose best friends are lifelike dolls, Maniac wasn't art. Not until a bunch of French filmmakers and a hobbit took on the project a few years ago.

Art is what Khalfoun (P2, High Tension) and Wood have created with their version of Maniac. Each shot is expertly crafted to maintain just enough tension and mystery to make it a thrill ride. We are Elijah Wood in this movie, so to say he is the star is giving him a lot of credit. We see what he sees and witness every stalk and grisly action he commits as if it was done by our own hands. The only time we get shocked out of this is when we see 'ourselves' in a reflective surface. That's when a quickly spiraling out of control Wood stares back accusingly to make us ashamed for being so into what he's doing. Though the film seems slow to expose its secrets, it actually moves at just the right speed to that keep us accustomed to the new level of insanity we are about to be introduced too. This is something Jason and I have often talked about trying to do in a film of our own. All in all, Maniac (2012) is a great re-make that doesn't apologize for striving to be darker and more disturbing than the original. That's why it will definitely be a cult film that you need to have in your collection.

When it comes to a sneak attack on the horror genre Elijah Wood has managed to sneak out of the woodwork. You may remember way back when I mentioned his hush hush creation of an in house horror production company called The Woodshed (now called SpectraVision). Prior to this, his involvement in horror films had been limited to The Faculty, and getting high with talking dogs (Wilfred). There is already a huge buzz developing around the upcoming horror comedy Cooties, which, with a name like that, can only be brilliant. Also in the works is the Iranian vampire film, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, now in post-production. So if you love Elijah Wood like we do and have waited as long as we have to see him get deeper into horror films, here's our chance! We will definitely keep stalking this good son!

Til next we bleed,

J.P.