The fear and anger that took over my body was almost overwhelming when I found out that Maniac was being remade-- even more so discovering that Elijah Wood was playing Frank!  Well my freakish fiends, I was deadly wrong.  This was a masterpiece of Remake/Revision filmmaking.  I had the extreme pleasure of viewing this in a Grindhouse style theatre called Nitehawk Cinema in Brooklyn, N.Y. including a Q&A and a killer after party with the cast and crew.  Elijah was one chill motherfucker my friends.  Well without further adieu, I now present to you my review of Franck Khalfouns ‘Maniac’, in association with Blue Underground (run by William Lustig, director of the original Maniac)

MANIAC

     Even knowing from the start that the screenplay came from the mind of Alexandre Aja, my nerves were still shot.  From first blood shed I was in love!  It was glorious!  The film is in the first person through the eyes of the Maniac himself, known only in this one as Frank.  First off, filming this in the first person was brilliant as you can truly see the brutality of the killers actions and other emotions which were both very well depicted. You can almost feel his pain. 

 

     Frank is a lonely owner of a custom mannequin store as well as a specialist in restorations of the lifeless figures, though us ‘fear fuckers’ know he does like to add a bit of life to them in his own beautiful bloody way.  Early in the film we see him chatting through an online dating site bringing him across a sexy, redheaded, tattooed beauty.  This hair proves to be a great prize to our mini maniac. 

 

     During this date a description was used that would prove to be a great tribute, the redhead thought her blind date would look fat and greasy with acne scars—is that Joe Spinell or what?  This was a brilliant add in to the dialogue, but our timid man is no grease ball.  Elijah is way too young and pretty (no homo).   Oh, just to add in for the true fans, this date doesn’t include "the ultimate"!

 

     The film leads in a similar direction with Frank meeting a young photographer named Anna.  Anna shares a similar love for mannequins; only her love is to take photos of them, not to make them companions.  After meeting her, Frank seems to develop a true, conscious and deep feeling of care and love, though this doesn’t stop him from doing his deadly deeds.

 

     Something that I kept trying to put my finger on was his obsessive hand washing with scouring pads after a kill.  Is this to wash away the filth and scum he feels after murder? Or is it just something else?  Well, that’s how I see it-- you decide!

 

     I will now conclude the overview of this film, as I don’t want to give certain add-in’s away (or many for that matter).

 

Now onto my rating section of the film:

 

1.  For the score I give this a big old 10! Known only as Rob, this composer is a genius.  It nailed the 80's horror film sound suspense with a Goblin style twist.  One of the best horror soundtracks I have ever had the pleasure to hear.  I will be picking up this CD!

 

2.  Special F/X I give an 9.  The gore was in no way cheese, it was utter brutality, but true gore whores always want more.  The F/X team did an incredible job.  At moments we even see certain things close up and you can see time was taken to add a bit more of the grotesque for us gore fans!  I can't even tell you how amazing watching the kills truly is, you see it all through the killers eyes.  BRAVO!

 

3.  As for the cinematography I give a 10.  It was fucking beautiful to look at; crisp, bright and just beautifully done.  It had the brightness of American Psycho with the grime of O' Brother, Where Art Though—if that makes any sense at all.  Just beautiful!

 

4.  Acting!  I don't have much to say but 10 yet again!  Outstanding casting.  From the beautiful victims to the main characters it was just perfection.  I honestly don’t think there could have been better casting.  Elijah was at his finest for sure. From Frodo to Frank, he just keeps getting better.  I tip my scalp to you sir!

 

5.  Last but not least, Maniac gets my overall rating of a fucking 10!!!  Holy shit, my fiends, this is a masterpiece!  Please buy it—do anything you can to support this film and its creators.

 

     If you enjoy films like, well, shit, anything extraordinary in the genre, this is for you!  Do not go into it expecting the typical remake or revision.  This one tops the cake!

 

Brutally Yours,

Fuctup