This French/USA production of
an updated version of Maniac results
in four of the best things a fan of horror cinema could wish for in the hope of
an invigorating viewing experience. For slasher enthusiasts it is a superior
addition to the sub-genre, spoiled rotten are the gorehounds, it is one of the
very finest remakes surpassing the much revered by genre aficionados 1980 original and the film is just simply
one of the greatest entries into modern horror of the 21st century. Yes,
it does deserve such lofty acclaim.
The slasher enthusiasts will gaze in awe at the spectacles of the skilfully executed pitch perfect paced stalk n’ slash set-pieces that are heavy with suspense and tension capped off with the efficiently timed kills all of which elicits chilling terror. The gorehounds are treated to bloody gory delights thanks to Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero’s exceptional gruesome SFX work that show in explicit detail the brutal savagery that is on display here. I like very much William Lustig’s earlier movie its grim subject matter is handled with a great deal of intelligence only for it to fall into many of the pitfalls of the sub-genre’s illogical shortcomings but here all this is rectified.
Sublimely constructed this
is a visually stunning fascinating piece of filmmaking oozing style and
substance in equal measure. The film is expertly written and directed, its cinematography
by Maxime Alexandre is exquisite and it features a wonderfully atmospheric 80’s
style electronica synth score by French composer Rob that is a delightfully
reminiscent cocktail of Tangerine Dream, Goblin, John Carpenter and even echoes
Cliff Martinez’ gorgeous soundtrack for Nicolas Winding Refn’s brilliant
‘Drive’ (2011). The movie’s powerful central performance from Elijah Wood is an
extremely convincing turn that is creepy, terrifying, and emotionally tragic in
equal measure; an empathic portrayal of a vicious merciless serial killer in
what is a disturbing yet sorrowfully poignant character study piece.
Switching the setting from
New York to Los Angeles Frank Zito (Wood) is a mentally unbalanced loner who
owns a mannequin restoration shop run by his family for three generations. The
previous owner was Frank’s mother who has recently died. She was an uncaring and
abusive parent neglecting her only child in favour of her promiscuous lifestyle
causing Frank’s psychological torment. Since his mother’s death, he has given
in to psychopathic urges and now stalks the streets of LA for young women to
murder and scalp, as “hair is the only
part of the body that lasts forever”. This is in order to place these
trophies on top of the heads of his personal mannequin collection he has
displayed around his bedroom as so to keep these women alive in his sick
twisted mind to stop them from going out and leaving him as his mother did.
As
well as the haunting flashbacks of his mother’s cruelty to him, in his home at the back of the shop Frank hallucinates of the women he murdered coming back to
life in a horrible post-scalped appearance. He also suffers from chronic
migraine headaches and goes in out of disturbing hallucinations during the day.
Frank sees a chance for normality when he meets and likes instantly French artist
Anna (Nora Arnezeder) when she takes an interest in his restoration work of
mannequins and wishes to use them for her upcoming art exhibition that Frank helps
with. Things do not work between them in the worst possible most horrifying
way.
Much like Lustig’s movie, we are for the whole of
the runtime just in the company of Frank Zito. Although, unlike that previous
character study of a “maniac” not
only is everything seen from this character’s point of view but also it is literally
seen through his eyes as almost everything is entirely shot from Frank’s POV
that really does get us inside his head for a psychotic mindfuck of a watch. Through
a subjective narrative, we not only see the atrocities he commits on these
luckless women but we are made to excruciatingly feel them through his anger and
we learn more intimately about the character in an intense 90-minutes long
reveal. We not only fear this “maniac”
but also we are made to feel for his melancholic pain through the documentation
of his childhood abandonment seen through his flashbacks and his self loathing for his evil acts and we are taken on a frightening trip through his hallucinations.
POV camera work is
one of the most common elements in the slasher sub-genre used for the killer’s
perspective when stalking victims but here it is used so much more than that in
helping us to understand the deep dark abyss of a serial killer’s mind. This is
a first-hand assault on the senses experience. We only see Elijah Wood’s tired
looking pale visage when he looks in the mirror, in photographs and
when the camera does break from Frank’s eyesight on two occasions to a third person perspective to intensify two
of the murder sequences as he brutally knifes and scalps his female victims.
This
is a bold, brave and challenging approach to a slasher film. The
collaborative effort of director Franck Khalfoun, screenwriters
Alexandre Aja, Grégory Levasseur and C.A. Rosenberg and Wood in an
unforgettable portrayal of a lonely destructive soul have given a
refreshing innovative take on a tired sub-genre that much needed a shot
of adrenaline. Uncomfortably ugly and yet contradictive to that
strangely beautiful as well this is a must see that I just cannot recommend
enough.
One of the most exhilarating watches I
have had with a horror movie in a long time and testament that not all
remakes of beloved genre milestones have to be uninspired dreck. Not
only is ‘Maniac’ one of the best made modern slasher movies it is also a
supreme addition to the understanding of the darkness of the serial
killer psyche standing alongside such greats as Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986). So far, this 2012 made film is the best genre offering released this year. It certainly is going to be a hard one to top.
**** out of ****
Dave J. Wilson
©2013 Cinematic Shocks, Dave J. Wilson
- All work is the property of the credited author and may not be reprinted or
reproduced elsewhere without permission.
Great blog, man! Definitely going to spend some time looking through it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, J.M.! Yours is a good read too.
DeleteGreat review! I only skimmed it since I haven't seen the film yet, but I'm definitely looking forward to checking it out!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Doug. It's definitely a superior film than the original.
DeleteWholeheartedly agree. Great movie, great acting, great soundtrack.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely one of the best modern horror remakes.
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