User Reviews

Well I suppose its a hundred times better than the original ... Visually amazing ... Well acted by all ... And completely lacking in story and character ... There is no tension ... There is no atmosphere at all ... Its just there and SAYING NOTHING ... Vacuous ... Pointless ... Such a waste of such talent ... I suppose the director and cameraman were glad of the work and will certainly go on to better things ... Elijah Wood was well crazy to do this ... All credit to him ... He does what he can with it ... And the very thought of America Olivio as his mum is an outrageous idea :)) ... But the original was just the same ... Man kills girl, then another, then another etc, then dies at the end ... Quite frankly that isn't even a storyline ... It was bad all those years ago and we just watched it cos it was gory ... And thats what people will do with this ... Watch it once and then think what a wasted opportunity with that cast and crew ... If only there was a writer onboard

I saw this movie at an advanced screening of what I thought was a restoration of the original movie. Instead, I got treated to movie that I didn't even know was being released. The Maniac remake is a really good movie and better than its predecessor, which was more notable for its Tom Savini gore effects and unconventional leading man than for actually being a good movie.

This flick, like the previous Maniac, dispels the idea that psychopaths are cool or bad ass. Here, Frank (Elijah Wood) is a weirdo loner that spends his days restoring antique mannequins and his nights stalking, murdering, and scalping beautiful young women. His grip on reality is so fragile that he has to chug anti-psychotics just to keep his hallucinations under control. Then he meets a pretty young French girl that actually seems to like him. Instead of offering redemption, the burgeoning relationship only makes him more unstable.

The murders are bloody and brilliantly shot and they're made dramatically more by disturbing the film's central gimmick, almost the entire movie is presented from the killer's POV.

The new Maniac does a solid job of capturing the grind-house spirit of the original film. There's plenty of sick humor, sex, and gore all well captured by director Frank Khalfoun. He also partnered with Alaxander Aja (High Tension, The Hill Have Eyes), a co-writer and producer, on the disposable P2 which sucked despite, not because of him. Then he made the superior crime flick Wrong Turn at Tahoe. Now, after watching Maniac, I have to say he is officially a director to keep an eye on. Elijah Wood also does great work as Frank, although I admit it took me a little while to get used to the idea of the stoner dork from Wilfred as a murderer. He definitely won me over by the end, though.

There are minor problems here and there, like the way the whole city is always completely deserted when Frank is stalking a victim. Still, this is a great little movie, very violent, and if you're a gore hound that's also interested in the psychology of a killer, you should watch this immediately.

A guy waits outside a bar in his car and follows a girl who's by herself. She notices him and runs. But somehow he knows were she lives and goes up to her at her door. He rams a knife through her throat and scalps her. Back home he puts the scalp on a female mannequin.

Frank clearly has issues. Next he goes on an internet date. During dinner he has to run to the bathroom to take meds. He suffers from migraine. They drive to her place, she seduces him, but it's not long before he chokes her and scalps her.

Aside from the migraine he also has visions or recollections of his youth. Frank's issues are mommy issues. She was a prostitute and he witnessed all sorts of activities when he was a little boy.

He sees an acrobatic performer practicing. He hides in a closet and watches her. Then he follows her, she runs, he locks her in a parking lot, slashes her Achilles tendon and stabs her. And scalps her.

Frank works as a mannequin restorer. One day a photographer stops at his place. She takes pictures of mannequins and is fascinated by his place. She rents some mannequins for an upcoming exhibition. Frank falls for her. And eventually she will learn what he's really about.

Maniac is filmed almost entirely in POV. But it's not the usual annoying shaky hand-held stuff. Rather, it's as if his eyes are the camera. We are truly seeing things from his perspective and hearing him talk to himself. The movie is gory and has some cool 70s music. It's not clear how or why his mother's activities would derail his life to such an extent. Since we take on the role of Frank basically, it's hard for the audience to distance itself from him and you do end up rooting for him. But of course his affliction is an obstacle to connecting entirely with him. And at some level, too, the movie as a whole fails to engage. Something is missing, not clear what. Perhaps it's the all-POV style that becomes tiring over time. Frank's relationship with Anna the photographer fails to have the impact it should. Maniac does have some neat late 70s/early 80s touches and makes for a different horror experience.

Firstly, I am sick to death of 'remakes/re-imaginings'. It's lazy use of real talent. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the films that 're-imagined' Dawn of the Dead, The Hills Have Eyes, Amityville Horror - but being remakes with a copied plot cheapens them somewhat.

Then you have the pointless remakes that COMPLETELY miss the point of the original - Last House on the Left earned it's reputation as a sadistic wallow in sleaze which the remake didn't meet in the slightest.I expected the same of Maniac, as the original's appeal was purely in it's grimy sleaze.

What we have though is a very well made film. Beautifully photographed (with an emphasis on the POV which is bound to attract controversy), an attempt at griminess, no lacking in gore and a simple story in a film that doesn't over-run it's basic premise with a long running time.

The original film had it's problems (Caroline Munro interested in Joe Spinell). At one point Frank meets with an online date who exclaims he was not what she expected (and pretty much describes Joe Spinell).

I don't think this will gain many fans or critical praise (even hardcore horror fans I know were unware it had been made) , but fans of the original will have a chuckle and others will appreciate a well made, tight horror film.

I find it odd that the cast are listed alphabetically (so Elijah Wood is last on screen and not listed at all on the IMDb basic cast list). Then again most of his part was voice over!

MANIAC is an unwanted remake of the classic Joe Spinell video nasty of the same name from 1980, a film about a psychopath with a habit of scalping women. This new version follows exactly the same story (right down to the horrific nightmare climax) with 'improved' CGI gore effects over the original, although I have to say they're nowhere near the quality of the much-remembered Tom Savini prosthetic effects work.

In any case, this is an incredibly dark odyssey of murder and madness. I thought the material would have been watered down but this is just as grisly and depressing as the original. There's plenty of reason to watch, not least Elijah Wood who makes a good psychopath (as he did in SIN CITY); the whole film is shot through the killer's point of view which gives things an edgy, fresh feel. I loved the use of music and cinematography throughout, which reminded me of Refn's style in DRIVE, so it's a little bit of a shame that the story is so unrelentingly dark and miserable. I'd love to see an action or martial arts film done in this same POV style, though.

The world wasn't exactly crying out for a remake of 1980's "Maniac". Starring Joe Spinnel and directed by William Lustig, it was one of the most intense, jarring, violent and in your face horror films of the entire decade. Surprisingly, someone got the idea to remake it. The results are surprisingly close to the original in its refusal to compromise and the highly disturbing and troubling psychological terrain it traverses.

Not so much powered by anything resembling a conventional story, the film is very much in the tradition of character based cinema very much in the vein of 1970's New Hollywood cinema-films such as "Midnight Cowboy" and, of course, "Taxi Driver", which it wears its influence loudly and proudly.

Elijah Wood absolutely stuns in this remake-he truly is the glue that holds it all together. Frank (Wood) is very much torn between something resembling a normal life and his more psychotic tendencies. The film really gets you in this character's highly disturbed and disturbing frame of mind and psychology.

Apart from a truly astounding and fearless performance from Wood, where this remake really excels is in its visual and sound design and look and sound. When Frank is plagued by constant migraine headaches, the frame starts to blur around the edges, accompanied by a high pitched sound. Also, with a few exceptions, the film is very much told visually in a first perspective, point of view manner. We only see Frank via reflection in something like a mirror or a window, illustrating beautifully the man's fractured and shattered mind.

Be warned, though. Although not constantly violent, when it is, this film, like the original, takes absolutely no prisoners whatsoever! This, coupled with the unnerving, dark terrain it covers, will, like the original, make it something of an acquired taste. If you've got the nerves and stomach for it, prepare to be shocked and stunned. A true exception to the rule about all remakes being watered down, compromised and awful.

I must admit, I was rather quite anxious about the film before actually viewing it at a late night screening, but, truthfully, this is a memorable and emotional horror film that really punches the viewer in the face with its raw powerhouse of images, and it had my eyes glued to it literally throughout its running time.

The story is about a depressed and genuinely deranged serial killer who by day works at a mannequin shop, mostly reassembling old mannequins and by night, he prowls the streets of Los Angeles, searching for young females to slaughter so he can use their scalps in his private collection of mannequins back at his home, however, his life takes an unusual and positive turn when a young photographer, fascinated by his store, asks him to assist her with an upcoming photo shoot involving his mannequins. Yes, this isn't a very happy story, and the story closely resembles the original despite their being rather minor changes made to it. But still, this is a remake that is well worthing watching or giving time to watch.

One thing that stuck out with me, throughout the entire film, is that, having seen the original Maniac, which was a miserable and grim look into the life of a degenerate murderer who suffered from tremendous neglect as a child,is that, this seems to have more of a glossy and clean look compared to the original, which I thought was quite a relentlessly trashy and outdated film compared to today's standards. It still was entertaining but I honestly thought this was a much superior film by comparison. The majority of the cast acted very well,and Elijah was very convincing and suitably petrifying as mad man frank,even though occasionally I thought the script at times was a tad clunky, and could of had more effort put into it. It could have had much more depth and flesh to it, however, the direction and cinematography was superb and the music, of course, was masterfully done and and it really provides a lot more impact to a lot of the more gorier parts. The soundtrack is very reminiscent of drive, however, there is also a small dose of opera music thrown in that gives this a lot more class and edge over most slashers. Also, what's admirable about the film is that it respects fans of the original, and it desires to be more then just a simple exploitation movie. There are a lot of intelligent artistic touches to the film I don't want to give away, but, this is quite an inspired effort that rises above a lot of the tame and forgettable ghost horror films that seems to plague mainstream horror now. But, this is anything but a horror film for casual viewers, folks. While it succeeds primarily in being a psychological thriller with lashings of rather intense gore added to it, most of the murders are utterly horrific with almost too realistic special effects that make some parts of it quite unwatchable. The camera never flinches or moves away from all the bloodshed and we basically get to see almost everything Frank does just about. However, it doesn't prolong any of its violence and it cuts away halfway through in some of the more extreme parts. Overall, a few plot holes and script issues keep this film from being the definitive horror movie of the year, but, it still packs one heck of a wallop and proves to be a real horror film rather then a fake, cheaply made torture film that exists to make money, which is unfortunately typical of the horror industry these days. So, if your a fan of the genre, definitely watch it, and just think of it as a horror version of drive, without the stiff acting or the tedium.