Maniac (2012): **

Maniac is a remake of the original 1980 film about a man named Frank, played by Elijah Wood in this modern version. Frank spends his day restoring antique mannequins and his nights looking for women to style his mannequins. Not just with their clothes mind you, but with their scalps as well. Frank suffers from hallucinations and is a social recluse, but then he meets French photographer Anna (Nora Arnezeder) who shares his love for mannequins. Will his friendship with Anna help suppress his murderous desires? Why am I even asking this question when we already know the answer?

Maniac is more unsettling than scary. Frank often feels regret after killing his victims and is haunted by them. Yet this does not prevent him from actively stalking random women to hunt down. The highly imaginative reasoning behind Frank’s killing spree is due to his mother being a crack-snorting prostitute, thus he is unable to have a healthy relationship with a woman. Frank is constantly muttering about how his victims are ‘so beautiful’ and ‘belong to me’, this misogynistic behaviour is creepy enough. But Maniac indulges itself in extremely gory violence especially in one nasty scene with an older lady, taking away from its potential psychological impact. Maniac also lacks any discernible tension, with the audience just waiting for the next victim to be bumped off. We never really fear for Anna’s safety. 

The style of Maniac is a combination of horror throwback and moody neon noir. The sudden red title card, the record players and ceiling mirror which furnish one victim’s apartment, and the music all pay homage to the 80s which sparked the rise in gory slashers. The streets of L.A. are lit in a cold blue, with the desolated areas contrasted with the twinkling skyscrapers, withdrawn from the harsh realities in the streets. Cinematographer Maxime Alexandre is given the task of filming Maniac in Frank’s point of view. Alexandre has to rely heavily on using mirrors whenever he wants to show Frank’s face, there are some moments which are neatly pulled off. At points however, he just gives up and comes out of the P.O.V shots into a ‘third person’ view with little significance. The creepy and pulsating synth score by Rob was the strongest production element in Maniac. 

Elijah Wood’s performance is mostly reliant on his vocal delivery which is a bit strange. Certainly, during the crying and shouting it’s convincing, but otherwise it becomes oddly stilted and detached. It might be to portray Frank’s disconnection with the ‘normal’ world but it is a distracting choice, whether it was Wood’s or director Alexandre Aja’s. Wood’s few moments of physical presence are believable. Nora Arnezeder does a commendable job, bringing a lightness to her character Anna, Frank’s would-be dream girl and fellow mannequin admirer.   

Maniac has some interesting elements but it fails with the scares and thrills, using copious amounts of blood in an attempt to hide its shortcomings instead.