Maniac (2012)
Starring: Elijah Wood, Nora Arnezeder, Megan Duffy
Writers: Alexandre Aja, Gregory Lavasseur
Director: Franck Khalfoun
Story:
Frank Zito owns a mannequin shop once ran by his mother, who
has recently died. Unfortunately, his mind was warped at an early age and these
bottled up issues have awakened. By day, Frank may seem like nothing more than
an eccentric store owner, but by night he stalks and slays women in nasty and horrifying
ways. Then he meets Anna, a photographer, and they begin to build a friendship.
But is this enough to keep his rage under control?
Thoughts:
It was a lot of fun doing a revisit of William Lustig’s
Maniac before taking in Franck Khalfoun’s update. The original is a seriously
gruesome piece of film, for sure. Great soundtrack, wonderful Savini gore,
visually dirty, and one hell of an insane performance from the late Joe
Spinell, who also took hand in the story and co-produced it. Now to the remake- fucking amazing
soundtrack, outstanding KNB FX, beautiful cinematography, and Elijah Wood is
completely off the rails as Frank Zito. I’m going to come right out and say
that Khalfoun’s Maniac is goddamn awesome. It’s really faithful to the source,
yet somehow manages to be unique. I might even say that I like it a bit more,
without taking anything away from the original. They’re both very good and
deserve attention, but Khalfoun’s film actually put me into the experience in a
rotten and true feeling way.
A lot of things about Maniac 2012 are strongly similar to Maniac
1980. Some small parts to the story are changed, but various dialog is still
intact, and a lot of the carnage is staged the same way. Now, while you’re not
getting a remake that does its own thing in terms of the narrative, the way it is shot
is what completely makes it exceptional. Of course this isn't the first time
POV has been used in a film, but I can’t recall another movie where said
element put me so deep into the adventure. And this isn't a jarring, shaky
came type POV; it’s more stabilized. 99% of Maniac 2012 is first person, and
when it’s not it feels as dreamlike as Khalfoun wants it to be because you've
been in that perspective for so long. It’s really damn brilliant, from driving shots, to opening doors, to
looking in the mirror, to the violence… it felt different even if the gimmick
is anything but.
You certainly cannot fuck with Spinell’s portrayal of Frank
Zito in Maniac ’80. He was gross, sweaty, creepy and miserable. He owned it, in
short. You know what was a bummer before this remake had even been shot? Half
the internet saying “Ohhhhh, Frodo as Frank Zito!? Fuck this!?” It's as if Lord
of the Rings is the only goddamn thing Elijah Wood has ever had his name
attached to. He’s actually a fairly versatile actor, and kinda has been ever
since he was a child. On top of that, I just don’t really see the logic behind
condemning someone’s ability to perform a certain way without seeing the
performance first. In Maniac, Wood has limited time in front of the camera,
which seems like it would be a difficult task to make a character with as
much impact that his version of Frank Zito has. A lot of the dialog was done after the fact of
filming, too. What interested me the most about Wood as Zito is the guy’s
innocence. There’s an awkward cuteness about him, so placing him in the role of
a vicious woman stalking, head scalping lunatic is a polarizing feeling if there ever
was one. 2012’s Frank Zito has the ability to look normal when needed, whereas
‘80s Zito was pretty fucking creepy even when he spiffed himself up. But,
Wood can also look every bit as grimy and off as Spinell, just in a different
way. At times, he has the blackness under his eyes of someone who hasn't slept
in days, and his hands are fucking disgusting, seemingly lifted straight from
Haute Tension. As Frank Zito, Elijah Wood gave me wood... ‘nuff said.
Jumping into Caroline Munro’s shoes as Anna is Nora
Arnezeder. The relationship between Frank and Anna in this version has a lot of depth and balance, and I appreciated it much more than I did in the original. While
I love Caroline Munro, I just feel like she wasn't given enough in
Lustig’s film to truly care about her. Arnezeder brings an adorable personality
to the role, as well as some quick wit; it’s hard to not immediately fall in
love with this updated version of Anna.
As always, the KNB crew delivers the goods in the disgusto
department. This shit aint pretty. The scalping scenes are downright sick and
the violence as a whole is joltingly realistic. There’s some instances of CGI
that I was honestly impressed with. Visual FX as a whole are awesome in
general, as I’d imagine it was no small feat wiping cameras out of reflection
shots.
A musician by the name of Rob provides the Maniac 2012
soundtrack, and it’s one of the fucking best I've heard this year. Luckily, Spotify had that shit on tap so I could rock it while writing this
review up. It’s got that 80s style horror music vibe, with a fresh zing to it.
The original Maniac had a pretty awesome soundtrack, too, and I feel like this
takes from that here and there. The score here is really a perfect parallel for
the movie, and I’ll leave it at that.
Final Word:
So, while this Maniac is all glossy and all pretty like, it
shouldn't be misinterpreted as just another watered down shitty horror remake.
It’s every bit as fucked up and mean spirited as the original. Whether the viewer walks away hating it or
not, the apparent love for the original is there by Khalhoun, Aja, and Lavasseur. When I hear news about a film
getting reboot treatment, I usually like for the people involved to bring
something new to the table. As previously mentioned, Maniac 2012 doesn't really
do that story wise, but visually it’s pretty damn triumphant. It’s got some
awesome nods to its predecessor -there’s one in particular early on that I thought was amazing
and kinda humorous- without going over the top, and Elijah Wood’s performance
is enough alone to give it a shot. That and the roughly 88 minute onslaught of
POV is a mean fuck on the senses. Recommended.
