Maniac (2012) - Review

Maniac is a remake of a sort-of cult classic from 1980 of the same name, which is mostly remembered for its brutality and the protagonist’s creepy mannequin fetish he flaunts when he memorializes his victims.  I haven’t seen it – 80s slashers aren’t really my thing – but from what I’ve read, it’s fairly typical for the time, if fondly remembered amongst slasher fans.  My 80s slasher experience pretty much begins and ends with the “classics”:  the Halloween series, the Nightmare on Elm Street series, and the Friday the 13^th series.

This film, however, is a different beast entirely.  Told entirely through the eyes of the killer, played wonderfully macabre by a particularly deranged Elijah Wood, Maniac feels like a found-footage movie.  The gimmick of the movie is that it’s all one POV shot, not unlike a camera lens.  However, the movie wisely avoids shaky-cam for the most part, and the point-of-view aspect actually makes the film much harder to watch in a completely different way.

This is actually a candid picture from the wrap party

When forced to view through the eyes of the killer, everything is made much more real.  This guy is clearly nuts, but we’re kind of required to relate to him in a sense.  There’s no getting away from this guy; you might as well go with it.  In the more normal, conversational scenes of the movie, we kind of like him.  As a result, seeing him kill these people (not because he enjoys it, but because he is literally having psychotic breaks) is really disturbing.  Like, more disturbing than I’ve seen in a film in a long time.  And it’s not the gore either (although scalping’s never pretty); it’s effectively comes solely from the POV perspective and Wood’s creepily relatable performance.

In fact, this might work against the movie to a point.  At first you can’t help but marvel at how effective the stalking, followed by violence combo is.  But by the end of the movie, I couldn’t help but feel entirely exhausted.  This movie drained everything out of me.  It might be a little too good at what it does.

If you’re a fan of horror, or uncomfortable movie experiences, give this remake a shot.  There are some frankly stunning visuals, and the movie is surprisingly challenging.  A friendly warning though: squeamish, please stay away – this one will hurt you.