Nov '14 *
Franck Khalfoun's Maniac (2012) is a remake of the 1980 movie of the same name. Taking place in Los Angeles this time, the overall plot is still very much the same. Socially awkward Frank Zito (Elijah Wood) stalks women, taking his victims' scalps to attach to his mannequins, sending fear throughout the city. Some of the women he stalks are charmed by his somewhat shy behavior. Others are fucking terrified as he follows them, making his intentions of harming them very well known.
Changing up the way I do these reviews, separating things into two lists: pros and cons.
Pros
- Elijah Wood does a far better job portraying Frank Zito than I expected. He's no Joe Spinell, but the look of innocence he always seems to give off is an interesting mix with the psychotic personality.
- Pretty much the entire movie is seen through the eyes of Frank, much like those moments in an old slasher movie when the killer is watching their victims. Easily the most memorable aspect of Maniac.
- There's a bit more character development to Frank than in the original. In this remake, he runs a mannequin shop that was his mother's and we learn more about her through memories he has, which are kind of fucked up. I don't wish they'd done this for the original, but it definitely adds some depth.
- While not exactly memorable, the score does stand out during a few moments of the movie. Very welcome compared the often bland and unnoticeable music of modern movies.
- The violence doesn't set any records, but it was enough to get me to pay attention to the murder scenes.
Cons
- The movie isn't exactly the same as the original movie, but it's close enough with how the murders and the rest of the plot play out that at times, I found myself wishing that I was just watching the original.
- Though the original movie isn't known for its intriguing characters outside of Frank, that's also an issue in this remake. Outside of Frank, who I found myself even sympathizing with a couple times, I didn't care about the characters. The victims especially were just too dumb to care about.
Final Thoughts
It's not a bad movie, but as a remake, it's pretty unnecessary. It doesn't really improve on anything from the original. They would have probably been better off using the plot idea for the intended sequel to the original, Maniac 2: Mr. Robbie.
My Rating: 3/5
Franck Khalfoun's Maniac (2012) is a remake of the 1980 movie of the same name. Taking place in Los Angeles this time, the overall plot is still very much the same. Socially awkward Frank Zito (Elijah Wood) stalks women, taking his victims' scalps to attach to his mannequins, sending fear throughout the city. Some of the women he stalks are charmed by his somewhat shy behavior. Others are fucking terrified as he follows them, making his intentions of harming them very well known.Changing up the way I do these reviews, separating things into two lists: pros and cons.
Pros- Elijah Wood does a far better job portraying Frank Zito than I expected. He's no Joe Spinell, but the look of innocence he always seems to give off is an interesting mix with the psychotic personality.
- Pretty much the entire movie is seen through the eyes of Frank, much like those moments in an old slasher movie when the killer is watching their victims. Easily the most memorable aspect of Maniac.
- There's a bit more character development to Frank than in the original. In this remake, he runs a mannequin shop that was his mother's and we learn more about her through memories he has, which are kind of fucked up. I don't wish they'd done this for the original, but it definitely adds some depth.
- While not exactly memorable, the score does stand out during a few moments of the movie. Very welcome compared the often bland and unnoticeable music of modern movies.
- The violence doesn't set any records, but it was enough to get me to pay attention to the murder scenes.
Cons- The movie isn't exactly the same as the original movie, but it's close enough with how the murders and the rest of the plot play out that at times, I found myself wishing that I was just watching the original.
- Though the original movie isn't known for its intriguing characters outside of Frank, that's also an issue in this remake. Outside of Frank, who I found myself even sympathizing with a couple times, I didn't care about the characters. The victims especially were just too dumb to care about.
Final Thoughts
It's not a bad movie, but as a remake, it's pretty unnecessary. It doesn't really improve on anything from the original. They would have probably been better off using the plot idea for the intended sequel to the original, Maniac 2: Mr. Robbie.
My Rating: 3/5
