SMALLS' FRIGHT FEST: MANIAC

In Maniac, Frank (Elijah Wood) is the owner of a mannequin store. During the day, he keeps to himself but at night his true colors are revealed as he goes about town murdering random girls and then collecting their scalps to use as hair for his mannequin collection. One day, he enters into a semi-relationship with the beautiful Anna (Nora Arnezeder) and the wheels of fate begin to slowly turn.

There's not much of a plot to Maniac, most of the film is us following Frank as he murders girls and tries to keep his cover. So, what exactly is the appeal of the film then? Well, for starters Maniac is filmed completely from the POV of Frank, putting the audience right into his shoes as we essentially become him and get to learn what exactly makes him tick. It's a unique gimmick that works surprisingly well and easily helps to carry the film.

Frank  is portrayed by Elijah Wood, who takes on a more unusual role than we are accustomed to seeing him play. While we are seeing things directly through his eyes for the whole film, Wood still appears in the film a good deal through mirrors, reflections, and sometimes through out-of-body experiences. This is probably his best role to date. He makes for a believable and sympathetic monster here. Frank is indeed a sick puppy, but he's not just your typical slasher, he himself is a victim. He can not control his behavior, and kills girls mainly due to an extremely messed up childhood that created some severe mental trauma, and his whore of a mother didn't help things either as he was left to watch her have random sex and orgies with unknown males. I really liked Wood here, and I also really dug his character of Frank. I was surprised to find I was actually on his side for most of the film (though I wasn't rooting for him to kill girls), and I was hoping his semi-relationship with Anna would possibly provide him with a shot at redemption and a chance to right his wrongs. Naturally, not everything works out the way you would expect it to, which is part of the thrill of watching this film.

Anna is portrayed by the beautiful and sexy Nora Arnezeder, and she does a pretty great job at her role here (also really loved her french accent, so hot). She is a fashion photographer that stumbles upon Frank one day and almost immediately takes a liking to him. She is in the film a good deal and does leave a lasting impression.

Maniac is a very brutal, bloody and gory film.The deaths witnessed within aren't the easiest things to watch, but they are very well done and are quite memorable and different. Maniac is not an easy viewing experience, it's downright unsettling, uncomfortable, and disturbing to be transported into the shoes of a severely disturbed individual. The film is directed by Franck Khalfoun who also directed Christmas horror film P2, I think it's safe to say Maniac is his best directorial effort thus far and he proves to be more than competent here. One of the producers and screenwriters of this film was Alexandre Aja, who I am a fairly big fan of. He is no stranger to the horror genre and has proven that he understands audience's expectations and what they want to see in a horror film. The script is great, and so is the poppy synth score (think of something similar to Drive's score.....Maniac's also has a very neon city vibe to it that I really dug. I'm actually seriously considering buying it off ITunes).

Maniac is one of the best slasher films that I have seen in a while, and it's disturbing enough that it will stick with you long after the credits have rolled. It's not what you would expect from the slasher films of today. It dares to do a lot of things differently, and I always love it when a film has the balls to step outside of the norm. The cinematography is superb, the gimmick is an interesting one, the score is tops, the two leads do a fantastic job, the characters/character development is great, and the kills will certainly stay with you (all very memorable). If after the first 7 minutes (an amazing opening) you aren't on board then maybe you should turn it off. Maniac is the rare remake that doesn't just get it right, it also far surpasses the original film it was remaking. I'd say definitely see it!

5 STARS