I've been following this for a little while and it will be one I watch ... although the fact it's directed by the guy who made "P2" (which was fucking awful) doesn't bode well. On the other hand, the idea of turning the movie into a first-person flick (from the killer's own eyes) is an intriguing one, and apparently it doesn't skimp on the nastiness. Elijah Wood is an interesting choice (he's setting up a horror movie production company at the moment with a slate of flicks already lined up) ... no doubt this will never match (certainly not best) Lustig's superb original, but hopefully it'll at least be solid, and provide a little something different of its own for merit.
This looks quite good. Very creepy trailer. Elijah Wood seems like a great choice to portray a 'maniac.' He did it well in Sin City so this will turn out fine i think.
Maybe a remake (re - boot? - imagening? - whatever) that could work. I like the mannequin imagery in this trailer...
Though, yeah, P2, was very bland.
Last edited by krisvds; 09-Oct-2012 at 04:20 AM.
Reason: .
The trailer looks creepy
The character of manaic played by Elijah Wood make the whole movie very interesting
Let's see what this 'maniac' has store for us
I just viewed the movie. It is diffrent, but not in a bad way. The movie is shot mostly from his 1st person point of view. At least 90 % of it is. I am pleased it was not a shot for shot remake. If anyone has watched the original, then do not worry. The movies are not the same, but have some similarities. The soundtrack had the 80's vibe, which fits the mood. I have not watched the original, since I was a teen, so I do not know which version is better. But I do think it is better than a lot of the horror movies released over the recent years.
I just viewed the movie. It is diffrent, but not in a bad way. The movie is shot mostly from his 1st person point of view. At least 90 % of it is. I am pleased it was not a shot for shot remake. If anyone has watched the original, then do not worry. The movies are not the same, but have some similarities. The soundtrack had the 80's vibe, which fits the mood. I have not watched the original, since I was a teen, so I do not know which version is better. But I do think it is better than a lot of the horror movies released over the recent years.
Good to know. I wanted to check it out in the cinema, but never did - so I might give this a punt on DVD (the price is essentially the same as a cinema ticket these days anyway) - and I have liked what I've seen thus far. It won't beat the original in my view, but was unlikely to ever do so anyway, but from what I've seen it looks pretty cool - even if it is from the director of the utterly awful "P2".
Good to know. I wanted to check it out in the cinema, but never did - so I might give this a punt on DVD (the price is essentially the same as a cinema ticket these days anyway) - and I have liked what I've seen thus far. It won't beat the original in my view, but was unlikely to ever do so anyway, but from what I've seen it looks pretty cool - even if it is from the director of the utterly awful "P2".
You should not be disappointed. It is not the best recent horror movie out there. Don't know what is, but it does not suck, either. I would have rather watched this movie, instead of Evil Dead in the theaters.
I will mention this. I think the original Frank Zito would have wiped his ass with this guy if they got into a fight. Joe's version looked like a total sleeze bag and is someone I would run into at a titty bar. Elijah's Zito comes off as that weird, but seemily harmless guy in your class. I would love to discuss this movie more and even compare and contrast the two, but I am probably the only on here, who has viewed it.
Well I've got the Blu-Ray pre-ordered, so once I've seen it I'll be able to compare & contrast the flicks with you. I think this one went under the radar a little bit.
I would agree - even without seeing the remake at this point - that Joe Spinnel would easily kick Elijah Wood's arse, but aye, different takes on maniacs. You so often get that thing of 'oh he was such a nice, sweet, quiet guy' once they find out on the news he's got severed limbs hanging from his ceiling or something.
While I'm yet to see the movie, I'm now listening to the soundtrack - and it's a kick arse soundtrack (all synthy and 80s-ish - very cool).
I usually wait to listen to the soundtrack until after I've seen the movie (and providing the soundtrack warrants an individual listen, in my eyes ... or ears, rather) ... however I was listening to a preview of it and was thoroughly impressed, so I got the soundtrack. It'll be interesting to then connect the sounds I'll be familiar with (by the time I see the movie) to the images they're scoring ... it's kind of an ass-backwards way to go about it, but it'll be interesting to see what it's like already being familiar with the soundtrack when I first see the flick in about a month's time (it's released on July 1st on DVD/BR here IIRC).
But in short, for those of a slack disposition - my conclusion:
“Hair is the only part of the body that lasts forever.” Joining a fairly exclusive club – that of the quality remake – Maniac 2013 successfully blends dead-eyed nastiness, lovesick yearning, inescapable torture, and unending style, wrapped in a unique-feeling movie that demands your attention.
Spinell & Wood are two different sides of the same coin - as Slick has said, Spinell's version is more the sort of bloke you'd have found sleazing about the 42nd Street grindhouses and porno booths of the time, whereas Wood's version fits the bill of the undiscovered psycho ... that person who nobody suspected was dodgy ... the sort of person who has people saying "he was such a nice man, I never thought he'd be capable of this" about him ... a kind of an Ed Gein variety killer.
It seems to garner mixed - even outright split - opinions. I read a review on DailyDead where they absolutely hated the movie, but it seemed to be more about the reviewer's own person reaction to the violence against women in the movie. Now, to be fair, the original movie's targets were women - but in both cases, not every victim is a woman. In this killer's case, he targets women:
Maniac 2013's reasoning:
Frank's mother ran a mannequin store, but clearly not making enough money, she was also a prostitute and single mother. He routinely witnessed her shagging clients - sometimes two-at-a-time - while doing drugs. She was quite harsh with him at times, but as a child his favourite time was when he would brush his mother's hair - hence the hair fetish. However, also being a bit of a hermit, when his mother died he was alone - so Frank is in a constant battle in his mind about trying to resurrect his mother, but also find a soulmate, while always failing to 'keep' them because his mother doesn't approve of them.
I can't remember off the top of my head if the 1980 original had the same reasoning, or perhaps a version of the above reasoning, but it's certainly within the same range.
I've seen a few reviews criticise the film for having 'pop psychology', but I don't agree at all. It's fair enough reasoning in my view, and the movie does a lot more than many/most slashers - Michael Myers was just evil, Freddy wanted revenge, Jason likewise - and really, I don't know what some of these reviewers want as an explanation for Frank's behaviour that would satisfy them. I wonder if some of it is just a slightly snobbish attitude towards the movie - I also wonder if those snobbish of Maniac 2013 have a similar disdain for Maniac 1980, which was also a movie that courted controversy and split opinion.
Like The Hills Have Eyes 2006, or The Crazies 2010, I think that Maniac 2013 is one of the few good remakes that are worthwhile and bring something fresh to the material while never disregarding/disrespecting what came before.
I'll definitely be giving this another spin very soon. I went in a little hesitant - a little bit worried - but I was really pleasantly surprised. What's more, Khalfoun has experienced a huge step-up in his work ... from the utterly woeful P2, to this flick, which is one of the best horror movies of recent years. Not the best, very far from the worst, it's really rather good.
...
Also, here's a cool making of featurette covering the blood & gore - but beware, there are huge spoilers throughout the video, so it's best only seen if you've not seen the movie!
Last edited by MinionZombie; 05-Jul-2013 at 05:51 PM.
'Maniac' remake out and about.
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