The film Maniac is a remake of the original 1980's version directed by William Lustig of the same name. The film was distributed in 2013 by IFC Midnight and produced by Studio 37. The film features Elijah Wood as Frank Zito, a brutal serial killer. Frank is known to be a relatively complex character. At certain stages throughout the film, you tend to sympathise with him. Maniac opens with character Frank, who awakens to find a French photographer named Anna outside of his mannequin store. Anna is stunned by his work of art. She easily convinces him to let her borrow the mannequins for a fashion gallery. Throughout the film, he progresses to brutally murder beautiful women til he is satisfied.
The initial reaction to remaking Maniac was negative. The director didn't want to remake the film without the approval from the original director. The director didn't intentionally wanted to remake the film, he was afraid of the audience's reaction. He commented "Remaking a slasher is complicated." The director stated that the audience wanted to feel trapped in his body. To achieve this look Elijah Wood had to be on set everyday.
A majority of the film was shot in P.O.V. The director stated that he employed angles and mirrors to conceal the cameras while filming reflections.
The production team had to choreograph the actors since it was filmed in P.O.V.
The film was shot in 4 weeks, with a total budget of 6 million dollars. To keep the budget to a minimum, production was shot in Downtown, LA.
The film Maniac premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 26, 2012 which met with positive reviews. Due to the success IFC Midnight released the film theatrically for a limited period. The film has grossed over 3 million dollars in total.
The film Maniac pays homage to 1980 slasher films, especially to ones that are awfully similar to Maniac. The film uses techniques that were popular back in the 1980's such as P.O.V. and slow camera movements. It's a shame that it was all filmed in P.O.V. it would have been a whole lot better if it wasn't filmed 90% in P.O.V. I would have considered it as a classic, but sadly this brings the film rating lower due to the cinematography.
The film also explains why Frank turns psychotic, which is clever how they introduced it into the story. Frank, who is traumatised by his childhood. His mother was a prostitute before she was murdered which is the reasoning behind him killing all these women. I would recommend this film to all audiences who appreciate a reinvented slasher film. However, if you're a die hard fan you may be disappointed with the end results. RECOMMENDED. ★★★★/5 - TRENT BROWNING.
The initial reaction to remaking Maniac was negative. The director didn't want to remake the film without the approval from the original director. The director didn't intentionally wanted to remake the film, he was afraid of the audience's reaction. He commented "Remaking a slasher is complicated." The director stated that the audience wanted to feel trapped in his body. To achieve this look Elijah Wood had to be on set everyday.
A majority of the film was shot in P.O.V. The director stated that he employed angles and mirrors to conceal the cameras while filming reflections.
The production team had to choreograph the actors since it was filmed in P.O.V.
The film was shot in 4 weeks, with a total budget of 6 million dollars. To keep the budget to a minimum, production was shot in Downtown, LA.
The film Maniac premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 26, 2012 which met with positive reviews. Due to the success IFC Midnight released the film theatrically for a limited period. The film has grossed over 3 million dollars in total.
The film Maniac pays homage to 1980 slasher films, especially to ones that are awfully similar to Maniac. The film uses techniques that were popular back in the 1980's such as P.O.V. and slow camera movements. It's a shame that it was all filmed in P.O.V. it would have been a whole lot better if it wasn't filmed 90% in P.O.V. I would have considered it as a classic, but sadly this brings the film rating lower due to the cinematography.
The film also explains why Frank turns psychotic, which is clever how they introduced it into the story. Frank, who is traumatised by his childhood. His mother was a prostitute before she was murdered which is the reasoning behind him killing all these women. I would recommend this film to all audiences who appreciate a reinvented slasher film. However, if you're a die hard fan you may be disappointed with the end results. RECOMMENDED. ★★★★/5 - TRENT BROWNING.