Maniac (2012) Review

With the market being flooded by cheap, generic, and obviously low budgeted horror films for quite some time now, it's a very rare sight to see a small slasher film stand out from the crowd. Perhaps this is why horror fans like myself constantly watch these films in hopes to find a gem amongst the dirt, so that we may spread the word about these rarely encountered films. One of the joys of being a hardcore horror movie nerd I suppose is that we get to act like treasure hunters finding amazing discoveries that sadly never hits the big mainstream stage and therefore gets buried under the radar. And quite honestly, it really didn't take long at all for this one to win me over just by its opening scene. Personally, I've always found a horror film's opening scene to be its most significant and highly anticipated which is why the 2012 remake of Maniac raised my optimism after hooking me in so quickly. 

Horror is a genre that plays along the concept of anticipation that something chilling is about to happen at any given time. The opening sequence is therefore a very important moment in the film that tells the audience whether or not they can latch on to the tone, characters, concept, or "monster" from the get go. With a very simple, but highly effective "stalk and kill" scene, I can honestly say that Maniac has one of the most successfully engaging horror film openings that I have ever laid my eyes on. The first person shot of Elijah Woods' character stalking down an innocent lady walking to her apartment at night from his car was equally creepy as it was suspenseful and intense.

The moment when he says "I see you too" after she glances at him staring at her genuinely sent chills down my spine. The music that follows that scene as he drives through the nighttime city setting made for an immersive experience as we basically tagged along with this psychotic killer on a ride along to kill a woman that we know absolutely nothing about. After cutting the power to her apartment floor (still in a first person perspective), we get what I'd like to call the "money shot" that is worthy of being on a "Top Slasher Film Moments" list. We helplessly watch as this mysterious stalker drives a knife up this woman's skull as she's about to scream resulting in her lifelessly staring back at him. And since this moment continues the first person perspective of the killer motif, it simultaneously feels like her watching us (the audience) through his eyes.

Adding on to this character's creep factor resume is the fact that he comfortingly rubs her face before completely removing her scalp which again is being shown from his perspective. We're essentially forced to visually experience what the killer is seeing as this brutal crime takes place. Because of this stylistic choice, this is by far one of the boldest slasher film sequences echoing the likes of John Carpenter's Halloween's opening as well as the famous Psycho shower scene. It's the twisted and unnerving idea of watching a helpless woman getting brutally murdered with little to no context whatsoever in such an intimate fashion or setting. So with an noteworthy opening sequence, let's see what else the film has in store for us.

Continuing to follow along the first person perspective idea, we learn just how our mysterious killer finds his victims being the utilization of a dating site. And after taking a new woman out on a date at a restaurant, we get yet another amazingly directed scene through the killer's eyes. As he glances around the restaurant while psychologically triggered, every customer is seen staring at him with disgust followed by his date having blood dripping down her head. I thought this was a visually engaging and beautifully constructed scene. In just one quick character moment, we actually get some sense of context for where his mind is at during said moment. 

We're so used to traditionally having some detective, family member, or doctor type of character (someone with personal or educated insight) to explain to the audience that the killer is insane or dangerous. However with Maniac, we're presented with front row seat tickets to actually experiencing on a visual level what the killer is mentally going through or struggling with. It's a more profound, unexpected, up close and personal lenses to navigate through a horror movie with which I find kinda refreshing. 

Committing his second murder with this restaurant date, I couldn't help but realize how much sympathy I felt for the victims. The majority of slasher films usually offer up some of the most forgettable young adult women with little to no reason to care about them as they ignorantly line themselves up on the chopping block for whatever monster to permanently delete from the equation. They're usually easily expendable characters with annoying personalities alongside other obnoxious characteristics. In this case, I was actually feeling strangely connected to the victims taking notice of how effective the POV shots were in conveying an intimate relationship with the predator and prey in a sense. It also helps that the performances of the actresses as well as their personalities are pretty decently delivered making the experience feel a little bit more realistic.

Speaking of the first person shots, I wasn't aware that this filmmaking style would continue through almost the entire runtime adding yet another reason why I consider this as one of the most artistically bold films ever. The way that it's filmed is also quite brilliant as every reflection is utilized to show the killer's face primarily when necessary. Knowing beforehand that Elijah Wood would be playing the lead role as this psychotic murderer, there really wasn't much of a surprise for me going in with his reveal. That being said, I still think it's worth noting how brilliantly done the utilization of mirrors and other reflective surfaces was used to paint sort of a fragmented picture of this character. 

After learning that he owns a mannequin shop and actually uses his victim's hair (which explains his preferred brutal method of killing him) and likeness for his mannequin collection, we begin to get an even deeper look inside the psyche of this character. One of the more interesting aspects of slasher films is finding out what makes the killers do what they do with the exception of a couple of titles that successfully feeds upon the idea of the unknown. For some, it may be a tale of revenge, a supernatural sinister agenda, or just some crazed person who seriously needs to be caught and locked up for life. 

Now the whole idea of the killer having his own artistic workshop isn't a first for horror cinema as classic films such as House of Wax has already charted that territory, but I did enjoy how much they used the mannequins themselves to flesh out the character psychologically. The scenes where a mannequin would transition into the actual victim used to making it were brilliantly done as well as the way he'd react to them. Without getting too into the film's deeper meanings, I must say that the writers did a fantastic job at fleshing out its villain as a character and not some unstoppable force used to watch ignorant people get massacred onscreen. Not that anything is wrong with that, but we've already seen it done to death, so it's nice to see a little bit more being added to the mix for a nice change. 

As for the expected creepy stalker moments, Maniac deserves much credit for delivering a very realistic edge towards the environment never feeling safe for anyone. In most slashers, we as the audience get a sense of mostly private and empty places being dangerous for the victims such as homes, inside of a car, empty warehouse settings, or remote areas several miles away from the nearest town. But what Maniac does so well is showing that even the most public and social areas can be eerily unsettling. There are so many scenes in the film where the killer simply stares down and follow someone in an open street with other people walking around beside him. It is genuinely spine tingling to know that something like this can and has happened in the real world which is what grounds the film for anyone watching.

There's this quick moment on a train that is either intentionally or unintentionally hilarious where after following a woman onboard, the killer glances at the guy sitting in front of him for a moment. The guy reading his newspaper looks up at him nervously and looks right back down to his paper. It's strange to say that a scene in such a brutally vicious horror film made me laugh a little, but it's one of those nervous laughs you experience when seeing something awkward happens in front of you. I can only imagine how creepy Elijah Woods character looked while staring at this random guy before glancing over to the woman that he's stalking which brilliantly added an unexpected darkly comedic moment to the film. Speaking of uneasiness, the kill scene that follows was quite intense and downright savage. Seriously...yikes. 

Later in the film, our killer meets a young woman by the name of Anna who is captivated by his mannequin collection (for a "normal" artistic reason). It's here in the narrative where I actually felt some glimmer of redeeming hope that she would be the one woman to break him free from his mental curse despite this being a slasher film and not some character study drama. There's an actual sense of humanity struggling inside of Woods' villain every time the two are together which gave me the impression that she was the only person who may actually be able to help him. It's also the first time that we discover his name being Frank as well as the moment we begin to really dive into his story a little bit.

It's a rare occasion that the killers of a horror film would get such a spotlighted background making them the lead character for audiences to focus on. Film icons such as Hannibal Lector, Jack from "The Shining", and a few others are perfect examples of how to characterize an obviously evil person into something a bit more complex that you would find yourself strangely rooting for in perhaps being hopefully redeemed somehow. Anna is the character that presents this possible redemption who seems to bring out those hidden qualities in Frank.

The whole mother-related, child traumatizing story that we get with him is yet another concept that we've seen done several times in the past, but the execution here is what really sold it for me. The transitions from reality and his imagination rides on such a thin line that it becomes the entertainment value of the film itself through its alluring visuals and character development. This can be seen when the film begins to actually show what traumatized Frank as a child eventually turning him into the killer that we see. Again, it's all in the brilliant filmmaking that director Franck Khalfoun uses stepping into Frank's mind that makes this film worth the experience. There are so many petrifying moments such as Frank viewing himself as a mannequin, a theater actually showing his murders to everyone, and a few others that effectively sends the viewer on a roller coaster ride into the terrifying psychological state of this deeply broken man.

As the film continues, we see Frank getting more connected with Anna as she becomes a significant part of his life being the first person who can, in some fashion, relate to his work as a mannequin workshop owner. Following the reveal of her boyfriend, the film continues its parade of truly terrifying and unsettling scenes of Frank committing murderous crimes completely removing that redemption possibility that I mentioned before. 

One scene involving him following a woman to her apartment and bathroom had me silent with fear and disgust as he drowned her before tying her up for slaughter. After Anna finally realizes and discovers Frank for what he truly is, she inevitably meets her fate alongside the other victims of the films, but she does put up a good fight in comparison to everyone else. I actually really enjoyed the moment when he slipped up in mentioning the other women that got murdered during a discussion that they had even though the police never said anything about it on the news. When she confusingly looks at him, I remember thinking "Oh crap, you shouldn't have said that" as if I didn't want him to get caught (a perfect example of the effects of how the cinematic style brilliantly puts you in the killer's shoes). 

After yet another series of well directed scenes of brutal and gory violence, we get a finale that is worthy of anything that even some of the most famous zombie flicks have offered up. In a savage twist of events, all of the women that Frank has murdered starts coming back to life viciously ripping him to shreds until revealing a mannequin version of himself beneath his skin. It's a true spectacle of horror imagery being shown off here as the camera slowly zooms in on the lifeless mannequin face beneath his own flesh. 

The film finally ends with the police discovering his dead body (only not as a mannequin) leaned up in the corner implying that he killed himself and that the whole zombie-like attack sequence was simply another part of his psychosis. This was without a doubt one of the most visually impactful final acts that I've ever seen in a horror film as it came across to me as both gruesome as well as beautifully artistic. This isn't something that I'm used to saying regarding ending scenes to even the greatest of horror films so I have to give credit where credit is due.

Unfortunately, as much praise as I've been giving this remake, I do have an issue with the film as a whole. I honestly felt as though I was watching and enjoying a gallery of amazing horror sequences more than actually getting into the story of the film. It's sort of like watching a parade filled with amazingly crafted attractions coming down the road without caring about what the actual event is about. It's a little hard to explain, but even with the exceptionally done horror scenes, the serviceable performances (albeit Elijah Woods surprisingly has the weakest performance in the film), and the brilliantly bold visual style, I still couldn't help but feel like something very significant was lacking or missing to bring it all together as one magnificently presented package. 

I pin pointed the overall story as possibly being the culprit as even the most talented filmmakers can only go so far with a dull story. On the surface, a psychotic murderer obsessed with mannequins with the addition of mommy issues is nothing worthy of celebrating unless there's something much more hidden beneath. Unfortunately, I never felt as though I was discovering anything interesting about the characters ultimately giving an empty feel to the film. Yes, the monster in a horror film can be terrifying, but without any interesting context behind it, your fascination is left dangling on a scary face more than an intriguing reason to think about what's actually hidden deeper beneath the mask. Overall, Maniac deserves much praise for its filmmaking style and bold direction, but the story and context of the film brings it down to being simply a moving gallery of fantastically presented horrific imagery.

Rating: 8/10