Maniac (A Review)

     Welcome one and all, I'm here again to bring you another Movie Review. First in a while I know but it is what it is. Today's movie is called Maniac and it just so happens to be a remake. I should point out that I have not seen the original version so in the case of comparison I am sadly at a loss. Otherwise lets see how well it did shall we?

     Before we actually get into things I would like to point out that on some sites it is classified as a 2012 release while on others its said to be a 2013 release... I'm confused. Anyway onto the good stuff.
     First of all, Manic is a movie shot with a POV [Point Of View] Perspective, meaning we see things though the main characters eyes. The movie starts off with a slight creep factor where we see the main character Frank (Elijah Wood [Frodo Baggins]) stalking his first victim in the first five minutes. We are then greeted with the first and rather satisfying kill. Its after this that we see the movies title pop up. It reminds me of older movie titles. No special effects or transitions just BAM in your face. So in the case of keeping true to a "Classic" I would say they pass right there.

     If you are like me and haven't seen the original movie then you are at this point oblivious to Franks true intentions at the moment see as there is not really anything to go on to make any assumptions. As you continue to watch however, we begin to see that he kills his victims, Scalps them, and proceeds to place the raw scalps directly onto the heads of Mannequins which we are led to believe are his "Girlfriends". This behaviour as we are later led to realize is a side effect of a very sensitive childhood. You will also notice that he has a Split Personality Disorder [I may be wrong but that's the way I have interpreted it] and is see at different points in the movie torn apart inside about what he has done.

     That is basically the gist of the movie. Ill refrain from saying any more lest I spoil it for you. As it stands the movie for me was pretty good. This could be attributed to the fact that again, I haven't seen the original so I have this alone to go off of. The kills were not bad the blood look more realistic than some other movies I have seen, and the gore factor was wonderful. Could it be classified as a psychological movie? Not really. Thriller.... MAYBE.

     All that aside (and this is solely my spin on things), while watching, the only thing going though my mind was this; Frodo Baggins finally got rid of the Ring [Lord Of The Rings], but it had some side effects and thus he grew to normal human size and lived a longer life. However it drove him crazy and so his personality was split somewhat akin to Gollum and Smeagol. Maybe some of you will see the same thing as I did, who knows. Then again maybe not, but its a fun thought nonetheless.

     In closing the plot was pretty solid, as was the cast. The cinematography was great as well seeing as POV shoots are pretty difficult to pull off. Dialogue awesome and well laid out. All in all it was a great movie from my perspective. So I'd say a 7/10 rating sounds just about right. IF however you wish to see a review from the perspective of someone who has seen the original then go check out my good friend +Shawna G over at SNG Movie Thoughts and see what she has to say about it. Thanks again and see you all next time. Ciao


Scalping is the act of removing the scalp, or a portion of the scalp, either from a dead body or another living person.