So a slasher this week - Yay! I do love me a slasher!
A very atypical one though; Maniac avoids the conventions of following a group of potential victims (a la FT13th, Elm Street) or even one stand out victim (a la Halloween), instead we follow the killer; but even for that, this isn't a "hero killer" movie, not do we understand his motives (beyond "he's crazy") for quite a while.
On the subject of his crazy, the insanity is brilliantly written and acted - this is no hammed up 'conversations with himself' insanity; this is real non-linear crazy.
As he nails each of his latest victims' scalp to a mannequin (which is his MO) he does have a habit if conversing with himself, but he switches sides of the conversation rapidly; there is no 'call and return' preformed by two distinct personalities, just a jumble of thoughts that bleed into one another. At times these little monologues genuinely unnerving, not because if any particular content, but because you could easily believe them as the ramblings of a madman.
I also found the level of remorse interesting; at times he would seem genuinely sorry for his killings, even while performing them.
It's a shame then, that the story is so straight forward, and the killings so bland; well executed (by FX maestro Tom Savinni) but dull. The only real stand-out death being when Savinni himself (appearing simply because he already cad a cast of his own head) is shot in the head, causing his head to explode in a spectacularly over the top fashion.
There are some nice quasi-supernatural parts near the end, but they aren't enough to rescue the movie.
Despite a great performance from the lead, I found the whole affaire to be a little slow; I can see why this one has been re-made.
I enjoyed it well enough, but can't recommend it due to the pace.
Showing posts with label Maniac. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maniac. Show all posts
Saturday, 27 April 2013
Maniac - Lisas Review
***SPOILERS***
Back with a familiar feel this week. This weeks movie felt like we were back on our Beyond Nasty challenge again. Is that a bad or good thing I hear you ask? Well, neither kinda..... this is one of those films that pass an hour and a half and you don't think its bad enough to slate, but at the same time you're left feeling kinda 'meh' about it. I don't want to be too unkind about this movie as it actually wasn't too bad, but I can't help but feel Joe Spinnell is more deserving of better material... unfortunate that he actually wrote 'Maniac'.
So our premis here is a middle aged, chunky, single man (Frank) living in New York. Its shown pretty much from the getgo that he's a bit of a freak. We are shown that he murders young women, scalps them and then places the scalp on a mannequins in his appartment. He has several mannequins, obviously hinting that he is a seasoned serial killer. After several nights of sleeping with his new scalp adorned mannequins. He goes out to find a new victim.
We are also made aware that he has a bit of a mother complex. His mum was a nasty piece of work who died in a car accident. Frank isn't quite ready to accept mummy dearest has gone so he seems to think each of the mannequins IS his mother, having full, allbeit one-sided conversations with her.
Back with a familiar feel this week. This weeks movie felt like we were back on our Beyond Nasty challenge again. Is that a bad or good thing I hear you ask? Well, neither kinda..... this is one of those films that pass an hour and a half and you don't think its bad enough to slate, but at the same time you're left feeling kinda 'meh' about it. I don't want to be too unkind about this movie as it actually wasn't too bad, but I can't help but feel Joe Spinnell is more deserving of better material... unfortunate that he actually wrote 'Maniac'.
So our premis here is a middle aged, chunky, single man (Frank) living in New York. Its shown pretty much from the getgo that he's a bit of a freak. We are shown that he murders young women, scalps them and then places the scalp on a mannequins in his appartment. He has several mannequins, obviously hinting that he is a seasoned serial killer. After several nights of sleeping with his new scalp adorned mannequins. He goes out to find a new victim.
We are also made aware that he has a bit of a mother complex. His mum was a nasty piece of work who died in a car accident. Frank isn't quite ready to accept mummy dearest has gone so he seems to think each of the mannequins IS his mother, having full, allbeit one-sided conversations with her.
Sunday, 21 April 2013
Week 101: Maniac
Year: 1980
Reviews / Author Comments due: 27/04/2013
Reason for Inclusion: Nasty Era slasher, not passed in the UK until 2001, remains cut to this day.
BBFC Status: Passed with 58s cut in 2002
DVD: Uncut Danish import
Feel free to use the comments section of this post to add your own reviews and thoughts about this movie.
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