dancing_ostrich Violent movies don't usually bother me but the sound effects while he's scalping the girls almost made me vomit. Reading other reviews people seem to say that this movie was beautifully shot and had some type of symbolism. In my opinion it was a gory waste of my time.

i SkyWalKing I watch a LOT of horror, from quality to sh*t and I generally try to look for the positive aspects in even the poor ones, but I have my standards (as I do with every other genre, horror doesn't just get a free pass although I am more lenient in suspending belief). I do have my limits as to what I'm willing to believe or take seriously ...First of all, the first person thing has been done to death at this point and really doesn't add much to this specific movie. Nothing original there.... that being said, the cinematography is beautiful and the soundtrack is awesome. That's about all this movie has going for it.The acting is pretty atrocious by most of the cast including Elijah Wood himself. The dialogue seems so forced and unnatural by him and the first few females he encounters. It all sounds incredibly scripted and forced....and corny.The intro to the movie starts out by showing the night lights of the city, people mingling and walking around, city full of life...yet for some reason every time he decides to stalk a female in this very lit up city, not a single soul is anywhere within sight conveniently enough, regardless of desperate screams and plodding chase scenes. It feels incredibly silly. This is not a minor detail and cannot be brushed aside. The only people that seem to be conveniently around at JUST the right moments are the beautiful females he encounters, who regardless of how unsettling and creepy (Elijah) looks and behaves, somehow become attracted/infatuated with him and hand themselves over on a silver platter. There's one scene specifically where the girl is asking him to grab her breasts and he does...only thing is his hands have cuts, bruises, dirt, scabs and everything else you can think of, yet she doesn't bat an eye.I found the entire film to be rather pretentious, and each scene more predictable than the previous. I was incredibly bored and rather irritated. I tried to like it, but it is just not a very good horror flick...

Chris Smith (RockPortReview) The grimy and disturbing 80s horror classic gets a new look with help from modern horror icon Alexandre Aja. Adding to the intrigue is the casting of Frodo himself, Elijah Wood, in the role of the disturbed knife wielding manic Frank. The story is relocated from the streets of New York to Los Angeles and Frank is more of a presentable and attractive guy than the sweaty overweight version played by Joe Spinell in the original. Another major difference from the original is that the whole film is shot entirely from Frank's point of view. Although we do see his face a number of times in reflections. All of these changes work in the retelling of a man who stalks the streets murdering and scalping women. The up close and graphic opening scene sets the tone for what shapes up to be a quality remake.Like a lot of severely deranged killers Frank has some unresolved mommy issues and takes it out on his victims. With his mother now dead he owns and operates her Mannequin store. This is where he meets Anna, a photographer who conveniently enough is shooting mannequins for an up coming exhibit. Like in the original Frank see's Anna as his last chance to live a somewhat normal life. Although it doesn't take long before he is back on the streets stalking his next victim. The P.O.V shooting style gets us a glimpse into Frank's disturbed mind, from his hallucinations and anxieties to his loneliness and despair. Director Franck Khalfoun's use of mirrors and reflections, and the way his shots are composed are rare for a horror movie. For its budget and everything that could go wrong, they really made quite the film.Elijah Wood's portrayal of Frank also gets high marks as he doesn't force anything, and doesn't play "insane" but is just a normal guy, who just happens to murder people. A lot like Anthony Perkins in "Psycho". He is a frightened and lonely guy who suffered terrible emotional and physical abuse from his mother as a child. All of this repressed anger and rage surfaces at night when he must go out and kill his "mother" over and over again. After every kill he takes their scalp and some piece of clothing and puts it on one of the mannequins in his bedroom. In the end his thin cover of sanity is blown with Anna, and his mannequin friends want a piece of him too.

Leofwine_draca MANIAC is an unwanted remake of the classic Joe Spinell video nasty of the same name from 1980, a film about a psychopath with a habit of scalping women. This new version follows exactly the same story (right down to the horrific nightmare climax) with 'improved' CGI gore effects over the original, although I have to say they're nowhere near the quality of the much-remembered Tom Savini prosthetic effects work.In any case, this is an incredibly dark odyssey of murder and madness. I thought the material would have been watered down but this is just as grisly and depressing as the original. There's plenty of reason to watch, not least Elijah Wood who makes a good psychopath (as he did in SIN CITY); the whole film is shot through the killer's point of view which gives things an edgy, fresh feel. I loved the use of music and cinematography throughout, which reminded me of Refn's style in DRIVE, so it's a little bit of a shame that the story is so unrelentingly dark and miserable. I'd love to see an action or martial arts film done in this same POV style, though.