Maniac

Maniac is a 2012 film directed by Franck Khalfoun, a remake of a 1980 film, unseen by me, that is apparently a classic in the slasher genre. As such, the remake is a solid effort that does not transcend the sordid genre, and ends up being a passable exercise in style.

The film is shot almost entirely in P.O.V., from the view of the serial killer, played by Elijah Wood (an inspired choice). He is a lonely mannequin restorer with mommy issues. He stalks his victims and after killing them scalps them, attaching their long tresses to mannequins, which he keeps in his bedrooms (without removing the flesh and blood, which brings pesky flies).

This is all about style, as otherwise it adds nothing new to the genre. The film takes delight in showing what happens when you scalp someone, and the special effects are pretty gruesome. The ease in which he kills I think is not necessarily a plot problem (he chases down a woman in a subway, and then into a parking lot, without anyone seeing him) as an affectation--this movie is not about reality, it's about a state of mind.

Maniac makes good use of some of its interiors, such as Wood's mannequin shop. For devotees of this kind of thing, I imagine it's toward the top of the scale, but as a movie it's just so-so.