We gotta admit, when we first heard about Elijah Wood starring in a remake of the 1980 splatter pic "Maniac," we figured it was just going to be another run of the mill genre outing. And having Franck Khalfoun — the guy who directed two movies you didn't see, "P2" and "Wrong Turn At Tahoe" — at the helm didn't exactly bolster our confidence. But when the movie selected for the Midnight lineup at the Cannes Film Festival, we wondered, could it be something more?
Well, we'll have to wait for the verdict to come in but until then, here are the first official stills from the flick, and yeah, as you expect, it gets bloody. Here's the synopsis: Just when the streets seemed safe, a serial killer with a fetish for scalps is back and on the hunt. Frank is the withdrawn owner of a mannequin store, but his life changes when young artist Anna appears asking for his help with her new exhibition. As their friendship develops and Frank's obsession escalates, it becomes clear that she has unleashed a long-repressed compulsion to stalk and kill.
Wood co-stars with Nora Arnezeder, who you probably recognize as Ryan Reynolds' arm candy from "Safe House." "Maniac" screens on May 26th.
Maniac
Excellent film I saw at Cannes, with the team just invited to be involved in visual film, using pictures of models I realized (http://davidlaw.fr/). The careful plunges us into the world through the eyes of the killer, mannequins are ubiquitous, visual stifling. It is efficient and beautiful, this is what struck me the aesthetics of the image outside the norm, in reflections and mirrors … I agree and I love it.
David Law
Interview for Maniac for Allo Ciné!
http://www.allocine.fr/article/fichearticle_gen_carticle=18620004.html
The Interview for Maniac for Eklecty City
http://www.eklecty-city.fr/interviews/interview-exclusive-du-photographe-du-prochain-film-dalexandre-aja-maniac
For those who care there's a trailer around … http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/167689-a-full-trailer-for-that-maniac-remake-is-here
Use of POV seems blah … yet cinematography seems nice.
Side note : produced by the team behind The Artist !!
Khalfoun's "P2" was an ok thriller but "Wrong turn at Tahoe" was a real gem. A gritty little thriller with the rare thing: a very fine role for Cuba Gooding jr.
But the real revelation was Miguel Ferrer in a truly memorable turn as Goodings mobster boss.
So that movie was a real nice surprise and well worth seeing.
Khalfoun directing and Aja producing … I've never expected anything good from this, although I must say the POV thing is intriguing (are they trying to ride behind Gaspar Noé's Into the void ?). The Cannes selection is, as you say, even more intriguing. A chauvinistic move ? (don't get me wrong I am french).