THE PLOT THUS FAR
As he helps a young artist with her upcoming exhibition, the owner of a mannequin shop’s deadly, suppressed desires come to the surface.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“Maniac” is about a depressed and genuinely deranged serial killer who by day works at a mannequin shop, mostly reassembling old mannequins and by night, he prowls the streets of Los Angeles, searching for young females to slaughter so he can use their scalps in his private collection of mannequins back at his home, however, his life takes an unusual and positive turn when a young photographer, fascinated by his store, asks him to assist her with an upcoming photo shoot involving his mannequins.
The P.O.V approach is spot on, for then you truly tend to understand what goes inside that head of his. After a point of time it turns into a personal experience of sorts and this is what P.O.V brings to the table. The strain and the blurry visions when Frank has those migraines reciprocates his own pain and you first hand live through his troubled life, feeding into his dreams and upon his preys. It would be incorrect to call Maniac a slasher movie, it does have elements resembling the Slasher genre but in it’s nuances you find a whole gamut of emotions colliding and forging his actions. It explores Frank inside out and in turn generates sympathy for him. His loneliness and his apprehensions in confronting his emotions tend to make him more than a simple antagonist.
The Blu-Ray comes with a commentary, documentary, deleted scenes, poster gallery and trailer. The A/V Quality sports an immaculate 1080p transfer. Plus, the DTS-HD 5.1 master audio track holds up for an indie horror film. While the remake is dividing hardcore classic horror fans, I appreciate what Aja and company tried to do here. I’d recommend a purchase.
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!