Speaking as a person who's never seen the original, Maniac is an interesting slasher movie with good first person cinematography and a cool 80's like soundtrack.
A young man who owns a restoration mannequin shop goes around town slashing womens scalps to be placed on mannequins that later come to life in his mind. What sets this apart from other horror movies is that most of the film is shot solely from the maniacs perspective. The audience experiences everything from his point of view. What lacks in this film is the motivation for the killer. He's supposed to be motivated by some childhood trauma, but the traumas presented in the movie lacked any real sense that they would someday create a maniac. There was no real transition from the trauma to a maniac. A more detailed flashback of a more serous trauma would have made the maniacs motivation more real for the viewer.
Overall it's a cool looking piece of cinema. The acting is nothing spectacular. Nora Arnezeder as Anna, the maniacs obsession, was more eye candy than anyone of substance. Elijah Wood played a decent maniac from what little camera time he got on reflective surfaces. The way it was directed more than anything makes it worthwhile and unique. Not to mention if your a child of the 80's, you'll enjoy the trippy soundtrack.
A young man who owns a restoration mannequin shop goes around town slashing womens scalps to be placed on mannequins that later come to life in his mind. What sets this apart from other horror movies is that most of the film is shot solely from the maniacs perspective. The audience experiences everything from his point of view. What lacks in this film is the motivation for the killer. He's supposed to be motivated by some childhood trauma, but the traumas presented in the movie lacked any real sense that they would someday create a maniac. There was no real transition from the trauma to a maniac. A more detailed flashback of a more serous trauma would have made the maniacs motivation more real for the viewer.
Overall it's a cool looking piece of cinema. The acting is nothing spectacular. Nora Arnezeder as Anna, the maniacs obsession, was more eye candy than anyone of substance. Elijah Wood played a decent maniac from what little camera time he got on reflective surfaces. The way it was directed more than anything makes it worthwhile and unique. Not to mention if your a child of the 80's, you'll enjoy the trippy soundtrack.