Maniac (2012)

* spoilers *

Frank Zito runs a mannequin restoration store inherited from his recently dead mother and spends his time looking for love on dating sites. He often stalks them for a while to find out their routine and discover all he can about them. All of the dates eventually end with him murdering them, scalping them, and attaching their scalps to mannequins. His relationship with Anna, a woman as interested in his trade as he is, might end differently. With the cycle of murder stop or is it simply too late for Frank?

Maniac is a slick remake almost completely filmed from the point of view of Frank Zito, a seemingly awkward and shy man who murders women for their scalps. Elijah Wood portrays him so sympathetically that I felt sorry for him quite a few times during the film despite his horrific actions. He is physically diminutive and sickly with bouts of extreme anxiety and panic attacks. This and his approachable appearance greatly contrast with the strength and brutality of his attacks. At times, he seems to loathe his cycle of murder and truly wants to break out of it to have a normal relationship. Other times, his rage explodes out of him, seen when he treats a victim as a proxy for his mother, screaming at her and then scalping her while she's still alive.

All of his neuroses and hatred of women come from his childhood and his mother. His mother was a sex worker and drug addict who forced him to watch her have sex with men. Frank murders women because he simulataneously hates and loves them. He obviously has abandonment issues and wants them to stay with him. Whenever they act in a way he doesn't like, such as any sort of sexual interest, he is overcome with rage. His solution for their free will and refusal to adhere to his view of them is to collect their scalps and place them on mannequins to live with in his home. This act recalls the only happy memory of his childhood, brushing his mother's hair. There are a few moments of black comedy, like the way he stocks up on bug spray to keep the flies away from his beloved scalps.

The violence is brutal and graphically portrayed often in closeup. We see these murders from Frank's point of view, but they aren't justified in any way. Their horror and pain are seen just as closely as their deaths. The women are often in various states of undress when they are murdered because they are in vulnerable states, never expecting this attack. The ending has the women fighting back in Frank's delusion. Once he has their scalps attached to a mannequin, he still isn't satisfied. He sees all the women but Anna as crass, horrible, and cruel. Anna simply turns her back on him and refuses. Even though it's all in Frank's head, I prefer to view it as the women he murdered getting their revenge.

Maniac is told almost completely in the first person from Franks point of view. The striking visuals set this film apart from other slasher movies as well as the unique view. Frank's face is only seen in flashes with reflections. Because the story is told from his view and Elijah Wood is so sympathetic, the audience tends to feel for him up to a point because of his abusive background and conflicted nature. Maniac is a must watch if  you can stand the subject matter.

My rating: 4.5/5 fishmuffins