The rumour mill has been churning for a while amongst genre fans with the news that they will be remaking the 1980 William Lustig shocker Maniac…. And Elijah Wood will be the lead. There has been much debate over the veracity of this claim but according to Deadline New York it’s dead set.
If you have seen the original film you will know that it is viscous and uncompromising, displaying some of the most shocking moments of violence in cinema history, with some very impressive (even for today’s standards) effects. We shall see if the remake will do it any justice. Wood has dabbled in the psychotic with his portrayal of Kevin the serial killer and cannibal in the motion picture adaptation of Frank Miller’s Sin City. He played the quiet, calculating and brilliant psychopath well in that film, but Maniac will require a lot more animation and a hell of a lot more brutality. Me thinks his taking this role may have something to do with trying to shake a certain loveable childlike image.
“Wood plays the role of a serial killer who works at a shop that sells antique mannequins. He finds victims on the Internet and stalks them like prey, all the while suffering from hallucinations that throw him back into the past, when he was abused by his own mother. In his twisted mind, he gains a measure of revenge against his mother with each kill”.
Franck Khalfoun is set to direct the genre romp for producers Gregory Lavasseu and Alexandre Aja (High Tension, Mirrors, The Hills Have Eyes). Apparently, the Maniac remake will begin shooting later this year.
