MOVIEmeter
Top 500
Down 183 this week

Maniac (2012)

6.3
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 6.3/10 from 4,940 users   Metascore: 62/100
Reviews: 36 user | 103 critic | 4 from Metacritic.com

The owner of a mannequin shop develops a dangerous obsession with a young artist.

Director:

Writers:

(screenplay), (screenplay), 2 more credits »
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 2364 titles created 4 months ago
 
a list of 10000 titles created 2 months ago
 
a list of 1177 titles created 1 month ago
 
a list of 1019 titles created 9 months ago
 
a list of 25 titles created 2 months ago
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: Maniac (2012)

Maniac (2012) on IMDb 6.3/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of Maniac.
2 nominations. See more awards »
Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Stitches I (2012)
Comedy | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.5/10 X  

A clown comes back from the dead to haunt those who took his life during a fatal party mishap.

Director: Conor McMahon
Stars: Ross Noble, Tommy Knight, Gemma-Leah Devereux
Stake Land (2010)
Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X  

Martin was a normal teenage boy before the country collapsed in an empty pit of economic and political disaster. A vampire epidemic has swept across what is left of the nation's abandoned ... See full summary »

Director: Jim Mickle
Stars: Connor Paolo, Gregory Jones, Nick Damici
Evil Dead (2013)
Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

Five friends head to a remote cabin, where the discovery of a Book of the Dead leads them to unwittingly summon up demons living in the nearby woods. The evil presence possesses them until only one is left to fight for survival.

Director: Fede Alvarez
Stars: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci
Mama (2013)
Horror | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X  

Annabel and Lucas are faced with the challenge of raising his young nieces that were left alone in the forest for 5 years.... but how alone were they?

Director: Andrés Muschietti
Stars: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier
Kill List (2011)
Crime | Horror | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.2/10 X  

Nearly a year after a botched job, a hitman takes a new assignment with the promise of a big payoff for three killings. What starts off as an easy task soon unravels, sending the killer into the heart of darkness.

Director: Ben Wheatley
Stars: Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, Harry Simpson
The Collection II (2012)
Action | Horror | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6/10 X  

A man who escapes from the vicious grips of the serial killer known as "The Collector" is blackmailed to rescue an innocent girl from the killer's booby-trapped warehouse.

Director: Marcus Dunstan
Stars: Josh Stewart, Emma Fitzpatrick, Christopher McDonald
Excision (2012)
Comedy | Drama | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6/10 X  

A disturbed and delusional high school student with aspirations of a career in medicine goes to extremes to earn the approval of her controlling mother.

Director: Richard Bates Jr.
Stars: AnnaLynne McCord, Traci Lords, Ariel Winter
The Evil Dead (1981)
Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.

Director: Sam Raimi
Stars: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor
Hellraiser (1987)
Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

An unfaithful wife encounters the zombie of her dead lover, who's being chased by demons after he escaped from their sado-masochistic Hell.

Director: Clive Barker
Stars: Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence
The Woman I (2011)
Crime | Drama | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X  

When a successful country lawyer captures and attempts to "civilize" the last remaining member of a violent clan that has roamed the Northeast coast for decades, he puts the lives of his family in jeopardy.

Director: Lucky McKee
Stars: Pollyanna McIntosh, Brandon Gerald Fuller, Lauren Ashley Carter
Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.9/10 X  

In 1988, young sisters Katie and Kristi befriend an invisible entity who resides in their home.

Directors: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Stars: Lauren Bittner, Christopher Nicholas Smith, Chloe Csengery
Halloween (2007)
Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6/10 X  

After being committed for 17 years, Michael Myers, now a grown man and still very dangerous, escapes from the mental institution (where he was committed as a 10 year old) and he immediately returns to Haddonfield, where he wants to find his baby sister, Laurie. Anyone who crosses his path is in mortal danger.

Director: Rob Zombie
Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Scout Taylor-Compton, Tyler Mane
Edit

Cast

Credited cast:
...
...
Frank's Mother
...
...
Judy
...
Lucie
...
Rita
...
Jason
...
Jessica
...
Stephanie
...
80's Man 1
...
Detective
...
Pharmacist
...
Policewoman
Morgane Slemp ...
...
Indian Waiter
Edit

Storyline

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. Written by Anonymous

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Genres:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

|

Language:

Release Date:

2 January 2013 (France)  »

Also Known As:

Alexandre Ajas Maniac  »

Filming Locations:


Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

, ,  »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie features the song "Good-bye Horses," by Q. Lazzarus. The song was also featured in The Silence of the Lambs, another movie about a serial killer who skinned people and had issues with his mother. See more »

Connections

References Eyes Without a Face (1960) See more »

Soundtracks

"Juno"
Written by Robin Coudert and Chloe Alper
Performed by Robin Coudert and Chloe Alper
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
Elijah Wood was maniacally awesome
15 May 2013 | by (Philippines) – See all my reviews

Elijah Wood is one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood, he can play a pussy (as seen on The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy) and he can also play a sadistic bastard (as seen on Sin City). Will his latest film show off how talented he really is? Find out below.

Synopsis: Just when the streets seemed safe, a serial killer with a fetish for scalps is back and on the hunt. Frank (Elijah Wood) is the withdrawn owner of a mannequin store, but his life changes when young artist Anna (Nora Arnezeder) 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. A 21st century Jack the Ripper set in present day LA, Franck Khalfoun's Maniac is a re-boot of the William Lustig cult film considered by many to be the most suspenseful slasher movie ever made - an intimate, visually daring, psychologically complex and profoundly horrific trip into the downward spiralling nightmare of a killer and his victims. -- (C) IFC

Story: As you can see on the synopsis above, the film follows Frank and the film really just told about which I really liked because it felt like we are having a glimpse at how this serial killer is having his day-to-day. We can see his struggles with himself and we can see how he kills his preys but what really made this story effective is the way it was shown. It was shown through a first-person view which in my opinion is one of the hardest things to accomplish (I will dig into this aspect later). Even though the story was very simple, it still felt a little flat and with little development to it.

Acting: If you though he was scary in 'Sin City' then you won't be prepared at how he is terrifying in this film. TO me, he just showcased one of the most memorable performances on screen and he did it with little presence of his face, he did it with simply his voice as his presence, it was just so amazing and powerful he truly made this film good for what it was. I also liked the performance of the leading lady, and she was played by Nora Arnezeder. She was gorgeous and what a beaut to look at and what made me love her performance here was that she wasn't irritating. The rest of the cast had very little development to them and very limited screen time as this movie focuses more on the two leads.

Violence: One of the most brutal films I've watched and quite possibly one of the most realist films I've ever seen. The violence is just so realistic you can find yourself cringing into it or probably closing your eyes, but the violence was a key aspect in this film because I just can't see any other way to see this other than R-18 or NC-17, if this was PG-13 of R- 13, I probably would never given this one a chance.

Music: This simply sets the mood and tone of the movie, it was haunting and can keep your pulse pounding even though you can probably predict what is about to happen next. It also helps Wood's character to have some more depth.

Cinematography: As I said before, the movie was shot mostly in a first-person view and this movie executed that perfectly, I felt that I was Frank in this movie and the shots surrounding the character was handled pretty well as you can feel that you are in there with him or you are him (like what I said). The perspective and the angles of the shots were amazing and truly captures the beauty of it's production. There are also some scenes who was shot in a third-person view and it was also nothing short of amazing.

Direction: This is the second film that I've watched from Franck Khalfoun and the first one being 'P2' and while I think that that was a creative horror, it just kinda sucked. Now I liked how he did the pacing in this movie because it didn't felt boring, in fact I thought it went by pretty fast, but my gripe here is the director lacks the depth of telling a wonderful story.

Overall: 'Maniac' is probably not the horror film you will expect it to be but it is a very effective thriller with a terrifying performance from the lead which showcases more from the actor. The story somehow felt flat and some of them wasn't told quite as good as some scenes but I liked this movie despite that problem. Now, even though I liked this movie the only grade that I can give this one is 6.5/10.


1 of 2 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Is the original REALLY a classic? jwpappas
Score and Soundtrack fearhasnocure-1
Ejilah Wood joshk175
Is this really a remake of the 80's slasher? klspag
Red Band Trailer Music thefreshprince06
Playing tonight at Panic Fest 2013! aprince539
Discuss Maniac (2012) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?