MD - Maniac

Maniac joins the pantheon of 80's slasher remakes and interpretations of the Ed Gein story. On paper a nasty and uneasy stalk-and-slice movie it's raised from the cabin/house in the woods/site of ancient burial grounds by the first person perspective and complexity within Elijah Wood's portrayal of Frank which attempts to help us understand his creepy and homicidal obsessions by grounding them within their location and a familial legacy. It looks stylish; employing clever use of shiny surfaces that reflect the vacuous sheen of the city and with it a different perspective of our protagonist and a potential window for our empathy. When Frank does enter into what passes in his realm as a functioning friendship and potential relationship we see the best and worse of his fragility. 

It would be easy to accuse Maniac of being misogynous - it is full of unnecessarily gratuitous tits, slits and bits - however even in death Frank's victims retain power over his actions. The filmmakers might argue that Maniac is a study in the complexity of the male psyche and its ultimate failure to move past the maternal. Or it might just be an excuse for some cheap thrills and gruesome schlock. 

In the face of the ambiguity I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. I know many people won’t.

8/10