Maniac

The UK-based Death Waltz Records has revealed its vinyl plans for the smokin'-hot Maniac soundtrack.  Of course, we're talking about the 2013 remake starring Elijah Wood.  The synth-driven score is by Rob and, so far, it's our favorite score of the year.  Death Waltz will be releasing some packaging options, they include:

500 180g flesh coloured vinyl with transparent blood splatter housed in a gatefold casebound (tip on) sleeve with mirror effect silver UV anti scratch lamination & 12 x 12 print of the cover art. (Death Waltz webstore exclusive)

ShockTillYouDrop.com spotted the new poster for director Franck Khalfoun's remake of Maniac tonight and you can check out a photo of the poster after the jump!

Read more »

Looking back on most of the slasher movies of the early ‘80s, it’s hard to reconcile their once-infamous reputations with how tame they seem now. At the time the slasher fad was in full swing and movies like Friday the 13th, He Knows You’re Alone and Prom Night were in theaters, critics, women’s groups, religious leaders and various other self-appointed moral watchdogs couldn’t denounce loudly enough what they perceived to be a disturbing new trend in cinema. Slasher movies were considered by many to be sick films that depicted the killing of women with pornographic glee but as infamous as the slasher trend once was, those films look largely innocuous today. 

IFC has finally set a release date for Franck Khalfoun's Maniac remake.  The Elijah Wood-starring thriller is set for a limited theatrical bow and VOD debut on June 21st.  Awesome stuff.

Written and produced by Alex Aja and Gregory Levasseur, the film finds Wood playing Frank, a man - haunted by seedy memories of his promiscuous mother - who works in a mannequin shop by day and stalks 'n kills women by night. Things take a turn in his life when he meets a beautiful photographer (Nora Arnezeder).  Watch the UK trailer inside!

A new trailer for Maniac, starring Elijah Wood, has hit the web - this one is hailing from the UK.  The remake of the William Lustig film is opening in other territories before it strikes the U.S. this spring from IFC.

Check out the trailer inside.

Wood plays Frank, a man - haunted by seedy memories of his promiscuous mother - who works in a mannequin shop by day and stalks 'n kills women by night. Things take a turn in his life when he meets a beautiful photographer (Nora Arnezeder).

Empire has revealed the UK quad for Franck Khalfoun's Maniac, a remake of the William Lustig-directed '80s flick.  You can see the image - awash in turquoise and purple - inside.

The film, starring Elijah Wood, hits UK theaters on March 15th.  IFC is handling distribution here in the U.S. but no release date has been set.

Wood plays Frank, a man - haunted by seedy memories of his promiscuous mother - who works in a mannequin shop by day and stalks 'n kills women by night. Things take a turn in his life when he meets a beautiful photographer (Nora Arnezeder).

As you'll see, the quad adopts the original film's poster tagline.

You've seen the first six minutes of Maniac, now how about a 2 1/2-minute kill clip from the remake of the 1980s William Lustig film?  We have the not safe for work (by any means) preview for you after the jump.

In the clip, Frank (played by Elijah Wood) is taken home by Lucie (Megan Duffy) on their first date and things go, well, bad.  Let's just say Frank does what he does best (to a very familiar song, too).

While this remake, directed by Franck Khalfoun, is now out overseas, we're still awaiting a release date for its U.S. debut from IFC.

As a welcome follow-up to this morning's news item, in which we shared with you two tracks from the Maniac remake soundtrack, we're happy to say the score by Rob is now available iTunes.  (Alternatively, you can visit Amazon and get it cheaper.)  Furthermore, the album art may have given us a glimpse at what the poster art will look like.  As you'll see inside, it recreates and updates the poster design (sans crotch bulge) for the original Maniac directed by William Lustig.

One of the many things that makes Franck Khalfoun's Maniac remake work so well is the synth-driven score by a musician going soley by the name "Rob."

With the film opening internationally soon, I did a bit of poking around and found that both the main theme and a song featured in the film called "Juno" - by Rob and Chloe Alper - found their way onto the web.  You can listen to both in their entirety inside.  You received a small taste of the theme during the first six minutes of Maniac when that clip was released last month.

Maniac, starring Elijah Wood, is set to open this spring in the U.S. from IFC.

Maniac - the remake of the William Lustig film of the same name - is making its overseas debut soon and, because of this, its international distributor (Warner Bros., in this case) has released the first six minutes in anticipation of its release!

I've gone on the record before stating how much I love this remake.  And you'll get a fairly good idea as to why in the clip inside.  The film is shot mostly in POV, and that is demonstrated as well as some of the bloodshed you can expect to find.  Also, enjoy a bit of the deliciously retro score.

IFC is releasing Maniac sometime in the spring of 2013.  The redo stars Elijah Wood and is directed by Franck Khalfoun.  Alexandre Aja and Gregory Levasseur penned the script - you know them from High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes and Piranha.

The French site Premiere has posted a four-minute behind-the-scenes video that takes you on the set of Maniac, the remake directed by Franck Khalfoun and starring Elijah Wood.

The featurette contains interviews with the cast and crew including Khalfoun and writer/producer Alex Aja.  There's plenty to see here, so consider yourself warned if you're trying to avoid spoilers.

On a technical level, it's interesting to see some of the rigs the crew utilized to pull off the POV aspect of the film.  Check out the video (in English with French subtitles) inside and look for Maniac to hit the U.S. next year from IFC.

Currently without a release date, but due sometime in early 2013 from IFC is Maniac, a remake of William Lustig's '80s splatterfest. Franck Khalfoun (P2) directs the update and Elijah Wood stars.

Wood plays Frank, a man - haunted by seedy memories of his promiscuous mother - who works in a mannequin shop by day and stalks 'n kills women by night. Things take a turn in his life when he meets a beautiful photographer (Nora Arnezeder).

New images from the film - shot mostly in POV - have surfaced and you can check them out inside.

The Maniac remake isn't expected to arrive from distributor IFC until 2013, but you can get a peek at an international trailer for the film, starring Elijah Wood, now.

Our remake is forthcoming, I assure you, however, trust me when I say this is one of the good remakes to come our way.

Wood plays Frank, a man - haunted by seedy memories of his promiscuous mother - who works in a mannequin shop by day and stalks 'n kills women by night.  Things take a turn in his life when he meets a beautiful photographer (Nora Arnezeder).  Franck Khalfoun directs.

The Cinefamily in Los Angeles held a special screening of the Maniac remake last night at the Silent Movie Theater, attracting a large crowd and some of the film's cast and crew including director Franck Khalfoun and star Elijah Wood.  

Directed by Khalfoun (P2) and written by Alexandre Aja and Gregory Levasseur, the film is a redo of William Lustig's sweaty, sleazy 1980s film and we're happy to report the updated version retains a certain lurid nature, is very violent and is made fresh by an aesthetic choice that proved to be challenging on both a narrative and technical level for the filmmakers and cast: Much of the film is done from the killer's POV.

Wood plays Frank, a man - haunted by seedy memories of his promiscuous mother - who works in a mannequin shop by day and stalks 'n kills women by night.  Things take a turn in his life when he meets a beautiful photographer (Nora Arnezeder).  Filled with stabbing, scalping, heavy breathing, a wild-eyed Elijah Wood and a killer '80s-esque score, Maniac should sate the appetite of those looking for a hard slasher film.

ShockTillYouDrop.com stuck around for the post-screening for the Q&A; here are some highlights.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center’s annual horror fest Scary Movies returns for its 6th edition featuring a collection of first-time New York City screenings of highly anticipated horror films and thrillers, genre rarities and fan favorites.  

Gavin Smith, Film Comment magazine's editor-in-chief and co-curator of Scary Movies, said, "This year's Scary Movies lineup delivers what we feel have become hallmarks of this series: Must-see new films like American Mary, Stitches, and Maniac, some underappreciated gems like The Believers and Eden Lake, and the rediscovery of great work by masters of horror - with Vincent Price in The Last Man on Earth and Wes Craven's Deadly Blessings nicely filling the bill." 

Scary Movies 6 Films, descriptions and schedule can be found inside...

Franck Khalfoun's remake of the Maniac has been picked up by IFC Films for its IFC Midnight label.  The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.  I hear mixed things about it, however, that has not tempered my high interest in seeing Khalfoun's take on the William Lustig film from the '80s.

What drives my curiosity is not only leading man Elijah Woods' performance but how the story is pulled off, especially since hearing that many of the kills are seen through the eyes of the killer.  A trailer demonstrated some of this, but we were ordered to pull said preview at the company's request.

Well, look at that.  I was craving something, anything, from the Maniac remake - which is debuting at Cannes this week - and, tonight, we have a teaser trailer cut for the fest.

The preview you'll find within is raw.  Obviously, the audio levels are a bit wonky.  But, the raw nature of it all works.  

Also, you'll discover that a lot of the footage is a POV shot of Elijah Wood's eponymous character, backing up rumors that we'd see much of the film through the maniac's eyes.

Franck Khalfoun directed, reuniting with his P2 producers Alex Aja and Gregory Levasseur - who both share screenwriting duties on this redo of William Lustig's '80s film.

Look, I'm no longer in the game of bagging on remakes.  I've been doing this for far too long to be judgemental.  So, when Franck Khalfoun (P2) stepped behind the camera for a remake of William Lustig's Maniac, with Alex Aja and Gregory Levasseur producing, I eventually shrugged my shoulders and took a "wait and see" approach.  Now, I'm kind of eager to see it.

Maniac is premiering at the Cannes Film Festival and three official stills were released (via Playlist) showing off the eponymous killer himself, played by Elijah Wood.

Khalfoun has proven he's got a good eye (his background is in music videos) and with Aja and Levasseur scripting...we might have something cool.  Head inside for more imagery.

Next month's Cannes Film Festival has added a new title to its midnight programming line-up: the remake of William Lustig's Maniac starring Elija Wood and Nora Arnezeder.

Out on the press circuit for the upcoming thriller Safe House, starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds, actress Nora Arnezeder spoke to Shock Till You Drop about her turn in Maniac.

The film is the latest remake from Alexandre Aja and Gregory Levasseur - the team behind The Hills Have Eyes, Piranha 3D and Mirrors.  Here, with director Franck Khalfoun, they tackle the William Lustig '80s splatterfest, also called Maniac, which originally starred Joe Spinell.  

The redo, which was shot last month in Los Angeles, stars Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings).

As cameras continue to roll on the Alexandre Aja-produced remake of Maniac, confirmation has come in regarding a new cast member who is taking a motherly role opposite Elijah Wood's titular killer.