Deeply disturbing, for a film I just dived into blindly I was not prepared for it (especially when I wasn't feeling well!)
Elijah Wood plays a serial killer who stalks and targets young women and after stabbing them to death, he scalps them and staples their hair onto mannequins so they can live with him.
Yeah, so I picked this up because of one reason: Elijah Wood in an 18-rated horror, would it be good or laughable since his fame as a Hobbit? The answer is yes, it is extremely good... a little too good.
What hits hardest about the film, is that Maniac is shot entirely through the eyes of our killer; the film puts you in the driver's seat of this stalking, chasing, butchering and frightful man, exposing his inner demons and psychosis along the way. It is very unpleasant to watch in this perspective. As you'd expect, we don't see Elijah unless he is looking at a mirror (and a couple of deliberate moments of psychosis) yet his acting is mesmerising all the same. Towards the end, if you make it that far, you begin to learn about why he does these terrible things.
Of course, as his killing spree continues, there is evidence of police investigation, but this is massively underplayed; the film's dedication to its use of perspective does not budge, and uses little to grant levity. The only humanity is portrayed through his relationship with a young photographer who he actually managed to have dialogue with.
In terms of physical effects, they are extremely effective and gory. Since the film is a remake of an old grindhouse film, I can safely say these effects live up to the vintage film style!
It really puts all modern slasher films to shame in its execution alone, and in terms of horror I find this far more unpleasant to watch than say... The Human Centipede. As such I can't say I enjoyed the film, but I can respect how it challenged me.
Dredd proves to be a short, angry, drug induced killing frenzy, bringing back memories of the grungy and seedier side of the early 1990s.
Karl Urban (of recent Star Trek fame) wears the iconic black and red helmet of the unstoppable law enforcer Judge Dredd from the 90s comic series 2000AD (which is a British publication, I might add!) as he takes on an entire tower block of criminals with only a telepathic rookie by his side.
The role has been played once before in 1995 by Sylvester Stallone, and while Urban may not have the jawline for the helmet, Dredd easily wipes out all memory of that ghastly film!
The specifics, Dredd is a "Judge", and in this future he is an embodiment of the law; acting as judge, jury and executioner. As one of the more merciless Judges, he is more than capable of dealing with the drug overlord Ma-Ma and her army of intoxicated followers.
The film has a great grungy mood; the music is thumping and angry, the visuals are dirty and strewn with grime. There's a real sense that this originated from the comic which it is based, I even found the technology and computers looking distinctly retro and makeshift. I may not have read the 2000AD comics, but I got a good idea from this!
Ultra-violence is rife here as the film relishes its 18 certificate. It is rewarding to see a genre film like this being unrestrained and uncompromising, people are riddled with bullets, bodies pancake into pavements. More controversially is the liberal imagery of drug use, SLO-MO as it is called, is a narcotic that slows down time for the user... making for a lot of super-slow motion effects which are either gorgeous or gruesome to behold. Very unique.
The 3D wasn't abusive, in fact outside of the SLO-MO sections I hardly noticed it, which means the 2D version won't suffer. My only gripe of the film is that it doesn't do very much; it is a one trick pony. But... it does it with a lot of guts (pun intended) and ultra-violence done with the glossy integrity of the comic that spawned it.
Mission accomplished, I look forward to any sequel it might produce.
Additional Marshmallows: I deliberately haven't mentioned The Raid yet, but it is very similar in setting (but not in character or style, both are unique) to clarify, Dredd was already written and in production before The Raid, so it certainly did not rip off anyone. Rumour has it that the Dredd script was leaked, and The Raid was the result. That is a rumour, however!
Which is better, you ask?
Sigh. Dredd is the more visually stimulating picture, and is more immersive with the characters, I love its look and sound (plus it feels like a good adaptation!) while The Raid has some of the best martial arts and grisly eastern violence I've seen in a while (and is a great unique film, despite being a potential rip-off)
So, they are BOTH equally good but for different reasons, but at a push, I may go with Dredd.
