1) Maniac
I’m sorry, but as a critic, if you don’t like horror movies, you shouldn’t be rating them. Plain and simple. Maniac‘s 47% Tomatometer score is depressingly criminal, weighed down by so many “sane” reviewers complaining about excessive gore and graphic imagery. Um, hello? This is horror. Horror isn’t a killer getting away with murder off camera, or with unbelievably clean slayings. It’s not a normal guy running around as a serial killer, dialing down his actions as to not offend weaker stomachs in the audience. No, horror is putting you in the mind of Frank (Elijah Wood), sending you on a date with a sultry red-head (Megan Duffy), making you experience Frank’s instability, and then forcing you to watch as Frank strangles the last ounce of life out of his next victim. Brutal, relentless, unforgiving, sadistic, despicable – but that’s true, horrifying, disturbing horror.
Sorry, I know I sound a bit crazy myself, but Maniac succeeds because it becomes this mind-f@ck of a movie that puts you inside of a killer, goes through the movie in a POV camera style, and in turn transforms us into said killer. We hear Frank’s heavy breathing as he’s stalking women, we hear his inner thoughts, and we see his hands outstretched while committing the heinous crimes depicted on screen – as if they’re our own hands. Much Like Evil Dead, Maniac finds new and creative ways to breath life into a cult-worshipped movie, and creates an entirely new, visceral experience. Yes, the gore can be hard to handle and you’ll leave with a dirty, grimy feeling after watching as Frank, but that’s the immersive story Franck Khalfoun and Alexandre Aja create. It’s a wicked transformation for every viewer – and some people just can’t handle that.
Elijah Wood is also a main reason for Maniac‘s success, delivering one of the most noteworthy performances of the year. If Jane Levy deserves that Best Lead Actress Horror Oscar, Elijah Wood is a no brainer for the Best Lead Actor Horror Oscar. Wood plays a conflicted man, emotionally tortured by his mother and socially unstable, who kills women because of his hurtful past. Part serial killer, part wounded child, this strange sense of sympathy builds as Wood’s character thinks back to his childhood, but then we catch him in the act of killing and all bets are off. Elijah’s character creation is deep, layered, and dynamic as he gives us a villain to fear, and a reason never to walk alone at night.
I promise there’s no skeletons hidden in my closet, I’m just a horror movie fan who loves being psychologically horrified just as much as being physically scared. Maniac does both, and is hands down the best horror movie I saw in 2013.
Alright horror fans, now is your chance to tell me which of these films you personally hated, and which films I missed that you absolutely loved. I think you can find the comments section from here, no? Feel free to drop me a Tweet on the Twittersphere as well, I’m always down for a discussion!
Matt Donato Follow @DoNatoBomb
