Thursday, October 25, 2012
Film Scary Movies 2012: The Gory, Deranged Maniac Remake
Posted by Henry Stewart on Thu, Oct 25, 2012 at 9:30 AM
He slices off the tops of his victims' heads so he can gift their hair to the antique mannequins he restores and positions around his room and bed. He's a literal objectifier of women: he destroys their humanity, robs them of their personhood, and recreates them as things. (So his hallucinated comeuppance, being torn apart like a doll, is fitting.) This has something to do with his mother, a sex worker whose work he often watched. His mother was a whore! They're all whores! Except maybe the photographer who stops by his shop and becomes his friend. Wood looks too boyish and frail to me to believe as a serial killer. But his wounded eyes help make this gonzo gorefest almost seem like a tragic love story.
Maniac screens on Saturday night and again Halloween evening as part of the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Scary Movies series. More info here.
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