Psychotic ‘Joker’ Antecedent Explores the Disturbing Line Between Romance and Murder

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A recent viewing of the 2012 film Maniac remake made me question the disturbing parallels between a man hunting for love and one hunting with murderous intent.

The movie is very good if you like a giallo slasher in the style of Dario Argento. Producer of both versions, William Lustig, even collaborated on the Italian master’s Excellent Tenebrae. Both versions are about a psychopath with mother issues who kills women and staples their scalps to his collection of mannequins.

The unique element of the remake was that most of the film was portrayed from the perspective of the serial killer, played by Elijah Wood. With a few exceptions, it is usually only visible in mirrors. This aesthetic, which forces the viewer to imagine themselves as the killer, elevates it beyond genre exploitation. Maniac becomes an exploration of the antagonist’s frustrated and perverse sexual impulses and the tragic (if somewhat unrealistic) love story at its heart. This version of the film was even shown out of competition at Cannes.

The POV in film is a very context-dependent tool. A cinematographer might evoke the raw realism of the “male gaze” by panning the camera to follow a woman. Do we watch a horror movie knowing that some of these women are future victims? Or are we looking at testosterone being fueled Miami Vice-style crime noir that boastfully flaunts the city’s gender?

Maniac official TRAILER 2 (2012) – Elijah Wood horror movie HD

One of the interesting thoughts this film evokes is the overlap between the hunt for the serial killer and normal seduction. When a man sees an attractive woman, he begins to follow her internally, perhaps strategizing whether and how to woo her. She may not appreciate his progress unless she knows he is extremely charismatic, attractive, rich, popular, etc.

This means that the average to below average man must be consciously willing to cross her personal boundaries. This is why some modern men do not approach women at all: there will never be an ideal situation in which a woman “invites” the man to seduce her. In a society obsessed with microaggressions, some polite men would rather remain quiet and alone than risk being offended.

In his approach he may frighten her, embarrass her, or disgust her, and yet he must be willing to subject her to these things if he does not want to become the eternal “invisible man.” Not only that, but he must also risk the condemnation of onlookers who judge him as incompetent or creepy if his well-intentioned attack misses the mark. The fearful male may look around to see if the coast is clear, as if he is about to commit a crime.

Whether the man is a serial killer from a movie or an innocent looking for romance, he must play the predator to her prey, in the sense that he must hunt and be willing to inflict harm, even if it is alone but by annoying him. Another parallel is how staring at a beautiful woman, even for a second too long, can trigger a fear response in her, creating the natural hierarchy of male physical dominance over the female. Any man can be a physical threat to any woman, not the other way around. Part of the fascination of serial killer fiction lies in the way the disturbed individual refuses to avert his gaze but actively stalks his prey, not only not caring about insulting her but also not caring about explosive acts of violence.

The enduring popularity of these psycho-sexual slasher films is at least partly due to the fact that men and women enjoy a space in which they can experience the fear of going or being taken beyond the bounds of the normal rules of seduction. In Nietzschean terms, the good man’s slave morality will always cause him to wonder whether he has gone “too far.” The woman is caught between neglect of the man who doesn’t go far enough and fear of the man who goes too far. Perhaps there is catharsis in giving in to our worst fears in the safety of a movie theater.

This movie is a remake of Maniac (1980) starring Joe Spinell, a small-time actor who plays supporting roles in several major films of the 1970s, such as Rocky, Taxi Driver and The Godfather I And II. The original film used the traditional 3rd person perspective, but has many of the same narrative beats as the remake until some substantive changes occurred in the final act. Both versions feature antagonist Frank Zito, who develops a relationship with an attractive photographer in the midst of his psycho-sexual killing spree. However, Elijah Wood is more believable in this situation as Spinell, on the other hand, was old, overweight, oily and with acne scars.

My main criticism of both versions is that it is difficult to suspend disbelief at the women’s progressive attitude towards the deranged psychopaths. For example, one of the female victims in the remake begs Frank, under the pseudonym “TimidMan” on an online dating site, to stop being so shy and send her a photo (since his profile didn’t have one). In real life, no woman would give a thought or reaction to a profile without a photo.

Despite thematic similarities to the so-called “incel movie” joker (And Taxi driver btw), Frank is not an incel. Two attractive women are bizarrely interested in him. Yet there is still the through line of the silent, loner struggling to contain volcanic emotional impulses until they explode all over the screen.

Anna, the “final girl,” is friendly and flirtatious with shy Frank when they meet in his mannequin restoration shop. She goes on a date with him: to see The cabinet of Dr. Caligari and a romantic walk through the park, despite having a boyfriend. When Frank arrives at the art gallery where Anna is having an exhibition of her mannequin photography, Anna separates herself from her boyfriend to greet him assertively with welcoming eye contact. In a real world situation, a quiet guy who stands alone without starting a conversation would be seen as an awkward loser at best and a creep at worst.

I was shocked that the actor who was supposed to play the boyfriend of the beautiful blonde Anna was a black man. Even though the boyfriend is a jerk and we don’t empathize with him, it creates a somewhat disturbing subtext about the quiet white boy being a secret psychopath, when in reality black men are much more likely to commit domestic violence against women. The unfortunate casting choice introduces a distracting and hopefully unintentionally racist theme that detracts from the whole. Yet he is a minor character with few scenes.

Overall, if you’re a cinephile who gets into horror with blood and guts, you’ll like this one. The changes this film makes stylistically and thematically make it a stronger film than the original, a rare if not unprecedented feat for a remake.

Jason Kessler is the author of Charlottesville and the Death of Free Speech, available now from Dissident press. Follow him further Telegram, Tweet, OdysseyAnd To chatter. Also follow Dissident press on Twitter/X. We will follow you back!