AJA’S MANIAC REMAKE GETS WOOD

One of those oh-so-rare occasions where I'm actually cautiously optimistic about a remake. Not only was Maniac one of the few horror movies to actually disturb me a bit (mostly thanks to Spinell), but I felt like I had to take a shower after I watched it. If Aja and co. can maintain that vibe in their remake, this could be great. Love the out-of-left-field casting of Wood.

Wood was creepy enough in Sin City but more in the "guy who stayed quiet but eyeballed and half smiled at all the girls in high school" vein. Spinell absolutely makes your skin crawl in Maniac. And while Aja doesn't shy away from gore, Lustig was really able to capture NYC well during its grimy, Grindhouse era. That's another reason the movie works so well. That style of shooting really doesn't exist anymore and New York has cleaned up way too much to go back to that. Still, an interesting director and an interesting actor are enough to make me curious.

I really like Aja ands have been hoping he'll succeed and achieve greatness one day. Perhaps this is that project, perhaps not, but I'll wish him luck all the same

Aja has earned enough good will from me for his The Hills Have Eyes remake and Piranha remake, so either way I will be seeing it. It's one of those movies I wish wouldn't be remade, but even with my love for the original and for the amazing performance by Spinell, I'm not going to get completely up in arms over it.

Perhaps they can find some way to make New York look scummy again, and set the movie in 1980.

I love the original and I'm actually excited about this.  There are rumors floating about that all (or at least most) of the kills will be from Wood's POV, which could be interesting.  I guess we'll know more when they start shooting later this year.

The original Maniac was pretty much from Spinel's POV. There were only a handful of scenes that he wasn't actually featured in. Much like Taxi Driver where Scorsese had those 2 scenes (Brooks and Shephard, Keitel and Foster) and the rest all featured De Niro.

If it's entirely from Wood's POV, then I can't wait to see what Aja brings with it. Especially if he really plays up the Mother issues that Frank Zito has, like Lustig did in the original.

Supposedly the kills will be in POV shots and Frank (Wood) will be having crazed visions about his mother, which I assume we will be witnessing firsthand.  The more I think about it, the more fun this could be.

Yeah, as I said before, I'm not entirely against this remake. I actually want to see what they'll do with it. If it gets screwed up, hey, I've got my Anchor Bay dvd, and my Blue Underground Blu-ray of the original to watch. We got a few "flashbacks" of his Mother in the original, but to actually see visions, and if Wood can get at least an inkling as sweaty and greasy as Spinell, then it will be another "good remake" notch on Aja's belt.

A bit OTT, but it is really sad the state that studio horror is in.  I am definitely a fan of Alexandre Aja.  Overall, the man is great at what he does.  That said, it's quite sad that he is basically completely relegated to remakes within the industry.  Let's take a look at the films the man has made thus far....

Furia (1999)

High Tension (2003)

The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

P2 (2007) (producer; directed by Franck Khalfoun)

Mirrors (2008)

Piranha (2010)

Maniac (2012) (producer; directed by Franck Khalfoun)

Seven films, only two of which are NOT remakes.  That is depressing.  The bright side is that Aja brings his own ideas and sensibilities to the table regardless, which is why most of them have turned out really well.  This is the main reason I am looking forward to Maniac.  On the whole though, it is just rather depressing that this is what he is forced to do to remain within the studio system.  At present time, Alexandre is trying to get an adaptation of the (apparently popular) space opera manga Cobra the Space Pirate off the ground.  It looks like he'll probably have the project in theaters by 2014, but nothing is locked in just yet.  In the meantime, he seems to have turned his eye towards producing for others.  The above mentioned Maniac is the first of the bunch.  He is also attached to writer and produce a remake of the 1982 slasher Madman, with longtime writing/producing buddy Gregory Levasseur eyeing the director's chair on that one.  Aja is also developing a TV show based on Scanners, which he will likely direct the pilot movie for.  On top of that, Paramount is apparently gunning after him hard to come on board and direct their big budget re-adaptation of Pet Sematary.  So yeah, that's four more potential projects..............only one of which isn't a remake.

Again, this is no knock on Aja or the projects in which he is involved.  Hell, most of them will likely turn out very well.  It's just a damning look at the studio system in general which, in this case, one director has thankfully managed to work to his advantage.

EDIT - I forgot that he's also attached to produce a remake of Jaume Balaguero's Fragile!

A Maniac remake by Aja? I don't know if this makes me excited or a little afraid. I hope he gets to go all out with that. As far as Piranha 3D but on the other side of the spectrum.

If nothing else, it'd be more plausible for Elijah Wood to get close enough to women to scalp them than for Joe Spinell. I mean, dude looks harmless.

Although I definitely appreciate the scenes where Spinell cleans up enough to take Caroline Munro to dinner.

Quote:

Originally Posted by S.D. Bob Plissken 

A bit OTT, but it is really sad the state that studio horror is in.  I am definitely a fan of Alexandre Aja.  Overall, the man is great at what he does.  That said, it's quite sad that he is basically completely relegated to remakes within the industry.  Let's take a look at the films the man has made thus far....

 

Furia (1999)

High Tension (2003)

The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

P2 (2007) (producer; directed by Franck Khalfoun)

Mirrors (2008)

Piranha (2010)

Maniac (2012) (producer; directed by Franck Khalfoun)

 

Seven films, only two of which are NOT remakes.  That is depressing.  The bright side is that Aja brings his own ideas and sensibilities to the table regardless, which is why most of them have turned out really well.  This is the main reason I am looking forward to Maniac.  On the whole though, it is just rather depressing that this is what he is forced to do to remain within the studio system.  At present time, Alexandre is trying to get an adaptation of the (apparently popular) space opera manga Cobra the Space Pirate off the ground.  It looks like he'll probably have the project in theaters by 2014, but nothing is locked in just yet.  In the meantime, he seems to have turned his eye towards producing for others.  The above mentioned Maniac is the first of the bunch.  He is also attached to writer and produce a remake of the 1982 slasher Madman, with longtime writing/producing buddy Gregory Levasseur eyeing the director's chair on that one.  Aja is also developing a TV show based on Scanners, which he will likely direct the pilot movie for.  On top of that, Paramount is apparently gunning after him hard to come on board and direct their big budget re-adaptation of Pet Sematary.  So yeah, that's four more potential projects..............only one of which isn't a remake.

 

Again, this is no knock on Aja or the projects in which he is involved.  Hell, most of them will likely turn out very well.  It's just a damning look at the studio system in general which, in this case, one director has thankfully managed to work to his advantage.

 

 

EDIT - I forgot that he's also attached to produce a remake of Jaume Balaguero's Fragile!

You make some great points, SD, and I couldn't agree more with you about the depressing state of the studio system. Aja is a real talent, and one wishes he'd get a chance to flex his creative muscle more often on original properties. With that said, HILLS HAVE EYES is one of the scariest films I've ever seen. It's truly the stuff of nightmares. I have no real interest in watching the original, and from what I've heard from those in the know, Aja improved on it in every way. Remake or not, it's a great film. As for PET SEMETARY, I've not seen the first film but the clips I've caught over the years look a bit cheesy. I'm sure it's fine and maybe even good, but the novel was one of the scariest books I've ever read, and I am pretty excited by the idea of Aja getting a big budget crack at the material. Who knows, it could end up being a Cronenberg/FLY level leap in quality

Quote:

Originally Posted by S.D. Bob Plissken 

EDIT - I forgot that he's also attached to produce a remake of Jaume Balaguero's Fragile!

Seriously? That movie only came out a few years ago, starred a well known American actress, and was in English. I don't get it.

Whenever I see Aja's name in print, I get this twitchy stink-eye. It kills me that people go on about this guy's "transgressive" style as if he's the second coming of Jörg Buttgereit when he's really just a goddamn cypher with a predilection for creating the kind of sensationlistic and hollow violence you get out of any number of silly videogames these days. That's what he does best. He competes with videogames in the base thrills department.  

P.S.,  I still absolutely hate Piranha 3D. Hate it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Blank 

If nothing else, it'd be more plausible for Elijah Wood to get close enough to women to scalp them than for Joe Spinell. I mean, dude looks harmless.

 

Although I definitely appreciate the scenes where Spinell cleans up enough to take Caroline Munro to dinner.

 

 

I love his line when he asks her out.

"Listen, I know this place over in Jersey, Clams Casino....."

Is it heretical to say the Spinell/Munro subplot is somehow more believable than Travis Bickle fixating on Betsy?

I mean, Spinell actually has a reason — in another, saner corner of his life he's sort of an artist, or at least has an artistic sensibility, like Leatherface. Munro is a photographer, so he's drawn to that, aside from her being attractive. Travis just seems to spot Betsy randomly and lose his shit for her.

Two things I hadn't known: Munro's role was originally supposed to be played by Daria Nicolodi, and Munro's husband helped finance the flick, so her role was expanded. I just figured Spinell just wanted to sit across from a lovely woman at dinner just once in one movie.

Anyway, that subplot does add some depth to what could've been a complete skeeve-fest. (It's plenty skeevy even with it.)

I'll finish by saying Spinell is one of those actors I'm never unhappy to see — this thread needs to be longer. He always brought legit urban flavor. (I'm fond of his Taxi Driver bit: "If you're gonna bust my chops, you can take it on the arches right now.") Having said that, I'll also join the ranks curious to see what happens with Wood in the role. It can't be a straight remake, not with recasting this radically different; if anything it's likely to be an in-name-only remake with Wood as a decidedly different kind of psycho. I see it being closer to Nightmares in a Damaged Brain, really.