I have to admit I haven't seen the original Maniac and I have no desire too, the film doesn't sound like it has a lot to offer over the usual slasher film fare, but I wonder if the remake does.

The first trailer for Maniac, the remake title, shows us that it definitely has a firm thrust in the slasher genre, but at the same time there's a hint that it really could look into the mind of the serial killer the film will follow.

What's more is that there's a surprising choice for the lead, none other than Elijah Wood.

Mind you it's not his first killer role, remember who he played in Sin City (Filmstalker review) and he's had tougher roles than the ones that you might ascribe to his name straight away. I think that he could carry this role well and that he could scare the pants off the audience quite easily, convincing us he's a psychopathic killer without a lot of apparent effort.

The remake Maniac is directed by the writer and director of P2 Franck Khalfoun and is written by Alexandre Aja, Grégory Levasseur and C.A. Rosenberg, and I've noticed that America Olivo is co-starring whom I remember from Bitch Slap (Filmstalker review), wow.

Here's the blurb for the film:

Just when the streets seemed safe, a serial killer with a fetish for scalps is back and on the hunt.

Frank is the withdrawn owner of a mannequin store, but his life changes when young artist Anna appears asking for his help with her new exhibition. As their friendship develops and Frank's obsession escalates, it becomes clear that she has unleashed a long-repressed compulsion to stalk and kill.

A 21st century Jack the Ripper set in present-day LA, MANIAC is a re-boot of the cult film considered by many to be the most suspenseful slasher movie ever made - an intimate, visually daring, psychologically complex and profoundly horrific trip into the downward spiralling nightmare of a killer and his victims.

That comes, along with the trailer, through Quiet Earth, and here is the Maniac trailer:

Well? Could you buy it?