Top 5 Surprisingly Awesome Horror Movie Remakes
Maniac – Courtesy of IFC Midnight
3. Maniac (2012)
Maniac, the 1980 horror flick from William Lustig, is a terrifying classic. Co-writer Joe Spinell stars as Frank Zito, a deranged serial killer with a penchant for scalping. In the midst of losing his mind, Zito goes on a horrendous killing spree. After he murders women, he scalps them and staples the hair to the plastic heads of the mannequins he keeps at home. Then he envisions himself talking to them.
Yeah, it’s a pretty fucked up film.
Which, of course, means that it eventually had to be remade. This moment came in 2012 when an official remake of the movie was released. Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood headlines the flick as a modern version of Frank Zito. He’s not at all like Joe Spinell in the original version— but he’s arguably even more horrifying.
As in the original, Wood’s Frank Zito brutally murders women, stapling their scalps to the mannequins he keeps at home. He utilizes the modern setting of the film, such as searching for victims on dating sites. It’s so gory and dark that it’s truly haunting to watch. Wood’s portrayal of the character also feels much more real, and thus, more unsettling. Maniac is a very rare example of a horror remake actually besting the original.
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