10 Hidden Gem Horror Movie Remakes You Need To Watch
2. Maniac (2012)

Coming to us from director Franck
Khalfoun with a script co-written and produced by Alexanre Aja, the filmmaker
behind High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes remake, and Crawl, this version of the
1980 video nasty of the same name surpassed the original by adding a devilish
layer of psychological and body horror amongst the bloody carnage.
Like the original film (which didn’t get a classification in the UK until 2002), the plot follows an introverted loner with a traumatic childhood named Frank (played spectacularly by Elijah Wood) who runs a business restoring mannequins. In his spare time, however, Frank is a serial killer who viciously attacks and scalps women and attaches their hair to his mannequins.
Predominately told from a first-person perspective, this underrated remake has an unsettling voyeuristic quality to it as viewers are forced to watch Frank stalk and brutalise his victims in sickening fashion. However, it’s the new character study angle in this version which really amps up the terror.
Aided by Wood’s arresting performance, this Frank has been left fractured and vulnerable by his own trauma. And while he commits depraved acts, there are moments where we can’t help but feel sorry for this tortured soul.