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I had the pleasure of catching this at Horrorhound Weekend in March. The viewing room was a packed house for this one, so I along, with everyone else was also curious of how IFC would take Maniac and make a new movie. Normally with IFC I give it hit (Dead Snow, Stake Land, Tormented) or miss (Human Centipede, ATM, etc.) I have to say the IFC did it right this time with Maniac. First off, I've got to make point that hearing Elijah Wood was gonna be stepping in to the socially awkward, and mentally disturbing shoes of Joe Spinell, I was immediately worried, but it is with great pleasure I can say that Elijah Wood embodies MANIAC through the movie.

The movie begins establishing how unsettling this movies going to be by showing us the killer's (Wood) P.O.V. which is how 90% of the movie is shot. Making the next 90 minutes more haunting than the original as you get the sensation that you the viewer are now the killer. Following the kills, you can be sure that IFC isn't gonna short you on the gore and by God they don't not even 10 minutes in you are treated to a brutal bloody, disturbing scalp removal of a beautiful young woman, which is one of many in the film. The violence is infrequent but when it's present it's brutal, haunting, disturbing, and BLOODY, much like the original. In fact, there are very few things different from the original in this well shot remake. Frank (Wood) is a mannequin rest-orator, who takes pride in his work. So much so that he surrounds himself with them all the time. Frank's childhood, shown through flashbacks, gives the insight of his whore mother always bringing a guy(s) home and performing sexual activities on them, while poor Frank was forced to watch. As a result, mentally disturbed Frank now goes out and kills young woman, by removing their scalps then putting them on his mannequins to keep the spirit alive and keep them forever.

Standing out in this nightmare of a film stands Wood, who really does convince you that he is indeed a MANIAC. Whether it's the constant disillusioned images he forces on himself, scrubbing his hands with tin foil after a fresh kill, or sharing a bed with a mannequin surrounded by flies due to the rotting scalp stapled to its head, this is not the Wood we know. The various shots, edits, and sequences make MANIAC luckily out to be a good remake that will not disappoint fans of the infamous original classic at all.

I had the pleasure of seeing this in it's big premiere at Englewood Cinemas. And all I can say is WOW. I have always been a fan of Henrique whether it's his music or his films, Faces of Schlock, Marty Jenkins & The Vampire Bitches, and the more brutally recent Bleeding Through. That being said, this was out of Henrique's usual realm of Horror. Depression is a comedy that hits you on all levels. One those movies where you can laugh, cry, cheer, and just all out enjoy. The story revolves around 4 people all dealing with different struggles in their lives such as: Being disconnected from one's father for several years, finding the one you can truly say you love, being an all out screw up in people's eyes, and being the nice guy and not getting anything from it. Henrique really put himself into this movie and you can tell when you watch it. You connect with these very likable characters once the black screen flashes their white text names. One wouldn't think a movie about Depression could be a comedy but this film is, as well being so much more than that. If you wanna see a movie with a lot of heart, laughs, fun dialogue, great cast, and amazing story, then go no further than seeing DEPRESSION: THE MOVIE.

First off let me say, that I had extremely high expectations when going into this film. From the moment I viewed the Horrorhound advertisement and then got onto Youtube to view the trailer, I had a huge need to see this film. And I am extremely glad to see that I spent my 20 bucks on something amazing! Very rarely do I feel the need to take a shower after seeing a movie, however after this incredibly raw and brutal movie, I feel like I need to rinse myself in holy water. This movie will be shown to a lot of my friends tomorrow night at a party and now I cannot wait to do so. I am very hopeful to see a sequel as well. The Orphan Killer's brutality, gore, violence, and all around plot makes this movie so well deserving to be distributed for theaters. I know people would flip over this movie, cause God knows I did and still am. This movie has the best elements such as crazy religious folk getting just desserts, no unexpected lame jumps just to get a scare. NO This movie is a balls out horror film! Awesome movie, the makers should be proud.