Some five-and-a-half months after its first preview snuck online, we’ve been granted an international trailer for the Elijah Wood-led Maniac remake. Like what came in May, I suspect, no matter how much is packed here, that most people’s main focus will be the POV angle (thoughts on that in a second), which is fair — though there is a bit more.

The film looks rather nice, with director Franck Khalfoun clearly having a good idea as to how a portrayal of the seedy existence his main character is living out — those shots in the subway, for better and for worse, bring Irréversible to mind — and what Wood‘s shown thus far is to my liking. The fact that it’s so clearly a deviation from his typical (read that as “likable”) persona makes the work easier to notice, but so what?

The POV… we’ll see. I’ve never particularly liked the gimmick, even when Brian De Palma uses it, nor do I honestly expect that to be shaken up here. All I can say is that it would be nice to have a change of heart.

The trailer can be seen below:

Plot:

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 Frank is the withdrawn owner of a mannequin store, but his life changes when young artist Anna appears asking for his help with her new exhibition.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.

With Nora Arnezeder co-starring and a screenplay by Alexandre Aja, C.A. Rosenberg, and Grégory Levasseur, Maniac should hit sometime next year.

So far, are you impressed with how Maniac seems to have shaped up?