It’s all about Maniac: Joe Spinell versus Elijah Wood as co-hosts Doc Rotten, Dave Dreher, Santos (The Black Saint) Ellin Jr., Thomas Mariani and Vixen discuss the William Lustig 1980 classic and the fascinating new remake from Franck Khalfoun. Then Dave Dreher surprises the entire cast by introducing special effects legend Tom Savini as special guest host to discuss secrets and stories behind the making of the original Maniac, Tom’s career and his thoughts about remakes, zombies and Facebook.
The Official HorrorNews.Net Podcast
Episode 8 – Maniac with Tom Savini
The original Maniac (1980) is a cult classic, notorious for its seedy representation of New York at the time, its grimy, sweaty lead and the film’s graphic special effects. The film is dark and morose from the onset and never lets up; there is no hope for its lead as he spirals out of control. Joe Spinell oozes creepy serial killer as he flays his victims, placing their bloody scalps on a collection of mannequins in his home. Tom Savini provided the realistic and bloody special effects, including a scene where his character has his head blown off.
Alexandre Aja writes and produces the modern remake of Maniac (2013), placing mousy Elijah Wood into the Spinell-originated lead. Franck (P2) Khalfoun steps in to direct. Wood’s version of Frank Zito is far more disturbed with his mommy issue but also far more less imposing. Until he goes in for the kill, that is. Aja’s script builds upon the original’s story improving on the love story between Frank and Anna while the special effects are as visceral and shocking as ever. Maniac turns out to be one of the better remakes in recent years.
Tom Savini surprises the grue-crew but joining in the discussion bringing his take on the original Maniac film, sharing stories about the classic effects, his approach to gore make-up and his encounters with Joe Spinell. Afterwords, Tom discusses remakes, his career, his current crop of films and a tirade or two: his rebuts the famous “Tom Savini is a dick” blog posts and rants about Facebook. It’s an incredible 40 minutes with the Godfather of Gore.
Doc Rotten: facebook DoctorRotten, twitter @doc_rotten
Dave Dreher: facebook drehershouseofhorrors, twitter @savinifan
Santos (The Black Saint) Ellin Jr.: facebook theblacksainthnn, twitter @tbssaysyou
Thomas Mariani: twitter @notthewhostommy.
Special thanks and a big shout out goes to the band Tear Out Your Heart and Victory Records for allowing HorrorNews.Net to sample music from their single Undead Amthem for the podcast’s intro and outro theme music. Check them out and tell them The Official HorrorNews.Net Podcast sent you their way!