As reported by the Hollywood Reporter, New Zealand censor’s have taken a hard stance against Elijah Wood‘s horror thriller , “Maniac” and banned the film from being shown outside of film festivals. The ban also forbids distribution of the DVD.
The film from Wood’s film company, The Woodshed Horror Company, is a remake of 1980 William Lustig cult classic. An official statement from New Zealand’s OFLC said that, “the point of view nature of the film mixed with the psychopathic behavior of actor Elijah Wood is more than disturbing, it’s potentially dangerous in the hands of the wrong person — that is, a non-festivalgoer.”
What is “Maniac”:
“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 Frank is the withdrawn owner of a mannequin store, but his life changes when young artist Anna appears asking for his help with her new exhibition.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.” – IMDB
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBKHjHnI8Os
The film’s distributor, Monster Picture’s Neil Foley, countered the OFLC stating, “Banning the film beyond festival screenings is an insult to the intelligence of the adult population of New Zealand and does little more than to serve as an open invitation to illegally pirate the film.” going on to say, “We will explore every option to have the banning revoked, but at this stage it [isn’t] looking good,” he added.
The remake received mixed reviews with The Observer’s Philipp French calling it “unwelcome”. The Hollywood Reporter’s Megan Lehmann said the film was a “sadistic art-house bloodbath” when it screened at Cannes in 2012.
In an interview with Chud.com, the actor best known for his role in the Lord of the Rings trilogy spoke about his interest in horror films, “I’ve been a fan of horror and genre cinema in general since I was a child and have become increasingly passionate about the idea of there being a space in which horror films that take their subject matter and characters seriously could be produced,” said Wood “What was born out of a conversation of our mutual love for the genre and what we felt was lacking in a broad sense, especially from the U.S. market, became The Woodshed.”
What do you think? Was it fair to censor this movie or not? Post your answer with why below in the comments section.
To learn more about Elijah Wood’s film company, visit the official website here.
The Woodshed Horror Company
The Woodshed is an independent film company dedicated to the production of elevated horror films. It is a place for a creative community weaned on elevated horror to meet with an audience hungry to be acknowledged. Founded by partners Daniel Noah, Josh Waller, and Elijah Wood.
Steve “Rifflo” Fitch – Legendarium News Director
Steve, also known as “Rifflo”, is a University MBA Administrator in Ontario Canada where he lives with his wife, Lisa and two young daughters, Alexa and Ava. Steve has an extensive background in corporate sales. Steve also worked for ISAF: International Security Assistance Force and the Canadian Military as a recruiter in Human Resources for the operations in Bosnia and Afghanistan. When not immersed in Tolkien works,sci-fi, and film, you can find him training in Muay Thai, Italian rapier, German longsword, and Mixed Martial Arts. Follow Steve on Twitter @HobbitSteve
By banning this movie the government has only ensured that people are going to search it out illegally online to see what all the fuss is about. It probably would have flown under the radar for most of the population if they had just allowed it to be shown at festivals (or even just available on DVD). By trying to stop people from seeing this, they’ve guaranteed the exact opposite.
Also do they really still think that violence in the media is the cause of violence in society? If someone watches this and “gets the wrong ideas”, they had untreated issues before this movie was made.
This is intensely ironic considering their world-celebrated film makers all started making splatter films together.
It is all quite silly!