"Maniac" Opening Scene Deconstruction
Brief
The 2012 French-American remake of the 1980 film "Maniac" casts Elijah Wood as an obsessive serial killer. Below is its opening scene:
Genre
From the props of the hedge trimmer and jars of anatomy shown in "American Horror Story: Murder House" and the complex motive of the killer in "SE7EN", I wanted to explore the convention of the villain having some sort of signature style or plan to their murders. This was explored in my practical task but I wanted to see how it can be portrayed in a film opening, especially one that conforms to some urban drama conventions.
Consequently, despite "Maniac" being labelled as a 'slasher', I chose to deconstruct this opening because of Elijah Wood's character, Frank Zito, which seems to conform to the conventions of a serial killer in psychological horrors like, "SE7EN" and "American Horror Story: Murder House".
Within this opening there is also a focus around the night life in urban settings and issues of homelessness and violence. The film also uses the villain's experience with prostitution and sex to deteriorate his mind set. This is slightly shown through the creepy caress of the female victim's face.
Issues like these are usually addressed in urban dramas. The constant locations of urban areas in this clip also can suggest this. But the murder supports that rather than being an urban drama, "Maniac" is much more a horror based in urban areas, as the main plot lies with the struggle of Zito's mind and its consequences rather than gangs etc. shown in urban dramas.
I like this combination of both genres and initially I hoped to create an opening scene that addresses very real urban issues, which are usually ignored, by giving them the most attention through disturbing psychological elements. For instance, through the villain's mind set and memorable signature murders. I experimented with this in my previous practical blog, however, I felt it didn't work so I wanted to see how "Maniac" made this combination of gore and urban dramas work.
Issues like these are usually addressed in urban dramas. The constant locations of urban areas in this clip also can suggest this. But the murder supports that rather than being an urban drama, "Maniac" is much more a horror based in urban areas, as the main plot lies with the struggle of Zito's mind and its consequences rather than gangs etc. shown in urban dramas.
I like this combination of both genres and initially I hoped to create an opening scene that addresses very real urban issues, which are usually ignored, by giving them the most attention through disturbing psychological elements. For instance, through the villain's mind set and memorable signature murders. I experimented with this in my previous practical blog, however, I felt it didn't work so I wanted to see how "Maniac" made this combination of gore and urban dramas work.
Plot
The scene starts with a pan to two female young adults that appear to be coming from a club as they talk and laugh over the non diegetic bass like sound similar to the muffled and distant sound of club music, which you can hear when you are outside a club. We cannot clearly hear their conversation as we are watching them from a distance.
One of the girls, Stephanie, gets a taxi while the other, Judy, remains on the pavement. Unaware, a man creeps up to Judy and pokes her, which causes her to jump. He begins to flirt with her and invites her into his "limo" but she is defensive and rejects him. During this interaction we can hear breathing and the non diegetic speech "leave her alone" muttered. This, along with the voyeurism through tracking shots, allows us to realise that we are actually in the point of view of another character.
When Judy tells the man to "f*ck off" and we can hear the non diegetic sound of an engine starting; the tracking shot of her walking away seems more significant to us as we realise that as we are following her so is the stalking character which must be driving in the car that we heard being started.
Judy calls for a taxi but it immediately leaves, making her more isolated and vulnerable. Despite her somewhat aggressive state shown by swearing, when she looks into the camera she appears scared and worried. Along with the non diegetic speech of "I see you too", this confirms that we are indeed watching in the point of view of her stalker.
She starts walking once again this time less confidently as she looks over her shoulder into the camera. She begins to quicken her pace and, due to her nervous disposition and her high heels, trips in the middle of the road. Judy runs now but the stalker stops tracking her, still watching her run off. They then say "okay, I know where you live Judy" before turning down another street whispering "see you later".
The point of view shot then turns from Judy running in the distance to the rear view mirror, where we can finally see who the stalker is. The glimpse of Frank Zito menacingly looking into the mirror, and therefore the camera, fades into many shots of the city and implies that he is driving to her house. This scene seems more like a title sequence as the credits are shown and there is no real plot.
With a high angle tracking shot we can see a taxi pull into the road from what seems to be an apartment due to the railings. Judy then appears from the taxi on the phone and walks over to an apartment block. We then see wires of a fuse box being cut by a knife by Zito, and the power cuts out.
Judy walks up a set of stairs while the stalkers seems to be waiting on the corridor at the top of the stairs shown by the tracking shots, which are repeatedly in Zito's point of view. Coming to the corridor, Judy realizes that "the lights are out on [her] floor" while the camera and, therefore, Zito decreases in proximity with Judy.
Frank follows her down the corridor only stopping when neighbouring residents exit their apartment. When Judy reaches her door and unlocks it she abruptly stops perhaps hearing what was the non diegetic breathing sound of Zito behind her. She slowly turns around confronted by the stalker saying "please don't scream, you're so beautiful".
As soon as Judy begins to scream, a knife is forced into the underneath of her chin and through her mouth cutting her diegetic scream off. Zito then begins to caress her face and hair. He then grasps a hold of her hair before removing the lodged knife and cutting off her scalp. Within this graphic scene shots of a silhouette of a girl running away is shown. Judy's body finally drops to the floor while Zito remains holding a section of her scalp. The title "Maniac" is then shown, while the camera's image fades to black.
Production
The locations of the scene include an apartment and streets which we assume are of the city and the city outskirts as Zito is seen driving to the city, where Judy's apartment block is located. The streets are lit by bright lights and we are shown litter and graffiti. This directly presents that the area is not cared for and could be considered as 'rough'. The fact that there is also many taxis being called suggest that people do not wish to walk through the streets at night, hence, supporting the idea that the location is 'rough'. This, therefore, portrays Judy as vulnerable as she is alone running down the roads being stalked by a serial killer.
Above: Montage of long, establishing shots.
There are also many extras who act as homeless people. This not only denotes the poverty of the area but further making Judy appear vulnerable despite being in a fairly busy street, as the homeless people would most likely be helpless if a situation did present itself, for example when the stranger approached her there was no signs of support by other pedestrians only Zito muttering "leave her alone", which is equally as sinister.
Judy's costume is also not fit for the situation, as she is wearing high heels and a short tight dress, because she was out clubbing with Stephanie. This conforms to conventions in horror where the unprepared female victim is usually making silly mistakes and can be seen as fairly 'ditsy'. This is developed as she trips in said high heels when running from Zito who is following her in his car.
Above: Point of view long shot.
Judy's death is uncomfortable to watch because of the special effects of her scalp being precisely removed by Zito. If there was no gore and she was to just be stabbed it would not hold the same effect on the audience. The death would be fast and would be like a poor conclusion to the building suspense throughout the scene. The removal of her scalp also develops our disgust and opinions of the killer.
The prop of the knife foreshadows this death and once again increases the tension, as the prop feeds us with ideas as to why Zito is following Judy. When the fuse box blows it acts as a jump to fuel the suspense and is like an introduction to the climax. This scene helps create fear.
When the fuse box blows the jump is produced by leaving the audience in the darkness, giving us a moment to worry and anticipate the impending events. This dark lighting removes the safety usually felt by warm lighting of a house/apartment. Despite, the scene being lighter at the start, the sickly yellow hues of the street lamps and harsh bright lights of the street locations still make the scene uncomfortable to watch.
Above: Point of view close ups.
Post-Production
The majority of the film is filmed in the point of view of the killer. At first we are unaware of this. The fact we cannot clearly hear the two female characters conversing, but we are still focused on them through the tracking shots of them makes it uneasy to watch as we feel like a voyeur. Finally we realise that we are acutally in the point of view of the antagonist. This is more unsettling as the character is stalking Judy.
In some shots the image is obscured by faded silhouettes of car mirrors, railings etc. showing through the point of view of Zito that he is hiding from the character.
Occasionally the reality of watching in the point of view of Zito is interrupted and distorted by jolty cuts. Sometimes the camera switches in proximity, despite the character having not moved. This can develop the audience's uncertainty and discomfort. And like the abrupt cuts in both previous title sequence deconstructions, could display the mentally disturbed state of Zito.
In some shots the image is obscured by faded silhouettes of car mirrors, railings etc. showing through the point of view of Zito that he is hiding from the character.
Above: Point of view long, establishing shot.
Occasionally the reality of watching in the point of view of Zito is interrupted and distorted by jolty cuts. Sometimes the camera switches in proximity, despite the character having not moved. This can develop the audience's uncertainty and discomfort. And like the abrupt cuts in both previous title sequence deconstructions, could display the mentally disturbed state of Zito.
From left to right: Point of view extreme long shot and a point of view long shot.
At 00:00 - We can hear the diegetic conversation of the two female characters the camera is focused on over some non diegetic sounds like the muffled bass of club music.
At 00:41 - The non diegetic sound of a car becomes diegetic as a taxi pulls up and away. When it pulls away a man touches Judy causing a diegetic reaction of "what the f*ck" and hence the start of a conversation.
At 01:15 - Non diegetic mutter of "leave her alone" is quite protective but also sinister as the character seems to not know her as watching her being flirted with by the man from a far like a jealous stalker. During the interaction between the stranger and Judy, the stalkers non diegetic breathing also becomes louder as if they are getting angry.
At 01:22 - There is a non diegetic sound of a car engine starting, but as we are aware we are watching through the point of view of the stalker and a tracking shot follows Judy we realize that the engine sound is from the stalker's car, which they are driving in. Later, the car also screeches to a halt and Judy looks up into the camera after a taxi pulls away. The non diegetic dialogue of "I see you too" adds to the discomfort of a stalker.
At 01:56 - When Judy realizes she is being stalked, she becomes more scared and the diegetic sound of her high heels clicking shows she is rushing. She begins to run and even trips heard by her heels 'scuffing' and cursing.
At 00:41 - The non diegetic sound of a car becomes diegetic as a taxi pulls up and away. When it pulls away a man touches Judy causing a diegetic reaction of "what the f*ck" and hence the start of a conversation.
At 01:22 - There is a non diegetic sound of a car engine starting, but as we are aware we are watching through the point of view of the stalker and a tracking shot follows Judy we realize that the engine sound is from the stalker's car, which they are driving in. Later, the car also screeches to a halt and Judy looks up into the camera after a taxi pulls away. The non diegetic dialogue of "I see you too" adds to the discomfort of a stalker.
Above: Point of view long shots.
At 01:56 - When Judy realizes she is being stalked, she becomes more scared and the diegetic sound of her high heels clicking shows she is rushing. She begins to run and even trips heard by her heels 'scuffing' and cursing.
At 02:20 - Non diegetic voice over of "okay, I know where you live Judy" and "see you later" is very intimate. The character's whispering so loudly for the audience develops the discomfort felt by the non diegetic dialogue's meaning.
At 02:33 - A non diegetic sound track plays using digital sounds of a melodic echoic drum, a rhythmic loud 'bow' sound and like a whirring sound in time with the initial drums which increases in volume. An almost synthesizer sound is played over top.
At 03:23 - The non diegetic score develops with a maraca sound while another synthesizer with a more robotic almost retro video game style sound plays in the background and gains volume. This quietens with a final digital ringing note (at 04:01) as the plot continues.
At 04:10 - We can hear the diegetic sounds of Judy on the phone and exiting the taxi.
At 04:22 - Compared to Judy loudly talking on the phone, when we are watching Zito about to cut the fuse box wires it is pretty much silent. This emphasises the sound of the fuse box blowing, which rings out at the end. This also allows us to understand the significance of doing this and its consequences it would have on the victim. The non diegetic ringing echo sound continues as we scan the corridors, this parallels the spooky dark setting and the impending death of Judy.
At 04:50 - The ending of the call with the diegetic speech of "oh crap, the lights are out on my floor" develops the fear felt as Judy is vulnerable and now alone. There is a sudden opening of a door and some talking as neighbours exit, but apart from this the suspense created through the stalker's breaths keeps the audience on edge until confrontation.
At 05:42 - The breaths of Zito become all too loud and intimate and we assume are diegetic as Judy slowly turns around. The intimacy of a creepy stalker breathing and saying "please don't scream, you're so beautiful" increases our discomfort. This is also supported by the parallel non diegetic echoic ringing sound.
At 05:52 - Judy begins to piercingly scream, yet this is suddenly cut off by the sharp, metallic cutting sound of the knife silencing her. We can also hear Zito grunt as if he is relieved; his breaths also become more relaxed and slower as he begins to caress her face. The fact that the killer seems more at rest and almost pleasured by killing someone makes us incredibly disgusted and unsettled.
At 06:00 - There are some sort of flashbacks shown with contrasting loud non diegetic sounds including a female gasping, muffled smashing of glass and echoes. These ring throughout the final scene where the knife is dislodged with another metal sound. Finally a digital non diegetic sound increase in volume and becomes layered with a piercing high pitch sound which increases in pitch. This continues as the diegetic sound of the victim's scalp ripping off and a sloppy quiet thud of her body falling to the ground plays. The title "Maniac" is displayed with a lower pitched non diegetic artificial sound and fades out with the camera's image.
Above: Point of view long shots.
At 02:33 - A non diegetic sound track plays using digital sounds of a melodic echoic drum, a rhythmic loud 'bow' sound and like a whirring sound in time with the initial drums which increases in volume. An almost synthesizer sound is played over top.
At 03:23 - The non diegetic score develops with a maraca sound while another synthesizer with a more robotic almost retro video game style sound plays in the background and gains volume. This quietens with a final digital ringing note (at 04:01) as the plot continues.
At 04:10 - We can hear the diegetic sounds of Judy on the phone and exiting the taxi.
At 04:22 - Compared to Judy loudly talking on the phone, when we are watching Zito about to cut the fuse box wires it is pretty much silent. This emphasises the sound of the fuse box blowing, which rings out at the end. This also allows us to understand the significance of doing this and its consequences it would have on the victim. The non diegetic ringing echo sound continues as we scan the corridors, this parallels the spooky dark setting and the impending death of Judy.
Above: Point of view close up shot.
At 04:50 - The ending of the call with the diegetic speech of "oh crap, the lights are out on my floor" develops the fear felt as Judy is vulnerable and now alone. There is a sudden opening of a door and some talking as neighbours exit, but apart from this the suspense created through the stalker's breaths keeps the audience on edge until confrontation.
From top to bottom left to bottom right: Point of view long shot, another point of view long shot and a point of view tracking shot.
At 05:42 - The breaths of Zito become all too loud and intimate and we assume are diegetic as Judy slowly turns around. The intimacy of a creepy stalker breathing and saying "please don't scream, you're so beautiful" increases our discomfort. This is also supported by the parallel non diegetic echoic ringing sound.
Above: A point of view close up shot.
At 06:00 - There are some sort of flashbacks shown with contrasting loud non diegetic sounds including a female gasping, muffled smashing of glass and echoes. These ring throughout the final scene where the knife is dislodged with another metal sound. Finally a digital non diegetic sound increase in volume and becomes layered with a piercing high pitch sound which increases in pitch. This continues as the diegetic sound of the victim's scalp ripping off and a sloppy quiet thud of her body falling to the ground plays. The title "Maniac" is displayed with a lower pitched non diegetic artificial sound and fades out with the camera's image.
The credits are presented in a small neat white font. This font glows around the edges with a yellow hue. This happens randomly but can be seen when text fades in and out onto the screen. The neon light can be linked to the bright lights of urban night life presented throughout the clip.
The only other font shown in this scene is the final film title. "Maniac" is suddenly shown in bold red capital letters. In contrast, to the earlier small font blending with the aesthetic of the bright lights in the dark urban setting, this title is more prominent and significant, especially with the context of Zito just killing someone. The contrasting colour as well as the short, snappy one word title signals danger and that the film is most likely a 'slasher'.
From top to bottom: Point of view extreme long shot and a point of view shot.
The only other font shown in this scene is the final film title. "Maniac" is suddenly shown in bold red capital letters. In contrast, to the earlier small font blending with the aesthetic of the bright lights in the dark urban setting, this title is more prominent and significant, especially with the context of Zito just killing someone. The contrasting colour as well as the short, snappy one word title signals danger and that the film is most likely a 'slasher'.
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