New Zealand Bans Elijah Wood Slasher Film ‘Maniac’

This year’s reboot of Maniac starring Elijah Wood has been the most effective horror film this year as it haunted us for days after the first viewing. For fans of the genre, seeing Wood in his psychopathic turn is worth a watch.

Those who may not be able to see it are truly missing out on a performance worth watching. Unfortunately there’s a country of people who may not be able to see Elijah Wood’s terrifying performance in Maniac, that sees him scalping women alive for his own twisted mannequin fantasies.

It’s being reported that New Zealand has banned the film Maniac from being shown in the country. The Office of Film and Literature Classification has banned the film from a general viewing in New Zealand. According to the report Maniac is not allowed to be shown outside of the film festivals. More importantly this ruling means that the film also can’t be distributed for a DVD release either.

Maniac is a reboot of William Hustig’s grindhouse-styled 1980 cult classic film. This 2012 reboot is directed by Franck Khalfoun of P2, Wrong Turn at Tahoe, and High Tension.

The film is set to screen at the New Zealand International Film Festival, which will be running from July 16 to August 11.

The reason given for the ban was stated by programmer for the New Zealand festival, Ant Timpson. Timpson gave the official statement, which declared that, “the POV 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-festival-goer.”

Not everyone thinks this is a good idea. Neil Foley, who works for Monster Pictures, Australia’s distributor, said about the ruling:

“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.”

What do you think about Maniac’s banning?