Elijah Wood serial killer movie Maniac banned in New Zealand

‘The Lord Of The Rings’ star Elijah Wood’s horror debut, ‘Maniac’, has been banned in New Zealand after government officials dubbed the film “injurious to the public good”.

The movie, in which Wood plays a serial killer who stalks lone women and uses their scalps to decorate his mannequin collection, has now been restricted to a limited film festival screening and for strict academic viewing only.

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Directed by French movie maker Frank Khalfoun, ‘Maniac’ is a remake of the cult 1980 slasher of the same name. It was released in UK back in March to critical acclaim.

Wood ditched the Frodo Baggins friendliness to play psychopathic Frank Zito, with The Guardian calling the movie “surprisingly excellent” despite its graphic violence and disturbing sexual nature.

Speaking on behalf of the New Zealand International Film Festival, the only event at which ‘Maniac’ will be legally screened in the ‘Rings’ Trilogy’s homeland, programmer Ant Thimpson said:

"The OFLC decision says that the film may be 'injurious to the public good' if it goes out on a wider release. It's saying that the POV [point of view] nature of the film mixed with the psychopathic behaviour of actor Elijah Wood is more than disturbing, that it's potentially dangerous in the hands of the wrong person (that is, a non-festival goer).

"I can see the thought process behind it but I think it's rather a big leap to make,” he added. “I think it's interesting to see where the OFLC draws a line on this dangerous POV material because it could also segue into a discussion about the graphically realistic and violent first-person video games."

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‘Maniac’ will now only be available for academic viewing in NZ by students over the age of 18 and on media and film studies courses only. It will not be released on DVD.

Have you seen ‘Maniac’? Should it have been banned? Let us know in the comments below.