Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 47% (Critics) / 52% (Audience)
Directed By: Franck Khalfoun
Written By: Alexandre Aja and Grégory Levasseur
Starring: Elijah Wood, Nora Arnezeder, America Olivo
Studio: IFC Midnight

Synopsis: As he helps a young artist with her upcoming exhibition, the owner of a mannequin shop’s deadly, suppressed desires come to the surface. – (Source)

The Good:
The use of first person POV was an effective filming trick that made the already ominous proceedings a million times more creepy. It was quite unsettling to be put in the place of the movie’s killer. I also liked the way that the POV would switch to a more conventional angle at the height of Frank’s murders. It was effective but jarring.
To his credit Elijah Wood managed to pull of a pretty disturbing performance despite not actually being seen on camera all that much. Just through voice acting and the occasional shot of his face in reflection was able to convey the complete mania that had overtaken the character.

The Bad:
There was never one second where Wood’s Frank seemed even remotely normal so how he was able to cultivate such a deep friendship with Nora Arnezeder’s Anna was just about the most improbable thing about this movie.
There also was this bizarre way that all of Frank’s victims seemed to completely become brain dead buffoons who did everything in their power to make it easier for Frank to murder them.

The Ugly:
There is just an unrelenting air of sadism that barely lets up from the start if this movie right to the end credits. And I am no shrinking violet that can’t take this type of subject matter but even I was kind of hoping for things to lighten up a bit.

Final Verdict: A bleak and relentless bit of horror that does some pretty original things with storytelling that counterbalances some of the more hard to swallow elements of the film. Also features a really good performance by Elijah Wood in a part that lets him stretch his acting muscles against type.

Grade: B-