I’ve never seen William Lustig’s 1980 slasher film Maniac, so the idea of a remake doesn’t mean much to me, but I’ve been pretty curious about it ever since it was announced that Elijah Wood had signed on to star. Let’s face it, he’s probably not the first guy you think of when it comes to playing serial killers who scalp women, which means it could either be an inspired choice or a misguided one. This week we finally have our first look at him in the film as a red band promo trailer has found its way online from Cannes, and it looks pretty twisted and disturbing.

Normally with remakes like this, one of the problems is that the new version is too glossy and loses the gritty, low budget feel of the original, but in this case that doesn’t seem to be a problem. Of course, it’s hard to tell if this is intentional because it’s more of a sales reel than an official trailer, which could explain why it feels a bit rough around the edges. Alexandre Aja (Piranha 3D, High Tension) co-wrote the screenplay and is also producing the film, but it is Franck Khalfoun (P2) who is sitting in the director’s chair. Maniac does not have a release date as of yet, but check out the NSFW trailer after the jump and see what you think.