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Yesterday, Shia LaBeouf uploaded a short film to YouTube called Maniac, which is basically a fake documentary about two serial killers played by the rappers Cage and Kid Cudi. I say “fake documentary” and not “mockumentary,” because mockumentary, at least to me, suggests that it’s going to be funny and boy oh boy this is not that. Not that it’s trying to be. Shia LaBeouf definitely wanted this to be intense and creepy and disturbing, and it probably would be if, you know, it didn’t star two rappers and wasn’t directed by Shia LaBeouf. “Oh, is Kid Cudi for real a murderer now and someone made a documentary about it?” No. There is such a thing as the willful suspension of disbelief and then there is a short film starring Cage and Kid Cudi directed by Shia LaBeouf. Separate. Of course, on top of all the questions raised by making an earnest short film about two serial killers, it is even more problematic that the film is just a blatant rip-off of the 1992 Belgian film Man Bites Dog. Like, it is such a rip-off that Cage and Kid Cudi SPEAK FRENCH in it. It makes you wonder what’s going on with Shia LaBeouf. Is he OK? Does he have anyone to talk to? You would think that if he had someone to talk to he could have said “Hey, I was thinking about just straight-up ripping off an internationally famous and innovative movie from 1992 for no ostensible reason, should I?” and the person he was talking to could say, “No.”
Anyway, Shia LaBeouf’s Maniac, after the jump:
SOMEBODY CALL AN AMBULANCE! SHIA LABEOUF IS BEING WEIRD AND ARTISTICALLY LAZY!
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You’re the “Man Bites Dog”-biting man now, dawg!
I’m very glad to see Shia The Beef is still the worst. Some things never change.
you know who else i’m worried about? Cage and Kid Cudi…stop hanging out with Louis Stevens, guys. its really not doing anything for your street cred.
that’s still a thing in hip hop right? i really hope it is.
trying to impress white women is the new trying to impress black men
I was hoping LaBeouf would give us a meatier piece of work than this.
“Challenge accepted, LaBeouf. Phyllis, call me a car, I need to go to the Dildo store, immediately. I need to make… art.” — James Franco.
“So what? I work in Hollywood. Ripping off older movies is what we do!” -Shia LaBeouf
“This has been going on for ages. Did you know that Sophocles based Electra on the artwork he saw on an amphora in Thebes? True story.” – Shia LaBeouf
Sorry, Bradley Cooper’s Reservoir Dogs was way better.
Logically, this film makes no sense. Maybe “Man Bites Dog” makes a better case of it, but:
1) Why would these guys follow around serial killers? It makes them accessories to all of these murders.
How did the film makers expect NOT to be killed?
2) For what were they filming these for. They couldn’t very will show it to anybody, they’d be incriminated on film.
3) Same for the murderers. Why have their murders on film? Especially when not wearing any kind of identity protection.
4) How have they not been caught? How many people have called the cops on them?
5) Why would you wait until someone had reached a street light to strangle them. Do it in the dark!
6) Same for the open area killer! Like NO ONE is going to be walking through there?
7) How do you not shut the door after using a shotgun to shoot someone?! Wouldn’t someone hear it anyway? Wouldn’t at least some suspicion be roused?
9) French?
10) Shia LaBeouf?
11) *gunshot*
(Number 8 was my “cool guy” bullet.)
Yeah I’m worried about LaBeouf too. Lucky Ned got him good.
“That Picture is TOO big” – this guy
I like that the top 20% of the picture contributes nothing. It’s like a guy said, “You know what I like to do at night? It’s paint the top of my head black, and walk around wearing a hat brim.”
When I was in 2nd grade we started writing short stories. My favorite books at the time were “The 11th hour” and “Encyclopedia Brown.” Consequently, all of the stories I wrote were blatant rip-offs of them. “The 7th hour,” “Dictionary David,” “The 10th hour.” I was convinced that they were completely original, as the hour/reference book was different. I feel like that’s how Shia is right now. “But no! It’s totally original! There’s two killers instead of one!”
I would love to read Dictionary David. I also was a huge EncycloBro fan. He made a contraption that could make your bed for you, which I tried to recreate. I ended up just taping string to my sheets and pulling them through metal washers on the side of my bed. Needless to say: a huge failure.
Encyclopedia Bro could be the modern update if anyone knew what an Encyclopedia was.
Wikipedia Bro? maybe…
My character was Thesaurus Blue. Instead of saying “I think I solved the crime,” he’d say “I contemplate that I’ve elucidated the malfeasance,” a technique that would later make William Faulkner a very famous man.
So with Shia now officially on the list of former Disney stars who’ve gone completely batfuck crazy, the race is on to determine which teen sensation will flip their shit next.
My money’s on Dylan Sprouse.
Man, even the scene with the kid and the toy gun. not to mention the terrible French accents. Why do it if you’re not going to actually commit to it?
I’m thinking about this too hard. Guys, I’m worried about me now.
You know who’s pissed about this? This guy:
Totally off topic, but, guys. what’s up with Topher Grace?
That serial killer looks SO happy at 4:46 that I can’t help be pleased for him. Now THAT is acting!
It actually makes sense in that Shia Labiawulf has directed Cage videos before. Also that Cage and Kid Cudi made a song together called “Maniac”, which isn’t necessarily about serial killers, but it is about a Maniac. Maybe this is leading up to an actual “Maniac” video. And we should all be aware how much weed all three of them smoke. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX3NOeioQxs