The Park Maniac seems on the surface to be an easy win. It’s based on a true story of a serial killer in Sao Paulo which means the groundwork was already set for a dump psychological thriller. Or perhaps, a captivating crime drama. Heck, even a biopic feature. Sadly, Prime’s latest film doesn’t even come close to doing any of that. Instead, this sluggish and dull movie ultimately becomes as forgettable as its uninspired protagonist.
So, as you can see, the story here is not exactly about the notorious Park Maniac, otherwise known as Francisco de Assis Pereira. What actually matters is a feisty journalist Elena who is fighting the toxic culture in her office while equally hellbent on being the one to catch our killer.
The killer’s backstory is pretty shocking but don’t expect any of that to be shown here. Rather, he is portrayed largely as a supporting character and we join him at the onset of his killing sprees. All that groundwork is painstakingly constructed prior, and then we get sort of tossed directly into the middle of his slaughter. In a way this feels like a deliberate move, especially if Elena’s message late on in the movie is anything to go by.
That message stems from the desire to empower women and the victim-focused narratives, radically steering attention away from the perpetrator. The problem is, with the oblivious framing of the movie, there is no way such a point makes sense. To be fair, there is no focus on the victims either. The film constantly shifts focus from Francisco stalking and systemically slaughtering these victims to living a normal lifestyle, to Elena collecting and analyzing clues to race against time and unraveling the identity of the killer before he makes his next move.
Pause for a moment and think about the pacing of the film for 1 hour and 40 minutes, the film felt as though it was dragging along, neglecting critical elements such as character development and pacing. To be blunt, Elena is boring, the way seems from my perspective, she is not even a genuine character in Francisco’s tale. There is no complexity to her character other than the very simplistic journey of an ethical journalism infuser who aspires to achieve more than sensationalist headlines.
But again, just to buttress that framing story, it’s perhaps best not to market this as a thriller aiming to zoom in on the heart of the story revolving around our Brazilian killer.
The loose narrative structure is incoherent with equally jarring stylistic choices. For instance, Francisco’s time on screen is peppered with overwhelming rock music that simply interrupts the film rather than adds to it. There is also an unnecessary musical montage 30 minutes into the film that is so out of place that it’s shocking.
In one still bizarre scene, Elena pauses a videotape of rollerbladers for no reason and goes to a whiteboard where she writes the names of each person who skated on the tape. The scene was designed for drama and added suspense, but it raises the question of why not just use a notepad instead. The answer is simply that it was done for show.
Francisco’s glaring hate-filled looks become too repetitive and are accompanied by his lack of flashbacks to his difficult past, suggesting he has no backstory. As a result, he’s left feeling underdeveloped and overly cliché.
The Park Maniac is without a doubt one of the most anticipated fails and might just be movie history’s biggest letdown. Sloppy editing and constantly shifting the narrative focus gives the impression that the movie was slapped together without a coherent vision. Those disappointed by mediocre films embedded in the endless library of low-tier streaming content will be left pondering what, exactly, is so disappointing.
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