Changing this pace with this week’s pick.

It’s about a camera crew that follows around two serial killers who attempt to kill sixteen victims in twenty four hours.

This one is a little more artsy than some of the other shorts I’ve featured- it’s in black and white and all of the dialogue is in French. That’s about as artsy as you can get.

However, there’s some interesting history with this film.

First off, it’s based on the Kid Cudi song “Maniac” off the album Man in the Moon Pt. 2. Kid Cudi actually stars in this movie as one of the serial killers (you’ll never guess which one). He also did all the music, which really shouldn’t come as a surprise.

The film was directed and written by Shia LaBeouf before he went completely insane. He even has a brief cameo at the very end.

What I find so interesting about this film is that it’s an interpretation of a song. I love seeing art beget art and I think it’s very cool that Kid Cudi had a direct hand in making this movie.

To me, Maniac takes the genre of the music video a step further. Instead of focusing on the music and lyrics, it’s reinterpreting things by taking the themes and feelings the song embodies and communicates them through another medium, not necessarily featuring the song at all. It’s a kind of translation and it’s certainly something you don’t see every day.

Shia and Kid Cudi did a great job with this short film.