2001 Maniacs

I bet Herschell Gordon Lewis, having just completed work on his second gore epic Two Thousand Maniacs, never once imagined that in roughly forty years his brainchild would be re-filmed and remade again. Instead of "the South will rise again, " it should be Herschell Gordon Lewis will rise again. Anyway, this film, like the original, has the happy town of Pleasant Valley as its setting: a town that magically reappears every 100 years on the anniversary of its destruction by Union soldiers during the Civil War only to have its hillbilly celebration of maiming, garroting, shivving, castrating, squeezing, quartering, barbecuing, decapitating, and so on of Yankee motorists in the nearby vicinity. Just like in the original, though much more bloodier and believable, nothing here is really frightening. Every gory scene is more like a punchline to a distasteful joke. Also, just like in the original, the South comes off looking like some barbaric civilization that is ages behind the more industrial North. The Southern stereotypes fly in this one though seem not to have the edge in the original film. What this film does have that the original does not are way better actors, lots and lots and lots of sexy women in lots and lots and lots of sexual situations, generous doses of humour(almost all of which were INTENDED), and a tongue firmly planted in cheek mood. Robert Englund plays Mayor Buckman to the hilt, even wearing an eye patch with the Confederate flag on it no less. Englund shows me here, as he has in other non-Freddy roles, that he is a versatile actor with a wide range. His Buckman has charm, grace, and dementia. Lin Shaye does an equally credible job playing Granny Boone(not to my knowledge in original). Everyone else is more than adequate working with this stuff. Johnny Legend and Scott Spiegel had me rolling as two wandering minstrels singing atrocious blue grass tunes with the most inane lyrics. And let's not forget the girls. The film has a bevy of beauties with a free and easy approach to being in front of the camera. Standouts(knockouts might be more appropriate) include Gina Marie Heeken, Bianca Smith, Wendy Kremer, and sultry Christa Campbell as the milk maid. Director Tim Sullivan knows exactly what he wants and goes right for it in this film. No high art here, just an appreciative group of filmmakers remaking a film I too would never have dreamt of being remade. The odd thing is that this film is far more watchable then the original. It has so much more going for it than the original - which does have some charms - don't get me wrong. Sullivan knows his audience and goes with the proverbial flow. He doesn't stray away from the shocking nor the easy, distasteful laugh(like when the black Yankee is presented as "dark" meat as just one example).

People who do not know the first movie ("Two thousand maniacs" Hershell Gordon Lewis 1964) may have a look.The others should not bother.The first movie was not only Old Dixie's revenge:it was also a spoof on Vincente MInnelli's "Brigadoon",a bloody one.It filled its quota of horror -for the time it was daring ,since we have seen worse- and ,more interesting,black humor.

What does the remake offer? A boring lecture -so boring the students are snoring- on the Civil War in case the audience would not be aware of how horrible that war was (was/is there a war which isn't ?I'd like to know);a party where the students are on the menu,nothing new under the sun;and lots and lots of sex,much more sex than in the Lewis version;one should note that the "heroes" are younger: in 1964,the victims ,if my memory serves me well,were already working,one of them was a schoolteacher.

Three college students decide to travel to Florida for some fun at Spring Break. After seeing a detour sign, they take the dirt road in hoping to get to their destination a little quicker. Soon they discover a little town called Pleasant Valley. Five more people show up right after them and decide to stay the night for some celebration.

2001 Maniacs sounds promising for the old school B-horror movie fans. A bunch of young college kids, go to this town and the residents decide to kill them and eat them. Crazy isn't it? Well, what should have been and what could have been is missing in 2001 maniacs. Call it a sequel or a remake of the 1964 film Two Thousand Maniacs, 2001 maniacs suffers from trying to be over the top but failing to do so. The deaths are good to watch and with a little bit more blood, then the fun time that is suppose to be had by this film could have been achieved. You're suppose to laugh with this movie and in some cases you do, but in others you are wondering why am I watching this?

What could have, what should have, is exactly what 2001 maniacs is. With a premise such as this film has, you would expect over the top gory funny and unique deaths. You do get these qualities in the deaths, but they are not anything that one would expect. When you are about to see a women lose all their limbs from horses running in opposite directions, you get excited a little bit, if you're into that sort of thing, but in Maniacs it losses it touch.

The goal of this film is to be a throw back to the old cheesy bad horror movies, and it achieves this goal. The dialogue is cheesy, the deaths are gory (although you'd expect more), there's nudity from young hot chicks, and of course the villains are crazy as hell, so crazy that you may even root for them in their evil goals. Some things you may question in the film, such as why would such a young and hot woman, known as Kat, be attracted to a southern hillbilly with awkward teeth, or even why the one character arms wrestles another to see who will give or receive in some homosexual sex. This film definitely pokes fun at the south, having some characters chase after animals with that twinkle of love in their eye.

Maniacs has a good build up but the delivery is kind of weak. The ending horrible and tries to take the film in a whole other direction. If there were a different ending then this film would have been graded a bit higher. I can see a future for Tim Sullivan in the horror genre, if he had some better material.

So how can I give this flick a recommendation, well it lies in the over the top performance from Robert Englund, who is the highlight of Maniacs. His role is so juicy and fun to watch that every time he isn't on screen you feel bored by the flick. I recommend this flick for fans of Englund and fans of the genre. If you're into some cheesy dialogue and violence just for the sake of violence, then 2001 Maniacs is right up your alley.

Those already familiar with the original will know what they've gotten themselves into as our main characters follow a bogus Detour sign—just after narrowly avoiding Justin and Professor Mambo, character favorites from CABIN FEVER who are trying to hitch a ride—and arrive in the town of Pleasant Valley, whose residents are hard at work preparing for their weekend "Guts and Glory Jubilee." Soon the Confederate knife fodder arrive with Yankee good looks and are declared "guests of honor" by the one-eyed Mayor Buckman, played pitch-perfect by everybody's favorite sadist, Robert (Freddy Krueger) Englund. But what else can you expect when there's a population of, you guessed it, 2001…maniacs, that is! What follows, surprisingly given our times and political climate, is refreshingly vulgar, completely un-PC and, much like the original, an expected excuse for extremely sadistic humor and gore. Where the first film now seems boring and slow, the new version is upbeat and well-paced. Happily and sadly, the first and only fully clothed female victim to get tied up and quartered by horses is the film's only waste of T in a movie overflowing with T&A. Many viewers may be offended by the black humor and straight-up racist jokes that pepper the film's dialogue, but those of you can rest assured that everyone gets their due by the end. It'll be interesting to see how the red states will react to such a searing and scabrous document of the South. Englund seems to imbue Mayor Buckman with a well-judged imitation of President Bush, and even the lives of his two sons in the film appear to closely ape those of the Bush daughters.

Longtime Lewis fans will be ecstatic that much, if not all, of his score from the original has been transferred to the new film by way of musical narrators Johnny Legend and his strumming sidekick Scott Spiegel. Somewhat in the vein of THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, these musical country bumpkins pop up from time to time, like Sullivan's version of a Greek Chorus, hinting at the dangers to soon befall our ethnically and morally diverse blue state victims. "The South will rise again!" The supporting cast is stocked with many fine new actors and veterans of the genre. Fans will enjoy the cool seething evil of Giuseppe Andrews (Fever's Deputy Winston) as he kills Yankee belles with kindness, and Lin Shaye (fast on her way to becoming a middle-aged scream queen after her role in the haunting DEAD END), who stars as Granny Boone, the murderous matriarch of Pleasant Valley. One day, this fine actress will hopefully be cast in a role that capitalizes on her real-life beauty and sassy charm; in the meantime, she here has a ball pushing the envelope, as when she sucks the red gore off a spear protruding from the gullet of a hapless victim! Newcomer Jay Gillespie evokes a REAL GENIUS or TOP GUN-era Val Kilmer with stern good looks and a thrill for the action around him. The rest of the MANIACS cast seem to be having fun with the bloody lowbrow horror and are in on the joke, all ready to "take one for the team" and die in a less-than-flattering manner. As each member is dispatched, you can tell they were having a great time taking it to the next level. This is a movie where "over the top" is just scratching the surface. Just ask Peaches, the Southern belle who wears a "retainer" that would make the shark in JAWS envious when she "services" a good ol' boy! (He doesn't last long.) By the third reel, characters are walking around town all alone for no good reason, so we know they aren't going to end up much better than their missing brethren. Then Sullivan and crew punch up the action a bit with a scene that doesn't necessarily match the vibe of everything we've seen thus far, but has a maggot-worthy moment that makes up for the switch in tone. If you're looking to get scared, this is not exactly the right film, but if you're familiar with Lewis and his brand of goremongering, you'll squirm, screech and then writhe with laughter. 2001 MANIACS has all the elements of a good time yet still raises a dialogue among viewers that not many have had the balls to address in horror, or film-making in general, since the '70s.

We get blood, boobs, gore, comedy, guys chasing sheep, kids killing cats and super hottie cousins "boning" each other! The comedy is actually funny…the gore is actually…well…gory! The T&A is top notch (its Christa Campbell guys!) and the acting was excellent.

Not only do we get a damn good horror film but we get a DVD that actually puts most "Special Editions" to shame! This release is packed with extras! I would like to point out to readers though that no matter how hard a DVD company tries to convince you…subtitles and closed captions are not bonus features.

I'd like to point out a few facts as well…for starters; Eli Roth is back to reprise his role from Cabin Fever as wonky drifter Justin (Eli Roth) and his good buddy Dr. Mambo (the dog) is back as well! Eagle eyed viewers may also spot Tim Sullivan hammering on a coffin and Scott Spiegel (Evil Dead 1 & 2, The Dead Next Door) as one of the hillbilly banjo singers that constantly wander about the movie! So, for those of you looking for a damn good film, run, don't walk, to your nearest Best Buy and purchase 2001 Maniacs. Don't hesitate!