Customer Reviews

2001 Maniacs

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The film starts out like any other , basically a group of friends and fellow peers take a wrong detour and end up in strange southern town,where all the towns people are dressed as if they where stuck in a time-warp of the 1800s. Of course the travelers decide to stay the night with promises a grand celebration to be held shortly after. Sadly the group is unaware that they'll be the main course of the feast. It does'nt take long before members of group are seperated and picked off one at a time by the townies, each reulting in a horrific, gore-tastic death; speaking of which , one of my favorite deaths probaly have to be one of the first ones involving horses and the tearing of limbs. When the movie isn't focusing on the younglin's getting themselves killed, we're treated to an abundance of boobs and campy humor to keep the pace going. The original was slow paced and boring at times but that not the case here. When it all comes down to it, Maniacs kept its promise and delivers the goods, which should be enough to please us horror fans. Overall the promise of T&A and loads of gore were delivered. Added with the campy humor,Maniacs ends up as a fun and entertaining no-brainer,gore filled ride that horror fans should not miss. I say check it out!

Re-making '2000 Maniacs' a minor 'classic' of sorts was risky business but Tim Sullivan knows his gore and he succeeds in spades. Maybe it was the extra maniac that did the trick. The plot is basically the same and other reviewers have already detailed it and while the killings were more gruesome and convincing than before I was curious about where the ghostly Southern belles got their Fredericks of Hollywood bras, bustiers and undies. But they sure looked good so who cares?

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 filmmaking in general, since the '70s.

This has got to be the most crass horror flick to ever come from a studio other than Troma. I loved it. While watching this last night, I thought to myself, "I have not enjoyed a horror movie this much in quite sometime". Plot....College kids on their way to Florida for spring break get side tracked in a town call Pleasant Valley. Nice town. The people take them in, give them rooms and food, etc. Sounds nice doesn't it? Yeah....except for one thing....the townspeople are raving, lunatic cannibals with a very big appetite. Full of stereotypical characters and black humor, blood, guts, squishy heads, and hot girls. Not to mention Robert Englund,and, for once, some of the most original kills I've seen in a long time. Easily offended? Don't watch. Not a fan of guts? Don't watch. Hate gratuitous nudity? Skip it. I, however, love all of these things. I recommend this to horror fans and anyone in general who likes to watch something different. And don't get all pissy when you hear the few black jokes. I'm black.....it's funny.....get over it. If you can deal with Dave Chapelle(funny as all hell), you should not have any problem with this. Turn off your brains for a minute and enjoy a highly entertaining, refreshingly adult horror flick.

My selection for this year's Best Horror Film is a dark horse, 2001 MANIACS, a remake of a 1964 horror film that courted controversy. While sticking to the original story, the movie declines to pontificate: messages (racism, jingoism) are diluted within a six-pack libation. Circumventing the original, director Tim Sullivan cues the viscera not as the film's raison d'etre but instead yields to Tex Avery. Sure, there's entrails and decapitations, but Sullivan-who could have leaned on today's technology for clinical realism-opts to tail the Road Runner: 2001 MANIACS is a hybrid of Grand Guignol, ersatz Tennessee Williams and drive-in movie. Unlike the already fossilized movies of last summer, Sullivan forfeits formula and reinvents "splatter." Behind the film's cheerful sadism, and the cynical fade-out, there's a suggestion Pleasant Valley's ghosts will never be exorcised-some of them, in fact, have crossed over to the Six O'clock News.

How can someone not love this movie? This movie was killer from
beginning to end! Robert Englund, some cool young actors and some
extremely hot women all together with some super cool killings! Plus
you get cameos from one of the best killers ever... Jason! Actually
Kane Hodder that played Jason. There was another cameo that you just
had to appreciate. It was by Eli Roth. Tim Sullivan did a killer job on
this. I wont have a spoiler but all I will say is that this was one of
the best endings ever!!! 2001 Maniacs is definitely the best
horror/slasher movies of the year! Hopefully there will be a follow up
to this movie!

Loving horror movies and the one of the genre's greatest actors, Robert England, I decided to check this flick out. From what I read it sounded pretty interesting and worth it being seen. I rented this movie and was fully satisfied and happy. This film was apparently a remake of an much older version. I have not seen this original and didn't know what to expect.
This is an extremely well made action, gory, and tension filled movie that keeps some kind of attractment of the audience on whether it be shocking and unbeliveable gore and violence or hot and steamy sex scenes. The story was great and the movie had no cheap or cheesy look or feel to it at all, and after all it is from the best horror prodcution company of all time, Lions Gate!!! The movie was somehow involved with Eli Roth, diretor of Hostel and Cabin Fever and did have an Eli Roth-feel to it. This is a must see for any horror fan!

Eli Roth's newly created production company, Raw Nerve, made 2001 Maniacs its first project. After much difficulty actually getting the film released, whether in theaters or straight to video, it finally hit the shelves of video stores around America at the end of March. I can definitely see why the film ended up being a direct-to-video feature. The overall quality of the film definitely leaves much to be desired, but the reason that I enjoyed the movie so much was because of how aware it seems to be of itself. Throughout the whole film, it maintains a lighthearted tone that makes the film enjoyable to watch. When a movie is made this cheap, and goes straight to video, odds are, it isn't quality enough to be taken seriously. That is, at least, the case for almost all horror films that don't get to theaters. That is what makes 2001 Maniacs different from films such as Death Tunnel. The movie doesn't care if you just have a good time watching it, in fact, it seems that the filmmakers wanted that rather than actually trying to scare the audience, which is almost impossible when you don't have the budget to do huge special effects or shocking violence. The violence in the film is interesting enough to make the deaths of each of the innocent travelers enjoyable. While the gore isn't even close to must stuff that I have seen recently, the film seems to go for style over substance, and not just in the realm of violence, but it seems to be stylistically inclined in every aspect of the movie, and this also makes it a much better film.

Do you really even need to know the plot? Not really, but I'll give a quick overview anyway. Eight people set out for Daytona Beach on spring break. In Georgia, though, the group gets sidetracked by a detour, and ends up being the "guests of honor" in the town of Pleasant Valley for their annual "Guts 'n Glory Jubilee," complete with an out-of-this-world barbecue. Robert Englund is the leader of the town, and, I can't believe I'm saying this, but he churns out an amazing, hilarious performance as the old southern gentleman who also happens to be an insance cannibal. There are a few classic lines in the film, and that is only because the script is actually really well done. With the entrance of a black man, chinese woman, and a gay man into the town for the celebration, the viewer is treated to a barrage of socially conscious humor that really makes the movie thoroughly funny. I don't really know if the filmmakers were trying to say something, but I don't really care, the film is funny, and the actors in the main roles do a great job of emulating this crazy, backwoods southern town full of a bunch of crazy, murderous hillbillies. If all those reasons weren't enough to rent the film, those of you Eli Roth fans out there will be treated to a special cameo within the first ten minutes of the film. Let's just say that those of you who are familiar with Cabin Fever will be treated to a nice little reunion with one of the best characters from that movie.

In my recent review of Death Tunnel, I stated that I was basically done watching horror films that went straight to video. After watching 2001 Maniacs, however, I have decided not to announce a widespread condemnation of all straight-to-video horror films. I will only watch them, I have decided, if the films, like 2001 Maniacs, maintain a lighthearted tone and just try to entertain the viewer, rather than trying to scare them, which is pretty much impossible for any avid horror fan that would care enough to rent 2001 Maniacs in the first place. I hope that Raw Nerve gets a chance for real success in Hollywood, because Eli Roth is brilliant, and his mind needs to be the force behind as many future horror films as possible.

This is simply one of the most entertaining horror films that i have ever seen! It's got a perfect balance of scares,comedy,nudity & most importantly great gory kills. Tim Sullivan's remake of Herschell Gordon Lewis's classic is a homage paying masterpiece & i'm so happy to finally add it to my collection. I've been looking foward to seeing this one for a while now & i'm very stoked to say that it was better than i had hoped & well worth the wait. Great movie!

Robert Englund plays the homocidal Mayor of a southern town "George W." Buckman, who presides over a weekend of mayhem at the expense of northern visitors unlucky enough to wander into the town's annual "festival".

Lots of beautiful people being killed in ways never before seen on screen. More a comedy than a horror film.

I loved it.