2001 Maniacs (DVD)

You'd have thought, by now, that if American students only learn one thing in college, it's never to take a detour or short cut down dirt tracks when driving. Apparantly not !
As their seimester comes to an end, three college guys, Anderson Lee (Jay Gillespie), Cory Jones (Matthew Carey), and Nelson Elliot (Dylan Edrington), plan on heading down to Daytona Beach for Spring Break. After a break from driving, they wake up to find the road ahead ...
...a narrow dirt track.
Before long, the trio arrive in the town of Pleasant Valley - a sleepy 19th century town, and are readily greeted by one-eyed Mayor Buckman (Robert Englund) and the townsfolk who are preparing to celebrate "The Guts and Glory Jubilee" - an annual event commemorating a historic event in the American Civil War - and all are dressed in costumes from the era. As Confederates, the town welcomes the Yankee students ... more

You'd have thought, by now, that if American students only learn one thing in college, it's never to take a detour or short cut down dirt tracks when driving. Apparantly not !
As their seimester comes to an end, three college guys, Anderson Lee (Jay Gillespie), Cory Jones (Matthew Carey), and Nelson Elliot (Dylan Edrington), plan on heading down to Daytona Beach for Spring Break. After a break from driving, they wake up to find the road ahead closed, and a hastily errected "Detour" sign diverting traffic up a narrow dirt track.
Before long, the trio arrive in the town of Pleasant Valley - a sleepy 19th century town, and are readily greeted by one-eyed Mayor Buckman (Robert Englund) and the townsfolk who are preparing to celebrate "The Guts and Glory Jubilee" - an annual event commemorating a historic event in the American Civil War - and all are dressed in costumes from the era. As Confederates, the town welcomes the Yankee students with open arms by making them their special guests of honour for the celebrations.
As the students are debating whether or not to accept the invitation, another car arrives containing two gorgeous girls whom the trio had met earlier that day and a male friend. This, obviously, seriously sways their decision as they say "We'll stay if you will".
Just as it looks as though the party is complete, a motorcycle pulls up carrying Malcolm (Mushond Lee) and Leah (Bianca Smith) - a black African American and an Asian girl. Despite their initial reservations, (the Confederates are know for their "dislike" of non-white people), Mayor Buckman agrees that they too can join in... "The more the merrier".

The group settle in to a fantastic home cooked meal, prepared by Granny Boone (Lyn Shaye), as the townsfolk prepare for the following days events.
However it soon becomes apparent that all is not how it seems as the group begin to disappear one by one - each facing an agonising fate...

The cast list is headed up by Robert Englund, of "A Nightmare On Elm Street" fame. As you would expect from an actor of this caliber, he takes on the role of Mayor Buckman with ease - absorbing the character and amplifying the role. He is both charming, funny and psychotic... often all at the same time ! Granny Boone is portrayed by Lin Shaye, who is a fantastic actress with movies such as "Critters", "Project: ALF" and "Dumb and Dumber" to her name. For me, however, she will always be remembered as Roy's cringeworthy landlady in "Kingpin". In "2001 Maniacs". Again, Shaye's performance is top notch, and you can tell that she had a lot of fun in the role - in fact you can tell that the whole cast had a great deal of fun.
Another notable performance comes from Giuseppe Andrews, who plays charming and charismatic Harper Alexander. He appears the perfect gentleman, whilst transforming into the perfect villian.

"2001 Maniacs" is actually a remake of a 1964 movie, "Two Thousand Maniacs", the original being written and directed by legendary horror meister Herschell Gordon Lewis, who also directed movies such as "She Devils On Wheels", "Wizard Of Gore" and "Blood Orgy".
This new version is directed by Tim Sullivan, who follows the original storyline very closely, but makes some small changes to appeal to todays modern horror fans. It's difficult to know where the extra "maniac" in the title comes from, but speculation suggests that it is a you girl who gleefully dissects animals just for fun.
The fact that Sullivan decided to stick to the original story is enhanced by the way he has chosen to reflect the horror genre of the 60's and 70's too. Many horror movies pre-1980's were designed to shock and outrage the audience with blood and gore rather than actual horror, and Sullivan has captured this atmosphere spot on. The movie is not scary at all, but there is enough blood and guts to keep any horror fan more than happy. As well as this, the director has decided to be unashamadly politically incorrect as were many film makers from this era. This is apparant when the African-American is told to "wait one cotton-picking moment", and is later referred to as "dark meat". This humour, of course, may offend some viewers, however it fits in well with the general look, feel and other dark humour in the film.
Another classic feature of horror films from the 60's and 70's was the abundance of naked flesh... and I'm pleased to report that "2001 Maniacs" does not fail to live up to expectations. The movie is crammed full of beautiful girls who are not at all modest, and provide plenty of entertainment when there is not a nasty death on screen... and sometimes when there is !
"2001 Maniacs" is not a serious horror film, but rather a movie made for horror fans - in much the same way that "Snakes On A Plane" was made for its fans. It resembles the original "Nightmare On Elm Street", (and not just because Robert "Freddy Kruger" Englund heads up the cast), mixing dark humour with plenty of blood, guts and gore. Hence, it will certainly appeal to fans of the early 80's slasher movies.

The movie is peppered with so many memorable moments, and so many are stereotypical images of life in the "Deep South". Look out for the hillbilly who's in love with a sheep (you'll often see him chasing after her with his trousers at half-mast !), and the lovely kissing cousins !! There are also many memorable lines that will probably go down in movie history. One of my personal favourites was a fatherly chat between Rufus and Mayor Buckman...

Rufus - "Now. Daddy. Daddy, don't mind Lester none. I got full confidence in him."
Mayor Buckman - "Son, one time I had full confidence in a fart. Shit all over myself."

The soundtrack is largely provided by two musical minstrels. In a very similar vein to "There's Something About Mary", these two characters frequently pop up with a musical interlude, often signifying what is about to happen in the scene. Both entertaining and amusing, this is a welcome addition to the movie.

Overall, the movie needs to be watched in the context is was designed - with an overall appreciation of the genre and with a very good sense of humour ! The movie will almost certainly appeal more to male, rather than female, viewers, and is ideally watched over a couple of beers and snacks. Whilst not very original, and very predictable, it is extremely entertaining.
And the great news is, when the closing credits roll and you are left wanting more, Sullivan is currently filming a sequel with the imaginatively titled, "2001 Maniacs: Beverly Hellbillys", due for release next year !!! 

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