Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964)

This follow up to the seminal Blood Feast seems to be regarded by many as the best film that H. G. Lewis ever directed. Personally I can't agree with this view seeing as I just can't see past Blood Feast, a film of much more excessive gore, belly laughs and sheer trash value. That said, Two Thousand Maniacs! ain't bad. It's a more expansive film, although anyone familiar with Lewis's output will know that this is a very relative statement because despite having a more elaborate set-up this is still an ultra-cheap drive-in movie. What keeps it interesting though is the combination of inventive murder set-pieces, demented humour and an overall deranged feel. Its Southern town of Pleasantville gives the movie a sense of place which adds nice detail as well. Not only that but there is also the highly infectious title song 'The South's Gonna Rise Again!' by The Pleasant Valley Boys. Yeeeeha!Like all of Lewis's other gore films this one has a curious mixed tone. It combines broad comedy with pretty mean-spirited violence, usually in the same scene. It's a bizarre thing to see and it gives Lewis's movies an edgy sensibility that remains compelling no matter how unrealistic the gore might actually be. His films are all comedies as much as horror films, maybe even more so. There's never really any suspense in the build up to the acts of violence. They're just presented in front of us in a way that must've shocked early 60's audiences due to their draw-dropping audacity. This one could maybe have done with a little more carnage for it to have been entirely satisfying but there sure is enough here for trash movie enthusiasts to lap up.

Two Thousand Maniacs, Hershell Gordon Lewis's demented take on the legend of Brigadoon, doesn't quite do justice to the ingeniuity of its concept, but still qualifies as an enjoyable slice of low budget cult horror (and one of Lewis's most watchable films) thanks to spirited performances from an enthusiastic cast (ie., they can't act, but they give it all they've got), a bucket or two of gore, and, believe it or not, even some memorably toe-tappin' songs from bluegrass musicians The Pleasant Valley Boys!The film sees a group of travellers tricked into taking a detour that leads them to the Southern town of Pleasant Valley, where they are invited to take part in the town's Centennial celebrations by the impossibly cheery Mayor Buckman (Jeffrey Allen). Once settled into their hotel rooms, which have been laid on for free by the townsfolk, each visitor is lured away to take part in a special celebratory event that ultimately leads to their gory demise.Suspecting that something is amiss, pretty Terry Adams (June 1963 Playboy Playmate, Connie Mason) and her hitch-hiker companion Tom White (William Kerwin) make a bid for freedom, closely followed by the citizens of Pleasant Valley, who are actually civil war ghosts seeking revenge for their massacre by Yankee soldiers one hundred years earlier.Not only does Lewis deliver his trademark splatter and tongue-in-cheek campy humour, but he also manages to conjure up quite a bit of atmosphere and even some tension, proving that he is capable of more than just grossing out his audience. Those looking to be grossed out, however, should not be disappointed with the film, which features an arm removed by axe, a man being pulled apart by horses, another man pushed inside a barrel pierced by nails and rolled down a hill, and a woman squished by a huge boulder.

Writer/director/cinematographer Hershell Gordon Lewis is considered by bad movie fans to be one of the few "autors" in film history to have equaled or at least come close to equaling the abysmal work of Ed Wood, Jr.. While it's debatable which was worse or if another small-time film maker (such as Ray Dennis Steckler or Al Adamson) was the worst, no one in the know would argue that Lewis was a brilliant film maker! However, even the most inept can occasionally get lucky and TWO THOUSAND MANIACS is Lewis' moment in the sun. Unlike previous films such as BLOOD FEAST (which were all amazingly bad), there was enough good about TWO THOUSAND MANIACS that I actually recommend you watch it--particularly because it proves substantial budgets or consistently good acting aren't necessary to make a decent film! The film begins with two very stereotypical hillbilly idiots tricking two cars full of Yankees off the highway and into their town. There the locals declare that these outsiders are their guests of honor for a centennial celebration and they are convinced to stay. Now the audience knows this is a very bad idea, but the six folks don't yet suspect that these hicks mean to do them great bodily harm. Of course, that might also be because they didn't see the folks running around town with nooses in preparation for their arrival! One by one the Yanks are brutally killed and the ways they did it were pretty clever and the gore was amazingly realistic for 1964. It's amazing to think that with a budget of $46.28 that they were able to achieve these effects, as the blood actually looked like blood and the killing was quite shocking for the mid-1960s.Two of the six are reasonably bright and guess what is in store, so the last part of the film consists of showing their efforts to leave this deathtrap. Oddly, despite the budget, the acting of these two was pretty good (particularly William Kerwin) and the last 15 minutes of the film turned out to be by far the best. There were several wonderful twists and turns that showed Lewis could actually write a clever script and despite the stupid hillbilly acting earlier in the film, the film was surprisingly good. I won't ruin it, but it sure was nice to see that things only improved as the film progressed. Plus, every time I thought that the movie SHOULD have ended sooner, the additional portions kept building on an excellent "Twilight Zone" style script.By the way, the film offended many when it debuted--though it also became a cult favorite. The gore and offensive portrayal of Southerners as crazy morons must have made many at the drive-ins have heart attacks! I sure wish I could have been there to see it!

Where to start, well, the southern accents are bad, plain and simple, in fact, the best portrayed southern accent was by Tom White (William Kerwin), whom was, in the film, simulating the twang in attempt to phone out of Plesantville. Additionally, Lester MacDonald (Ben Moore) and Rufus Tate (Gary Bakeman) gave horrible portrayals. Rufus being in a pressed clean shirt, an obviously new hat and perfectly white teeth, not to mention a ghastly attempt at a southern drawl. Coupled with Lester, whose character made a more valiant attempt at being the country bumpkin, wearing overalls and covered in dirt. However, Moore's overacting was enough to make your teeth itch. In addition, the audio is bad, the dialogue sounds as if the players are shouting in a small quonset hut (although, the sound track is awesome and fitting). That being said, believe it or not, I enjoyed the movie. The hokiness seemed to fit and some of the scenes of gore were great. Guy cuts woman's thumb while showing her his knife's sharpness. To resolve the matter, he cuts off her thumb. Things obviously out of hand (no pun intended), brings the bleeding, crying woman to the town mayor where they cut off her arm, in spite of her thumb (pun intended), priceless and silly, in a backwoods, Deliverance kind of way. In one scene, the troupe of maniacs separate husband and wife David Wells (Michael Korb) and Beverly Wells (Yvonne Gilbert). After some pressuring, you see David being lead up a hill where there is a yellow barrel with the confederate flag affixed to the surface. The barrel is on its side and without top or bottom. They tell David that is it a tradition to have a Yankee crawl through the barrel before it is rolled (you can see where this is going). Naturally he resists, however, they coerce/bully him to travel through, and as you can guess, once inside the barrel, they hold him there. Although, before the barrel is pushed down the gently sloping mound, the mayor produces a hammer and some wicked looking long nails which he then pounds into the barrel. Needless to say, David didn't make it through the ordeal. This was sinister indeed, I found myself proclaiming the proverbial "No Way". Another gruesome demise was when John Miller (Jerome Eden) was Quartered (pulled apart by four horses). Speaking of this, which I found a little misplaced. After the quartering, the group that was once elated, became sullen, after an uncomfortable silence, Lester said something along the lines of "You know what happens to those that don't follow through" this didn't fit, no harm though, the scene was quickly recovered. The movie continues in an expected way with the Hero and Heroine narrowly escaping after the usual cat and mouse. Beverly Wells, is smashed by a boulder that is propped up and rigged to drop in the fashion you may see with a carnival dunk tank. There is an epic twist though, that I enjoyed very much and it is here that I will stop, I feel that in this case, to give it away, would make it a little less enjoyable. I will state that the remake with Robert Englund is very good, adhering to the original interpretation and incorporates more humor (without ruining the feel). The remake also had a superior set, where the original utilized a more modern town that didn't fit. In addition, 2001 Maniacs expounded on the ending's twist, in a way that I thought improved the film. We can't discount though, the plain creepiness of some of the characters in the original, I got the feeling that these people, really were homicidal inbred yolkels. Happy Horrors