www.momentumpictures.co.ukDir: Tim Sullivan
Cast: Robert Englund, Lin Shaye, Guiseppe Andrews, Jay Gillespie
Justin throws roadkill
they seduce teens for dinner
yes, the South will rise!
2001 Maniacs is the first release from Raw Nerve, the production company formed by Eli Roth, Scott Spiegel and Boaz Yakin, with a mission statement to release films that hark back to the glory days of the seventies and early eighties, all splatter, sleaze and exploitation. And judging on the evidence of this remake of Herschell Gordon Lewis’s Two Thousand Maniacs they know exactly what they’re doing. This is a late night gem, a guilty pleasure. A group of teens end up in the town of Pleasant Valley where they’re made guests of honour at the town’s jubilee celebrations by the eye-patch wearing Mayor (Robert Englund – never better). Of course this is just a set up for some sex and slaughter, as the teens are seduced and murdered in all manner of comedic ways for our enjoyment. 2001 Maniacs is light years away from being serious sophisticated horror, but all the more fun for it. It’s a bright, colourful, vibrant film, full of outrageous characters (check out Lin Shaye as Granny, the guy who hangs cats as a hobby, and Peaches, the girl with more than just braces on her teeth, and you’ll soon get the idea that this is no normal town), plenty of bare-breasted nudity, inventive deaths – designed to make you laugh and wince at the same time – and even a good old fashioned sing-a-long with the local band of ZZ Top-alikes. In addition to Cabin Fever’s Guiseppe Andrews (he played the ‘party man’ stoner sheriff), there’s also a witty cameo from Eli Roth, reprising his role as Justin, complete with his faithful friend, Dr Mambo. It’s safe to say that this won’t be troubling the Academy come February, but as a late night horror-comedy when you’ve sunk a few beers this is just the ticket. The South will rise again!
soulmining rating: ****
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