Two Thousand Maniacs Reviews

Herschell Gordon Lewis' Two Thousand Maniacs! may be low in the gore department, but the story is completely bonkers. A group of southern folk invite people who are passing through town to their annual festival - only to later kill them in some ridiculous ways and eat them afterwards at a BBQ. I actually like stuff like Blood Feast more than I do this. I'm not sure if it's because of the amount of gore in that film compared to this one, but it just seems much more fun than this one. Not that this one isn't enjoyable, but it has some slow areas with character build-up that doesn't go anywhere. The ending is also an obvious conclusion way before you get there to see it. It's all bad in the good way, but mediocre when you look at the rest of Lewis' work.

I was surprised that this wasn't as gory as his other movies. The story is good, though, I really liked the ending most of all. As usual the actors aren't great, but they try hard. Overall this was a pretty good movie, if only it didn't shy away from the gory parts.

much better than blood feast and more of a straight up comedy film. awesome banjo soundtrack :D

Horror Not to Miss List Commentary:This middle movie of Herschell Gordon Lewis' Blood trilogy offers a great contrast of the grotesque with large celebration. The acting gets a bit annoying, and any gore hound will complain that their isn't enough blood on the screen, but I think what is there and what is implied is sufficient. I get tired of the victims wandering about befuddled and acting poorly in a "middle of a Twilight Zone episode" sort of way, but it pays off when those scenes cut to a killing ritual occuring simultaneously on the other side of town. Don't waste your time with the over-gored and shitty remake '2001 Maniacs' until you've watched Lewis' hugely influential piece.
"So Fucked Up" highlight:
the barrel roll

A black comedy as a group of city folks end up as part of a small-town annual celebration, where they become victims in the events. Hillbilly humour and surprisingly gorey, albeit fake. The deaths are creative and interesting. It feels very explotative but offers cheap demented cruel fun.

I watched this because I enjoyed the sequel/remake called 2001 Maniacs and had never seen the original it was based on. Many scenes are the same with more gore in the remake. However, even though tame by today's standards, I imagine the original 2000 Maniacs was shocking in 1964. It is more of a comedy and set the standard for many of the future horror comedies and for that I appreciate it's overall cheese factor but still took a bit for me to get through it. Watch it for what it is, an early "stab" at hillbilly humor with some interesting kills thrown in for good measure. Don't take it seriously because it sure doesn't either.

Caught this as a TCM wee-hours double feature on Halloween along with 1963's "Blood Feast," this film's immediate directorial predecessor. Better production value and far less blood/gore than the latter. Still it was surely pretty gory for drive-in goers in 1965.

A pack of over-the-top, campy swamp-goobers who haven't really forgotten "The War of North-dern Aggression" and 'dem murderin' Yankee carpet-baggers snag some seriously century-overdue payback off of some incredibly gullible Yankee tourists passing through town.

As with "Blood Feast," the film's best recommendation is its historical value as starter for the slasher film genre - as well as the 'stranger wanders into CreepyTown' setup. This is a film to which "Friday 13th" et. al. are strongly indebted.

Draws loosely upon the plot of "Brigadoon."

Filled with a score of authentic 1920ish mountain music that adds a realistic creepiness, most notably a rendition of "The South's Gonna Rise Again."

RECOMMENDATION: There's little doubt this film gets an annual screening, as cause for a major kegger, in every fraternity house throughout the Deep South.

For my money, this is H.G. Lewis' best work. The acting, effects, and story are still ludicrous, but they seem to be on a slightly higher level than the films that preceded and followed it. The barrel scene is one of my favorites.

There's not much suspense to be had in this one, but the tongue in cheek low budget gore and hammy Sourtherners make it an interesting watch. I also liked it just as a time capsule of the time, when the ketchup looking blood was actually a big deal to theatergoers.

Worth a look.

Most HG Lewis movies are dam near unwatchable....(and not because of the cheap ass gore effects). But this one is a keeper! Where elese can you witness cackling EC Comic book hillbillys hack up a woman with an axe-AND listen to some GREAT bluegrass music at the same time? Skip BLOOD FEAST...see this one!

One of those movies bad/good movies. Good if you have a warped mind. Awful if you have a sane mind. On second it's terrible either way! However, the music is excellent, but the lyrics are less than stellar!

Would I recommend this 1964 low-budget horror film? Yes, but see it through a warped mind! (banjo strummin' and pickin') "And the South shall rise again... Yee-haw!!"

Whats better than watching some good old boy's kill yankees. The ending is better than the remake aswell.

I think I liked the title song better than I did the actual movie.

I think this is my first encounter with Herschell Gordon Lewis, and, well, if this is any indication of things to come I think I'm going to be cautious. It's not impossible to sit through but it gratefully offers itself for your derision. Almost too easy of a target at times.

Two Thousand Maniacs" is a wonderful Brigadoon-esque film about two groups of Yankees who become guests of honors for the southern town of Pleasant Valley's centennial. What these "guests" don't realize, though, is that they are going to be murdered in bizarre (and I mean, BIZARRE) fashions because of a war lost by the south 100 years ago.

The festivities include a woman being dismembered and barbecued, a man being quartered with four horses, and the infamous "barrel roll" sequence where a man is pushed down a hill in a barrel that has nails driven into its sides.

The movie altogether has a wacky, feel-good charm (despite its gruesome nature) that keeps you smiling, and you'll surely be singing its theme song after the movie's over! I sure as hell was.

Historically important as the second splatter movie of all time, shocking for 1964, pretty dull nowadays. I was just expecting a little more entertainment value, it just didn't even come close to being as corny or as gory as predecessor "Blood Feast"

I move forward on my quest of old horror flicks and decide to continue on with Herschell Gordon Lewis movies. The last one I watched was Blood Feast and this was the follow up to it the next year. I really liked Blood Feast and I liked this one just as much. ^_^

I'm really digging these old 60's horror flicks. They are quite entertaining. The special effects aren't nothing like what we have now but that's expected. The acting is corney as fuck but what horror movie has exceptional acting in it.

I really enjoyed the storyline of this one. I liked this story much more than I did Blood Feast's. This one is about a small town in the south consisting of 2000 thousand people...hence the title...that celebrated the centennial 100 years since their town was destroyed by the North during the Civil War. What you see in the rest of the film is great. ^_^ I absolutely loved it. But I'm not giving anymore info about it. You'll just have to watch it to see. ^_^

Too many people watch these films and they keep their mindset in the time we live in now. That's not the way to watch a film like this. You have to put yourself in the mindset of the 60's. Think about the time that they lived in and the lack of special effects or anything that we have now. This is a film I recommend for all my fellow horror fans. ^_^

fun orignal HG lewis...you better thank this fucker kids...becuase he gave us...the gore shots... we must prey to him daily

Forget Cannibal The Musical: Give H.G. Lewis's bluegrass musical/gut-ripper a chance if you've got the guts--it's funnier and a lot more vicious.

Not quite Blood Feast - some of it is too slow, even by Lewis standards - but the first scare is a doozy. Hang onto your thumbs.