Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964)

That's a lot o' crazies...

Genre: Horror

Starring: William Kerwin & Connie Mason (Blood Feast)

Directed By: Herschell Gordon Lewis (Color Me Blood Red • She-Devils on Wheels)

Overview: A good 'ol Southern town (pop. 2000) rustle up six Yankees, making them the guests of honour for their centennial bash.

I'm accustoming myself to the fact that I'm becoming a film snob.  I know obscure details about obscure productions and when someone says they haven't seen 2001, I roll my eyes like it's this horrible sin, fine.

But I'm just coming to realize what a being a real film snob really means. For me, it's about watching so much film that you have time to watch bad film and not feel bad about it. It's about being proud of the skeletons in my closet.  I can get away with saying, "Yes, yes, my repertoire is indeed vast but I also enjoy hixploitation - bet you thought that was beneath me, huh?"

So here I was in my favourite video store, contemplating Lynch's INLAND EMPIRE, Fritz Lang's M, and generally drooling over the Criterion shelf when I remembered how film freak and store owner Wyatt recommended some old-school cutting edge gore. A nice getaway from the Kurosawa immersion, I thought I'd slum it and check out Two Thousand Maniacs!

Well kiddies, it turns out that I wasn't sinfully wasting my time with a secret pleasure, because last night, as I was reading the Film Snob's Dictionary, guess who I see mentioned.  None other than the previously unbeknownst Herschell Gordon Lewis.  

For those of you who don't know, Herschell is otherwise known as the 'Godfather of Gore' and his 1963 Blood Feast is considered the first gore film. In short, have no shame, my friends!

As expected, the kitsch and entertainment value of Two Thousand Maniacs! is high.  Though the cinematography is especially clunky at the beginning, and the acting is overzealous, it's obviously that the hammy talent is going ahead with Herschell's blessing and in fact, some of it is genuinely... second-rate!

What makes this film so interestingly uncomfortable is not the copious amounts of blood, which is fantastic, but the film's theme. The soundtrack to the opening credits is a lovely little song called 'The South Will Rise Again' complete with banjos and townsfolk all proudly waving little confederate flags as the Southerners lure unsuspecting Yankees to a Centennial party in hopes of getting even for deeds done during the civil war.  

Hixploitation certainly has a champion in Two Thousand Maniacs! though it doesn't venture anywhere near unseemly racist commentary, which is nice for you moralists out there. 

Oh Herschell, you so gory!

Performance: 7 Cinematography: 7 Script: 7 Plot: 7 Mood: 9

Overall Rating: 74% (Insane!)

Aftertaste:

I think everyone's favourite part is the barrel roll kill.  The recipe is simple: 

1.) Hammer several seven inch long nails through a barrel open at both ends.

2.) Put a man in said barrel.

3.) Roll barrel down hill.

Yee-haw! There's a couple more tricks and traps besides.  Two Thousand Maniacs!, in one word: awkward fun.

I know that's two words, shut up.