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Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It could have been a story from The Twilight Zone. A small Southern town comes alive each hundred years to get even for the Civil War. Unfortunately, the subtext for "Two Thousand Maniacs" is in-your-face hateful. Back in 1964 the premise probably was considered amusing. Now, however, it seems dated and is in very poor taste.There's a lot of sneering joviality in this film. The stupid, bloodthirsty townsfolk are bullies who get a lot of enjoyment out of inflicting pain. There are no heroes here, only villains. And the script plotting is weak. Just when you think the movie is ending, it's not. It revs back up with a slight "twist" and keeps going. This happens several times.Aside from a substandard theme and plot, the film's direction is poor. Among the worst scenes are those wherein cast extras stand around in the background watching; they look wooden and manipulated, the result of an unimaginative Director who doesn't seem to know how to set up a scene.The town is called "Pleasant Valley"; a more apt name would be "Amateur-ville", due to the acting. Actors recite their lines about as effectively as high school thespians. Prod values are cheap looking. And the sound is terrible. There's a subtle and unwanted echo on interior sets that makes some of the dialogue muffled and hard to understand. Color cinematography is adequate; images are clear and appropriately lit.A carnival-like tone drains suspense from a story that could have been interestingly thematic and eerie, if the script had been written, and the production directed, by Twilight Zone writer and host Rod Serling. Instead, what we get with "Two Thousand Maniacs" is a hateful plot, lacking suspense and mystery, in a film largely devoid of cinematic professionalism. Marketing the film in the Horror genre refocus the production to a friendlier niche audience, which explains its cult status.

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.

Herschell Gordon Lewis' "Two Thousand Maniacs" is a classic horror/snuff film, the best bad movie in the psychotronic-style... it must be seen to be believed.In-bred Southerners lure unsuspecting Yankees into town for a festival of violence and torture. The film is a perfect mixture of sex and depravity, senseless gore and small-town stupidity. The best sequence features a charming Southern man who lures a blond away from her husband and- after a casual make-out session- proceeds to cut off her thumb with a paring knife. She's bloody, outraged, and still conscious, but his friends have the perfect solution for her: chop off her entire arm with an axe. And watch the bright red blood flow.If you're not vomiting yet than this is the movie for you. The best performance is surely Linda Cochran as Betsy, a sultry Southern temptress with a wonderful pair of shoulders and sadistic sense of humor. A great film to riff on with friends or to give yourself a genuine creep-out.GRADE: B

Having finally watched a Herschell Gordon Lewis horror movie last year on YouTube (The Wizard of Gore), when I found out that Two Thousand Maniacs! was now there as well (actually, The Wizard of Gore now seems removed), I quickly clicked the first of nine parts that were uploaded. It was fascinating listening to The Pleasant Vally Boys playing their bluegrass music throughout even after all the gory things that happened though there was silence after one of those deaths were depicted that provided some chills. The gore is mostly well done if not as shocking to me since I grew up watching the Friday the 13th movies on HBO as a teen. The stars are Connie Mason, Thomas Wood (a.k.a William Kerwin who would eventually marry Mason), Jeffrey Allen (who was born in my birthtown of Chicago, Ill.), Shelby Livingston, Ben Moore, Jerome Eden, Gary Bakeman, Mark Douglas, Linda Cochran, Yvonne Gilbert (who would eventually marry director Lewis before divorcing him), Michael Korb, Vincent Santo, Andy Wilson, and Candi Conder. Mason and Wood were in Lewis' previous film, Blood Feast. All the Southern accents sounded exaggerated though Cochran as Betsy was a turn-on for me especially since her top allowed her bare shoulders and some cleavage! The other women, Gilbert (Beverly), Livingston (Bea), and Mason (Terry), not to mention Conder's cameo as a switchboard operator were also classic beauties. As for the men, well, their performances were all over the place especially those between Allen as Mayor Buckman, Moore as Lester, and Bakeman as Rufus though no one was as irritating as the kid Santo who plays Billy with the most atrocious Southern accent and is way too loud to boot! Having known about the Bridgadoon reference, I wasn't surprised by the twist. So overall, this was quite an effective thriller from the legendary H. G. Lewis.