2001 Maniacs

(2005) ***



On their way to SPRING BREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAK! in Daytona a group of cloned college students are lured by a detour to the quaint old town of Pleasant Valley. They’re not actually clones but the characters are so interchangeable I thought “didn't she die like 10 minutes ago?” more than once. Anyway despite what that terrific Monkees song leads you to believe, Pleasant Valley is actually a very dangerous place.

Not even slightly suspicious of the confederate-flag-eypatch-wearing mayor played inadequately by Robert Englund, they happily agree to be the guests of honor at the annual Guts and Gore Celebration. In their defense, the guys were clearly lured by their penises after flirting with the busty and flirtatious southern peaches. Oh, and a black guy and a Chinese woman arrive via motorcycle and do their part to up the body count by two. The rest is everything you expect, only much nastier.

Like the Wizard of Gore remake, 2001 Maniacs stayed true the spirit of the Hershell Gordon Lewis original by being as creative and jaw droppingly vicious as possible with the death sequences. I won’t reveal too much but I feel like I need to cite at least one example to make sure potential viewers know what they’re in for. *NASTY SPOILER ALERT*: Ok this one guy gets the human skewer treatment – spike through the anus and out the throat! Blurch! Awful, awful stuff…

I actually preferred the messy original but I would still recommend this one, at least to the sickies out there (Catfreeek & JPX to name but two). But it should go without saying that it's far from perfect. For one thing Robert Englund is about as convincing as a redneck as I am as a fat female gospel singer. And possibly as offensive.