| Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964) 83 min |
| People seem to love to point out the Herschell Gordon Lewis's gore films are 'technically speaking, barely competent' to take one from Leonard Maltin (the grandmaster of critical bafoonary). When I saw Lewis speak at a convention in the summer of 2002 he noted that if you wait around long enough, everything becomes legitimate. In his case, it has. While his films were torn apart upon their release, nowadays he is heralded for inventing the gore film. People are fond of pointing out that they know his films are bad, but they influenced a whole lot of other bad movies. |
| I guess none of this should really bother me, everything said above is more or less true. What continually gets my goat though, is that to many people see themselves as above exploitation films. They consider themselves 'experts' so they feel the need to acknowledge its existence of exploitation, but never acknowledge the fact that there might be something about these films worth looking into. Instead of admitting that it's not their area of interest, they take it upon themselves to explain to the world why other people enjoy them. Thank you Mr. Maltin, but I don't need your justification or approval. |
| The reason for this rant is sort of a roundabout way to explain that, for the most part, the critical assessment of Lewis is reasonably accurate. I do think though, that there is a good deal of misunderstanding going on regarding his work. Yes, these films are not technically the most sound films. No the acting wasn't academy award worthy, of course it's usually not as bad as reported either. And finally, yes, the main appeal to these films is that there is a good deal of blood spilled. |
| If that were the sole criteria though, you could assume that I'd enjoy a witless pile of garbage, so long as there was plenty of the red stuff splashed around. Possibly, but that's beside the point. Lewis never made a witless pile of garbage. His films have always been a ton of fun, with some hilariously colorful characters (often times the inept acting worked in the films favor), creative bloodletting scenes, and always a dark and cynical sense of humor. Lewis's humor is key to his work, he once said that he never made a film that he didn't consider a satire. |
| Getting to this film in particular, Two Thousand Maniacs! is considered by many to be the best of the Lewis/Friedman gore films. While I still favor the charming Fuad Ramses of Blood Feast, this film is still a favorite of mine. The characters are fun, the effects and murders are creative, and best of all, the songs are completely infectious! I'll discuss each of these briefly. The characters are lead by the beautiful Connie Mason (1963 Playboy Playmate of the year, Blood Feast) and William Kerwin (various films from producer Dave Friedman). Regardless of what I've frequently read, Mason is pretty unforgettable here. Whether she is technically or not is really irrelevant, she works perfectly in this movie. She does everything she needed to do well. Say what you will, but I don't think people generally forget her after watching this movie. The other highlight of the movie is Jeffrey Allen as the over zealous Mayor Buckman. He really puts the film over the top and has some of the best dialogue throughout. |
| Moving on to the films trump card, we have gratuitous gore galore! Well, not as much as you would expect from the movies reputation. I would say that this is probably the least bloody of the Lewis gore films. The murders that are featured though, are all marvelous set peices. I don't really want to give away the specifics here, they really are the main reason to watch the film. I will say though, that there is one particularly amusing scene involving a cat. |
| Finally, there's the often overlooked aspect of the film that I find equally as important as the grue: the songs! I can't even tell you how many times I find myself singing 'There's a story you should know from a hundred years ago' without even realizing it. These simple little rhymes are just so catchy that I instantly fell in love with them. Best of all, it's Lewis himself churning out those catchy verses in the main song (and the rest of the cast and crew yelling YEE HAW). |
| Two Thousand Maniacs! was part of the very first DVDs released by Something Weird Video through Image entertainment. While not quite as loaded and comprehensive as their later releases, I still consider this one to be a must have. The commentary track has Lewis and Friedman reunited again, they are a great pair and work off of each other well. I am always completely charmed listening to the two of them tell stories. They each have an excellent sense of humor and have a way of making me feel nostalgiac about a film that was produced over ten years before I was born! The other extras are nice too, but the outtakes become a bit repetative with no sound or anything. Of course, they do accompany it with that wonderfull song that opens the film. Overall, this is a great film and a great package. It's not my favorite Lewis movie and it's not my favorite Something Weird disc, but it's up there and still gets a whole hearted recommendation from me. |
| I give this one 4 imperiled playmates out of 5 |
| review by Joe Canistro 11/5/02 |
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