It seems like it’s taken Tim Sullivan’s directorial debut forever to make it to DVD, but its here and its one hell of a ride.
The premise sees a group of hot young college kids and assorted travellers take a detour into Pleasant Valley in time to celebrate the town’s Guts and Glory Jubilee. The kids are tempted to stick around for the free food, beer, buns and boobies and soon find out that they’re the main course.
The film looks great and has a wacky sense of humour about it that made it a hoot to watch. The cast, which includes Robert Englund, Lin Shaye and Giuseppe Andrews are hilarious to watch, as is Eli Roth in a funny cameo.
The deaths are suitably gory and over the top and Nathan Barr even riffs on his own Cabin Fever score for the inspired soundtrack.
The film moves at a quick pace and keeps you entertained the entire time, thanks to its insistence to pay tribute to horror movies of the past.
Tim Sullivan is a clever and creative guy who knows what hardcore horror fans want and he isn’t afraid to give it to them. We get many gory and original death sequences, but above all else the non PC humour was very reminiscent of 80’s horror.
Modern horror fans may not know how to take the film, which is most likely why it has gone straight to DVD, but older fans of the genre are sure to get a kick out of this.
OVERALL SUMMARY
2001 Maniacs has excessive nudity, gore and violence and refuses to conform to the PG 13 criteria, so do yourselves a favour….stop bitching about the studios remaking classic movies for 13 year old girls, and get yourselves a copy of this on DVD.
