Coming soon!
Cast:
Bill Moseley as Mayor Buckman
Lin Shaye as Granny Boone
Christa Campbell as Milk Maiden
Andrea Leon as Val
Nivek Ogre as Harper Alexander
Ahmed Best as Crow
Review:
It’s been five long years since director Tim Sullivan gave us 2001 Maniacs, his reworking of Herschell Gordon Lewis’ 1964 gore opus Two Thousand Maniacs! Now, usually I’m a little lukewarm on the whole remake thing, but I actually welcomed the idea of Lewis’ film getting a makeover. Why? Because, whilst Two Thousand Maniacs! has a lot of great ideas behind it, it just doesn’t quite manage to do them justice. Sure, Lewis’ original is good, schlocky fun – but I’d always fancied the idea of seeing it redone with a bit more flair.
Well, 2001 Maniacs certainly didn’t disappoint: Sullivan’s directorial debut is a thoroughly entertaining thrill ride that takes all the best elements from the original and runs with them. In fact, the only thing missing for me was a re-enactment of the celebrated âbarrel rollâ sequence from Lewis’ movie. Well, as if he’s read my mind, Sullivan has finally given me my barrel roll (and a whole lot more bloody fun to boot) in his much anticipated follow-up 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams.
For those of you unfamiliar with the first instalment, I feel that a little recap is in order. In 2001 Maniacs a group of youngsters travelling through the Southern States take a detour and wind up in Pleasant Valley – a strange, old-fashioned town where they’re enthusiastically welcomed by the locals as guests of honour at their “Guts and Glory Jubilee”. Unfortunately for the bunch of young Northerners, they soon discover that they’ll be the ones providing the guts! As it turns out, the inhabitants of Pleasant Valley were actually slaughtered during the Civil War – and now they return each year to carve their way through some Yankees. Their spirits will rest only when all 2001 of them have been avenged: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
At the beginning of 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams it seems that the good folks of Pleasant Valley are at something of a loose end. Since the local sheriff removed their detour sign, no Northerners have been showing up for them to (quite literally) get their teeth into. So the bloodthirsty Maniacs decide that if the North isn’t going to come to the South, then the South’s going to come to the North! A select bunch of Maniacs hop aboard a bus and set out on a road trip in search of Yankee blood.
As it happens, our Maniacs aren’t the only ones out on the road. The cast and crew of a reality show called Road Rascals is also touring the country, looking to film some entertaining antics. Well, they should be careful what they wish for because they’re about to cross paths with the Maniacs! The âstarsâ of Road Rascals are a vacuous pair of debutantes by the name of Rome and Tina, who bear more than just a passing resemblance to everyone’s favourite reality stars Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. But we’re certainly a long way away from The Simple Life here…
So how does 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams compare with its predecessor? As Tim Sullivan quite rightly puts it: if you’re a fan of 2001 Maniacs then you ain’t seen nothing yet! I asked myself how the sequel was possibly going to top the sheer zany brilliance of the first movie – but, as I discovered, Sullivan manages just fine. For a start there are some fiercely inventive kills on offer, including one which features a particularly nasty type of chastity belt. Top prize however has to go to the wince-inducing scene in which a young lady receives a saw between the thighs – ouch! Despite its smaller budget, the emphasis is very much on âmoreâ in this sequel and that also goes for the humour. Whilst the first movie does provide its share of laughs, 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams is much more consistent in terms of clever gags and, as such, is a more focused affair. In comparison with 2001 Maniacs, 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams truly feels like a film that knows exactly what it is – and that’s definitely no bad thing.
Something that I was a little concerned about with this sequel was the absence of genre legend Robert Englund, who gave a gloriously over-the-top performance in the first movie as Mayor Buckman – the head honcho of the Maniacs. Filling the Mayor’s shoes this time around is Bill Moseley, a genre icon in his own rights thanks to his memorable appearances in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2, House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects. It turns out that I had no need to worry, as Moseley does a terrific job in the role and really makes it his own. In fact, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I actually prefer Moseley’s performance to Englund’s. Join me as I declare: “Mayor Buckman is dead. Long live Mayor Buckman!”
Not only do we have new actors filling familiar roles in 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams, but the sequel also introduces a few new Maniacs to the fold. My favorites are undoubtedly Scarlet Red and China Rose (Nicole Rae and Kathryn Le), who prove to be as deadly as they are eye-poppingly gorgeous. Another inspired addition to 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams is Nivek Ogre – who industrial music enthusiasts will know best as the singer of the group Skinny Puppy. Ogre does a great job in the role of Harper Alexander and I hope we see more of him should Tim Sullivan get around to making a third Maniacs movie. Familiar faces also return in this sequel, with Lin Shaye reprising the role of Granny and Christa Campbell returning as the seductive Milk Maiden.
Tim Sullivan recently revealed that he felt there were “too many cooks” involved in the making of 2001 Maniacs and that he directed the film, quite literally, with people looking over his shoulder. But 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams is, as he puts it, âfor better or worseâ one hundred per cent his vision. Well, Sullivan can be safe in the knowledge that it’s very much for better! Of course, this movie clearly isn’t for everyone. With all its blood, breasts and close-to-the-knuckle humour, 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams isn’t going to be to the taste of the more prudish amongst us. However, for those that do relish all the finer things in life, this sequel is the real deal!
