Herschel Gordon Lewis, like him or not, was never afraid to cross the line. Two Thousand Maniacs proves this. It's a film about a small town down south that tricks six Yankees into being their very special guests of honor for their Confederate themed centennial celebration that turns deadly.
HGL is known as one of the earliest gore hounds. Godfather of gore is a deserved title for this man. When you look to the year that this film was made the unsuspecting viewer wouldn't ever think that this film would contain the graphic gore that it does. While Two Thousand Maniacs is very low budget, it's also very creative. The methods of killing the victims are all creative, shocking (for the time), and well done. You'll get your laughs out of this film as well. The acting is mostly laughable, but that shouldn't stop you from achieving maximum enjoyment out of this film.
In the end Herschel Gordon Lewis hits all the spots and created a successful splatter film. His work in this time frame was largely influential to many film makers who have since tried to emulate the "shocking" gore and splatter work this twisted man did. For this reason a lone, Two Thousand Maniacs is worth watching. The other reasons would be the whole decapitation by four horses, death by a dunk tank inspired rock dropping device, and the creepy acting of the Confederate slime. It's a fun time, what can I say?
4 OUT OF 5 STARS
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