MOVIE
For one day a year, the town of Pleasant Valley rise in order to avenge their
slaughter at the hands of General Sherman in his March to the Sea. In order
to strike back at the north, the villagers, under the tutelage of Mayor Buckland
(Robert Englund) and Granny (Lil Shaye) capture, kill and feast on unwitting
tourists passing through their town. This year, these victims include a biker
couple, three wayward partiers, including Joey (Marla Malcom) and three friends
from college on Spring Break. Of these college students, the only one with any
chance at survival, Anderson Lee whose southern heritage gives him an advantage
to remain alive.
Along the way, the town’s wacky denizens exploit themselves, gruesome,
fun murders take place and sex oozes from the film. Although nothing spectacular,
2001 Maniacs is a fun, well produced B-Movie. Of note, Peter
Stormare is incredibly entertaining as the Professor that sends Anderson and
his two friends on their summer adventure. Though the part was played by cult
director John Landis in an alternate introduction, Stormare chews the scenery
to entertaining heights, the likes of which he only rivals now with his new
Volkswagen commercials.
SOUND AND VISION
A fantastic transfer of both audio and video, 2001 Maniacs
is presented in 16 x 9 anamorphic widescreen. There is also Dolby Digital 5.1
and 2.0 audio that provides excellent quality, especially for the fun, hick-inspired
musical numbers in the film, including “The South’s Gonna Rise Again.”
Also included are English and Spanish Subtitles.
PACKAGING AND LAYOUT
The standard Amaray packaging preserves the B-movie style of the film. The different
cast of characters in the town, the titular maniacs, are all presented in their
unique glory. Highlighted on the front of the art is Rob Englund as the Mayor.
The colors are nice and appealing. Also included is an insert listing the chapters,
as well as a note from the director, whose passion for his project is apparent.
SPECIAL FEATURES
The amount of special features is more than expected. From the 27 deleted scenes,
to the wealth of making of featurettes, 2001 Maniacs has an
impressive package. While this could have been a case of quantity over quality,
the film’s crew from the producers at Raw Nerve to the director Tim Sullivan
are so passionate about the material that the features are incredibly entertaining.
• Director Tim Sullivan and Producer Christopher Tuffin Commentary/ Director
Tim Sullivan and Star Robert Englund Commentary – These two commentary
tracks both feature the incredibly excited and passionate director. There is
only a little downtime during both commentaries, but these are few and far between.
Instead, Tim Sullivan, Christopher Tuffin and Robert Englund all provide nice
anecdotes, fun observations and a genuine passion for the material. That is
all you can ask for in a commentary.
• Deleted/Extended Scenes, Outtakes and Alternate Opening with John Landis
– Pretty self explanatory. While there are no incredibly interesting scenes,
fans of the movie will find more of the same. While it is clear that these were
cut because of the film’s pacing, they are all functional and entertaining
to some extent.
• Audition Videos – These are interesting. They provide a comparison
to what is in the film as the scenes are pretty much preserved in the final
version. This is entertaining, specifically for people interested in casting
and direction.
• Trailers – The trailer for the film is included. ‘Nuff said.
• Inside the Asylum: “Making Of” – This is a fairly
lengthy making of featurette. Similar to Eli Roth’s making of for Cabin
Fever, 2001 Maniacs presents passionate individuals work on a B-movie, and clearly
understanding of it. Nonetheless, they enjoy their work, enjoy the topic and
present a nice look into the making of this film. Highly recommended for the
passionate filmmaker as well as the film’s fans.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While a B-movie, 2001 Maniacs knows it. While not for everyone,
Maniacs is a fun, entertaining B-Movie title. Though it’s
no Dead Alive or Cabin Fever, the passion
of the filmmaker raises the films quality to a higher level than any direct
to video horror release. The DVD contains enough quality special features to
make this a worthy purchase for fans, and a definite rental for anyone interested
in checking it out.
Overall Film Score: B-
Overall Sound + Vision Score: A-
Overall Packaging and Layout Score: B+
Overall Special Features Score: A- Overall DVD Score: B
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