2001 Maniacs Review Country : USA Year: 2006 Genre: Horror / Cannibalism Format: Video Running Time: 106 minutes Distributor: Momentum Pictures Welcome to Pleasant Valley, where the locals are friendly and if you're lucky, they'll invite you to dinner. If you're not so lucky, you'll BE dinner.... Credits Directed by Tim Sullivan. Written by Tim Sullivan and Chris Kobin. Starring Robert Englund, Jay Gillespie, Giuseppe Andrews, Travis Tritt, Kane Hodder, Lin Shaye, and Eli Roth.. Upon hearing of this, a remake of the classic H.G. Lewis B-movie Two Thousand Maniacs, I rolled my eyes. I did not even want to think about what disaster freshman director Tim Sullivan had cooked up for his audience. In a time when most high-profile horror films are disappointments, latent with bad writing, static direction, and amateur acting, I consider myself lucky that Sullivan, Scott (Intruder) Speigel and cohort/producer Eli (Hostel) Roth at least tried. In this re-imagination, a pack of college kids on their way to Spring Break take a detour through an old Southern town. The people of Pleasant Valley insist the kids stay for their annual barbecue celebration... but instead of getting a taste of the old South, the old South gets a taste of them! So unlike prior disappointments that I have named before, this flick pulls no punches, and uses every cinematic trick in the book to give everyone exactly what they came for. If you are a fan of nonsensical horror that is. I would call this more of a spoof as it's rather hard to take it seriously. This is something I hoped would not happen. I wish that the Sullivan actually took the time and effort to create likable and believable characters, thus making the events that much more urgent. It also gives the young actors portraying them something to grip onto. Robert Englund again proves to audiences what a skilled actor he really is. Lin Shaye is great and the film also has some great cameos from Kane Hodder and Travis Tritt. The best part of the film is when Eli Roth makes his cameo as his drifter character Justin from Cabin Fever....complete with his dog 'Dr. Mambo.' I take it this film happens prior to Cabin Fever, and you learn where Justin got his signature line "FACE"!!! All together, it was a decent film, but the ending was a major let down. And as the credits roll I had to laugh at the stupid 'The South Will Rise' song! God, no wonder people have these ignorant stereotypes of us southerners! I know it's a spoof, but people actually believe this shit! 2001 Maniacs is on DVD and loaded with extras. I suggest you check it out for a laugh. MORE INFO DISCUSS ON OUR FORUMS Review by John Gray, for Pitofhorror.com