2001 Maniacs (2005)

"2001 Maniacs" is a thoroughly enjoyable film.

**SPOILERS**

Driving through Florida on their trip for Spring Break, Nelson Elliot, (Dylan Edrington) Anderson Lee, (Jay Gillespie) Cory Jones, (Matthew Carey) Ricky, (Brian Gross) Kat, (Gina Marie Heekin) Joey, (Marla Malcolm) Leah, (Bianca Smith) and Malcolm, (Mushond Lee) take a detour and wind up in Pleasant Valley. Mayor Buckman, (Robert Englund) welcomes them all accordingly and lets them stay as guests for the celebration. As they start to dwindle in numbers, they suspect that the townspeople are committing evil deeds against them. Desperate to get out alive, they realize their true intentions and are forced to make a deadly decision.

The Good News: This was a really surprising film. There was a no-boundaries, anything goes type of feel to it that makes it so entertaining. The film was overloaded with massive amounts of exploitative goodies. The twisted, off color and politically incorrect sense of humor often times made for tons of laughs. The beginning wanders around the time and the comments made about the backwards nature of it were pretty good, and the ironic moments that come later on where great as well. Everybody was a target here as well, and it made several great remarks about the differences between the two parties there. The kill scenes were also creative and make for some fantastic kill scenes. We get a drawn-and-quartered victim where both arms and legs are yanked out, acid burning a whole in the chest and neck, a huge bell being dropped and being crushed in a huge vice to the point where the eyes pop out, among other fantastic and very gore-soaked kills. The very fun pace adds to it as well, making it seem like it's going along at a very fast pace with no let-up. The fight at the end is a nice little addition, giving it a fiery, action-packed conclusion that really is a pumped up affair. The fact that Robert Englund had an obvious blast with the part went a long way to this one as well. A great over-the-top and yet credible and entertaining role went a long ways here, and seeing him always makes it seem special. It even scores well with a nice twist at the end that is very hard to see coming and the result is a great move. Tie all these together with a copious and generous display of nudity and it's a very well-rounded film.

The Bad News: There's only one main problem here, and that was the ending. The last half of the film was all about padding. We get way too much wandering around for nothing other than boosting the clock time and it got a tad tedious. There's really no reason why it has the characters wandering around the village for as long as they do, as it's obvious what has already happened and it makes no sense why, but that's the only part that really didn't seem all that great. Otherwise, this was a really great film.

The Final Verdict: One of the most fun movies around, this is basically a free-for-all that is most centered on what can be done to entertain. It's a simple film that is mostly recommended for gore-hounds or anyone else looking to be entertained for an hour and a half.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Nudity, animal killings and themes of bestiality