Review of Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964) by Timothy S — 10 Jan 2011

Cult filmmaker Herschell Gordon Lewis was considered a pioneer in the world of cinematic gore, and "Two Thousand Maniacs" is considered by many to be the pinnacle of his career. Looking at the film today, the special effects come off as crude and rudimentary, but this was made over forty years ago. At the time, they had to be disturbing and groundbreaking, and you have to give Lewis props. The film itself is just as crude and rudimentary, but you have to admire it some for its goofy, loopy charm, non-existent acting and ultra low budget feel. It hasn't aged well, and while I can't quite recommend it for obvious reasons, it is an interesting curiosity that's good for some laughs.

The plot is an inspired variation on a tried and true formula, but the whole thing is basically just an excuse to maim and torture people in various creative ways. In that respect, it plays like the "Saw" of its generation with a "Hee Haw" sense of humor. The violence doesn't have the realism of the "Saw" franchise, as the blood looks mostly store bought. But everything looks surprisingly convincing considering what they had to work with at the time.

Lewis made a name for himself with stuff like this, and nobody was doing it better. In retrospect, he's kind of the father of the current rash of so-called torture porn flicks. For that reason, "Two Thousand Maniacs" deserves its place in history. It's not pretty, but I guess you could say it gets the job done.