Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964)

Six people are lured into a small Deep South town for a Centennial celebration where the residents proceed to kill them one by one as revenge for the town's destruction during the Civil War.

Director:

Herschell Gordon Lewis

Writer:

Herschell Gordon Lewis (screenplay)

Stars:

Connie Mason, William Kerwin, Jeffrey Allen

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Connie Mason	...	Terry Adams
William Kerwin	...	Tom White (as Thomas Wood)
Jeffrey Allen	...	Mayor Buckman
Shelby Livingston	...	Bea Miller
Ben Moore	...	Lester MacDonald
Jerome Eden	...	John Miller
Gary Bakeman	...	Rufus 'Rufe' Tate
Stanley Dyrector	...	Harper Alexander (as Mark Douglas)
Linda Cochran	...	Betsy
Yvonne Gilbert	...	Beverly Wells
Michael Korb	...	David Wells
Vincent Santo	...	Billy
Andy Wilson	...	Policeman
Candi Conder	...	Switchboard Operator
The Pleasant Valley Boys	...	Bluegrass musicians

Storyline

The citizens of the southern town Pleasant Valley lure six Yankee tourists into town where they are to be the reluctant guests for the centennial celebration of the day a band of renegade Union troops decimated the town. The town then participates in events, a different event for each of the tourists, in which the tourist is dispatched. One couple begins to suspect something and seeks a way to escape.

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Plot Keywords:

bluegrass music | southern u.s. | quicksand | legend | psychopathic killer | 

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Taglines:

Brutal... Evil... Ghastly Beyond Belief!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Illinois stage actor Taalkeus "Talky" Blank (Jeffrey Allen), who played Mayor Buckman, and who later appeared playing numerous Southern-accented characters in several of Herschell Gordon Lewis' movies.

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Quotes

[Upon finding the plaque that explains the town was attacked by Union Soldiers during the Civil War]
Terry Adams: What does it mean?
Tom White: It means this centennial is a centennial of blood vengeance! It means... It means we're here to be killed!

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Alternate Versions

The recent (2004) DVD and video release was restored from a European PAL format which runs at nearly 84 minutes, over three minutes short of the original running time although no scenes are cut or edited.

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Connections

Referenced in The Big Box: The House of the Devil (2010)

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Soundtracks

Old Joe Clark
Performed by The Pleasant Valley Boys

User Reviews

A terrific idea.

I saw this movie while in the Army. It was part of a blood triple header at a drive-in while stationed in Virginia. Blood Feast, 2000 Maniacs and another movie I forgot the name were on the bill. I can still remember the ways the characters were killed and all the themes from a State Fair that were used. But my favorite was when they cut the girls thumb off and then they fixed it by chopping her arm off. Then later that night by the campfire while they cooked the arm. They sang "I'm rolling my sweet baby's arm." How can you not like this movie it is almost like a must before seeing Kill Bill part 2. Just my opinion.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 March 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Centennial

Filming Locations:

St. Cloud, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$65,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jacqueline Kay, Friedman-Lewis Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1