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:

A town of madmen crazed for carnage!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Herschell Gordon Lewis novelized his screenplay into a tie-in book, the original edition of which, is now in high demand by collectors.

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Quotes

Tom White: Has it occurred to you that nobody has told us what this centennial is all about? Now, this is 1965, and a hundred years ago it was 1865, right? So, what happened in 1865?
Terry Adams: It was the ending of Civil War. The war between states!
Tom White: Well then you tell me why would a southern town want northerners as guests of honor at the centennial. It must has something to do with what happened a hundred years ago. So, something is very wrong with this town.

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Alternate Versions

The 1986 UK video was cut by 4m 27s. The cuts list was as follows:

• [26 mins] Reduce to absolute minimum the severing of Bea's finger and chopping off of her arm, removing the sight of finger being cut off and most of the scene that follows, reducing in particular the sadistic glee of the townsfolk at the pain and terror they are inflicting.
• [45 mins] Reduce tearing apart of John by horses, in particular the cackling and gloating of the crowd, the smiling women as he dies, and the shot of the dismembered arm.
• [52 mins] Remove shot of nails coming through barrel from victim's point of view inside, with laughing face peering in. Also reduce to minimum sight of bloody body at bottom of hill.
• [60 mins] Reduce length of scene in which Beverley is tied under stone, in particular removing the last close shot of her struggling body as boy kneels by her, and reducing other shots of bound girl struggling to minimum.

All DVD releases are uncut.

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Connections

Followed by Color Me Blood Red (1965)

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Soundtracks

Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms
Lyrics and Music by Lester Flatt
Performed by The Pleasant Valley Boys

User Reviews

bloodshed with a story

Director and writer, Herschell Gordon Lewis, has mentioned this film as his favorite and you can see why. It is by far the best acted of all his movies and undoubtedly the one with the most production value. Six Yankees are lured into a small Southern town for a Centennial celebration where the townsfolk proceed to kill them one by one as revenge for the town's destruction during the Civil War. The death scenes include a man being pulled apart by four horses and a sexy blonde having her arm chopped off and then barbecued. The effect of the arm being hacked off is a bit weak but the other killings look much better. There's even a bit of suspense as one of the few remaining Yankees plans his escape with the help of a good Samaritan played by Connie Mason. The cast is good with the exception of one or two of the smaller roles. The biggest stand out is Jeffrey Allen as the Mayor with a very colorful performance. A fun watch for people who like their bloodshed with an actual story behind it. Good Stuff!

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