Sheriff Friedman has decided to quit covering for the maniacs of Pleasant Valley. Being that they are in fact MANIACS, they have some bloody fun with that good ol' sheriff by rolling him down a hill in a wheel-barrel that had spikes nailed all into it. Mayor Buckman decides that since the Northerners won't come through the South then they will bring the South to them. The maniacs head to Iowa where they set up a carnival side-show attraction called Pleasant Valley's Travelling Jamboree. Soon, Rome and Tina Sheraton and their Road Rascals reality show crew crash their vehicle because of a sudden Detour sign in the middle of the road. The Road Rascals team decide to camp out for the night. The next morning, they are greeted by Buckman and the citizens of Pleasant Valley. One by one, the maniacs kill off this group of stereotypical dumbasses in very cool ways leading to a grand finale with Buckman and his maniacs against the rich Sheraton sisters.
Being that I was a huge fan of Tim Sullivan's 2005 remake 2001 Maniacs, I was absolutely psyched when I heard that a sequel was in the works. Most of the time though especially in the horror genre, sequels to remakes haven't had a good wrap. The Hills Have Eyes (2006) was an awesome remake in my opinion, but it's 2007 sequel The Hills Have Eyes 2 was horrible. Rob Zombie's Halloween was actually quite decent again in my opinion, but I was really disappointed with Zombie's 2009 sequel Halloween II or H2. The thing that kept the long awaited sequel to 2001 Maniacs from falling into the same curse was Tim Sullivan. I have become a huge fan of Sullivan's work as a horror filmmaker. I loved how Tim reinvented Pleasant Valley and made it his own while also keeping the great original format alive. Sullivan had really proven to fans and fellow filmmakers that he is a fan himself of the very genre that he operates in. Many start out making movies because they love doing it, but then let the fame and money get to them. I've seen many filmmakers that I respected deeply during the beginning of their career, but then lost their originality and passion. Sullivan however has continued to impress me. I love the man's work from 2001 Maniacs, Driftwood, his segment of Hood of Horror, his '80s short film A Christmas Treat, and now again with the long awaited 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams. Horror filmmakers like Tim Sullivan and Adam Green are what the genre really needs. Horror filmmakers who are also horror fans and care about what they make and not just about how much profit they can gain. Horror is about love for the genre and it's fans and Sullivan does the genre justice.
Anyways, the story to 2001 Maniacs is pretty easy to follow like most splatter flicks. A group of Northern folk end up part of Pleasant Valley's festival and are slaughtered one by one by the revenge hungry Confederate town. This time, instead of a group of college kids, we get a reality show crew along with two rich sisters. The script written by Chris Kobin, Tim Sullivan, and Christopher Tuffin is pretty wacky and pokes fun at a lot of stuff going on in our world. Being that the citizens of Pleasant Valley are actually from the Civil War, there's plenty of jokes regarding Abe Lincoln, slave jokes, Southern jokes, and so on. This movie can get downright offensive to people who take it seriously. Although, why folks would take these splatstick films seriously in the first place is beyond me. If you are easily offended by racist jokes, perverted jokes, sex jokes, homosexual jokes, and the list goes on then stay far away from this film because you ain't going to like what you're going to see and hear. But, if you are have a sick, dark, and perverted sense of humor then this film is for you!
The maniacs are fucking awesome in this film just as they were in 2001 Maniacs. Buckman and the maniacs are actually more vicious I thought. I fucking love the way Mayor Buckman is portrayed in this film. He was wacky and creepy in the first film. Here, he is full on wacked and a lunatic! Granny Boone is back and gets a little too friendly with a corn cob. Harper Alexander is back and really looks creepy as hell. He's no handsome pretty boy like before, this Harper looks like a MANIAC! Lester still fucks Jezabel, well a stuffed Jezabel it seems. Rufus is back showing gay boys the real meaning of broke back. Milk Maiden returns and still looks fucking hot as hell. Also, gotta love Hucklebilly. This time, there are some new maniacs. We got Scarlet Red, China Rose, and Crow. Loving the maniacs!
And then we got the victims. All of them are pretty annoying and boy it is a sure pleasure to see them die in very cool ways. There's the Sheraton sisters Rome and Tina who look like Paris Hilton wannabes. I swear, they would be perfect for The Hills. The director Jerry Schmit is a doofus. Then there's the producer Val who is obviously a lesbian and a very annoying one at that. K-Jay and Falcon ( in the closet) who are the Sheraton sisters' dates. Actually, I did happen to like the latino dude Jesus. He was actually pretty funny and didn't get on my nerves like the other characters did. Bristol Bush who was.... Wait, what did she do again? And finally, we have the token black girl Black Cherry (LMFAO!). So yeah, the victims aren't sympathetic like those from 2001 Maniacs, but boy it is fun to see them get fucked up!
Now, for the best part of the movie and most splatter flicks, the blood and kills! Dude, the kills in this movie put a HUGE smile on my face. If you're a gore-hound then you definitely won't be disappointed. Bottom line, my favorite kill is that of Bristol Bush where Harper and Milk Maiden strap her to a table saw and the saw slices through her vagina all the way up through her head splitting her in two. I love how Harper is wearing a pig nose and that him and Milk Maiden are dancing while covered in LOTS of blood. That has gone down as one of my favorite horror movie kills. We also get a funny one where the maniac girls Scarlet, China, and Milk Maiden dress one of the guys up as a Yankee soldier, strap him to a chair, and take an old timey photograph that is plugged up to some wires which is attached to the chair that electricutes the guy till his eyeballs explode and still takes a picture of the aftermath. Another favorite is where Scarlet's chasity belt opens up as a bear trap and rips off this bitch's face while she is eating her out. Rufus shows a gay guy the real meaning of broke back by bending the dude backwards so hard that it breaks him in half. I love the part where they dress the director up as Abraham Lincoln and the cigar in his mouth makes his head explode Scanners style. The death of the sheriff in the beginning of the film is obviously a homage to H.G. Lewis's original Two-Thousand Maniacs! with the wheel-barrel roll. I saw where Tim originally wanted to kill off a character like that in 2001 Maniacs, but couldn't for some reason. So, it was nice to see him finally pull it off here. Great kills all around!
The nudity is pretty great too and we also get a few sex scenes. The Sheraton sisters may be rich and spoiled bitches, but I have to admit that they have nice racks. Can I hang my coat and pants?
The acting is pretty good for this kinda film. Bill Moseley is awesome as Mayor Buckman. The guy has played southern maniacs before such as Chop Top from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and Otis Driftwood from Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses and it's 2005 sequel The Devil's Rejects, so I already knew that he would fit into Buckman's shoes perfectly. Sure, Robert Englund was fucking awesome in the first 2001 Maniacs, but Moseley is equally awesome in this film. I've always loved it when he played a total maniac and he sure as hell does in this movie! Lin Shaye is great like before as Buckman's wife Granny Boone. I fucking loved Nivek Ogre as Harper Alexander. He was both darkly humorous and very creepy looking. Ryan Fleming is good again as Huckleberry ( "It's Hucklebilly dumbass!"). OOPS, my mistake. Christa Campbell returns as the sexiest Milk Maiden ever and is very good at it! I just wouldn't drink the Moon Shine. Adam Robitel returns as that sheep fucking hillbilly Lester and does the role perfectly. Robitel also edited the movie and I must say that he did a pretty fine job. Christopher McDaniel was pretty good as Rufus, Buckman's homosexual son. I really enjoyed newcomers Nicole Rae as Scarlet Red, Ahmed Best as Crow ( JAR JAR BINKS!), and Kathryn Le as China Rose.
The actors portraying the victims were also pretty good for who their characters were. Katy Marie Johnson and Asa Hope had the rich ditzy heiresses down perfectly as Rome and Tina Sheraton. They may be ditzy and annoying rich snobs, but damn they were pretty sexy and had nice boobs. Andrea Leon was good as the bitchy producer Val. Trevor Wright and Jordan Yale Levine were good as the boyfriend characters Falcon and K-Jay. Alex Luria was awesome as Jesus. I found the guy to be pretty funny especially those scenes with Harper. Alana Curry was alright as Bristol Bush. That character wasn't in the movie long enough to really get to know her. All I have to say is table sawed between the legs. Miles Dougal played a good doofus as the director Jerry Schmit. Larayia Gaston was also good as the token black girl Black Cherry. All in all, good cast.
The soundtrack is pretty decent with songs played by Crow and his partner Legend much like the first movie and Lewis's 1964 original had banjo players. Although, I still prefer the music from 2001 Maniacs a little more especially " The South Will Rise", which sounded very rock and demonic. I hear that Bill Moseley actually performed a few of the songs. Decent soundtrack.
The conclusion to the film is pretty similiar to the first movie, but better constructed in my opinion. Tim Sullivan did great yet again at directing this fun and bloody splatterific horror/comedy.
Overall, 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams is a very enjoyable sequel to a very enjoyable remake. If you want gore, boobs, and more wacked and fucked up mayhem then you definitely got it with this sequel. The perverted, sexual, racist, politically incorrect, and dark humor. The over the top and downright brutal and bloody kills. Some great T & A. Bill Moseley as a MANIAC! And the sheer awesomeness of horror fan and filmmaker Tim Sullivan makes this Maniacs sequel one to devour with some pizza, beer, and a night of hot sex. The South keeps on rising and in the next installment, they may be after YOU!
GRADE
B
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