I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

The first must-see film of the year.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Two thousand people live in the town of Pleasant Valley, an out-of- the-way place on a back road, somewhere on the way to Atlanta. All of them are maniacs, which is a decent premise for a film, and which illustrates Hershel G. Lewis's talent for what it takes to make a memorable exploitation film. Rather than being Confederate sympathizers these folks are like the ghosts of the town, which had been the scene of a Union (or Yankee) massacre exactly 100 years to the day on which all the action occurs. It's a film whose premise is a borderline sickening vengeance the maniacs inflict on four northerners (two young couples) who are detoured by two of Pleasant Valley's leading citizens, into its trap to make them the town's special guests for its one-hundred year anniversary of the massacre. Things get increasingly gory, in a kind of gratuitous way, but the storyline is almost substantial enough to hold it all together. Lewis also did the cinematography, which has many Confederate-flag drenched scenes to go along with bright red blood and a pretty blue sky.

This follow up to the seminal Blood Feast seems to be regarded by many as the best film that H. G. Lewis ever directed. Personally I can't agree with this view seeing as I just can't see past Blood Feast, a film of much more excessive gore, belly laughs and sheer trash value. That said, Two Thousand Maniacs! ain't bad. It's a more expansive film, although anyone familiar with Lewis's output will know that this is a very relative statement because despite having a more elaborate set-up this is still an ultra-cheap drive-in movie. What keeps it interesting though is the combination of inventive murder set-pieces, demented humour and an overall deranged feel. Its Southern town of Pleasantville gives the movie a sense of place which adds nice detail as well. Not only that but there is also the highly infectious title song 'The South's Gonna Rise Again!' by The Pleasant Valley Boys. Yeeeeha!Like all of Lewis's other gore films this one has a curious mixed tone. It combines broad comedy with pretty mean-spirited violence, usually in the same scene. It's a bizarre thing to see and it gives Lewis's movies an edgy sensibility that remains compelling no matter how unrealistic the gore might actually be. His films are all comedies as much as horror films, maybe even more so. There's never really any suspense in the build up to the acts of violence. They're just presented in front of us in a way that must've shocked early 60's audiences due to their draw-dropping audacity. This one could maybe have done with a little more carnage for it to have been entirely satisfying but there sure is enough here for trash movie enthusiasts to lap up.

I must assure you that I did not find this movie interesting nor did I approve. Perhaps a remake of the movie without the cat and a different ending should be a better idea because I found the ending very unfair. Even this is not the movie that I like, I could not tolerate this. The remake should replace a cat with pigs. The ending should have the all the maniacs dead by the National Guard and the military which I think this is a better ending for a remake. I think I should not bother with Two Thousand Maniacs because I do not find this movie interesting because I do not tolerate this kind of movie. I prefer not to watch this movie even if the Blood Trilogy comes out on Blu-Ray.

Two Thousand Maniacs, Hershell Gordon Lewis's demented take on the legend of Brigadoon, doesn't quite do justice to the ingeniuity of its concept, but still qualifies as an enjoyable slice of low budget cult horror (and one of Lewis's most watchable films) thanks to spirited performances from an enthusiastic cast (ie., they can't act, but they give it all they've got), a bucket or two of gore, and, believe it or not, even some memorably toe-tappin' songs from bluegrass musicians The Pleasant Valley Boys!The film sees a group of travellers tricked into taking a detour that leads them to the Southern town of Pleasant Valley, where they are invited to take part in the town's Centennial celebrations by the impossibly cheery Mayor Buckman (Jeffrey Allen). Once settled into their hotel rooms, which have been laid on for free by the townsfolk, each visitor is lured away to take part in a special celebratory event that ultimately leads to their gory demise.Suspecting that something is amiss, pretty Terry Adams (June 1963 Playboy Playmate, Connie Mason) and her hitch-hiker companion Tom White (William Kerwin) make a bid for freedom, closely followed by the citizens of Pleasant Valley, who are actually civil war ghosts seeking revenge for their massacre by Yankee soldiers one hundred years earlier.Not only does Lewis deliver his trademark splatter and tongue-in-cheek campy humour, but he also manages to conjure up quite a bit of atmosphere and even some tension, proving that he is capable of more than just grossing out his audience. Those looking to be grossed out, however, should not be disappointed with the film, which features an arm removed by axe, a man being pulled apart by horses, another man pushed inside a barrel pierced by nails and rolled down a hill, and a woman squished by a huge boulder.