I must admit, when I started watching 2001 Maniacs, I wasn't expecting particularly much. I picked it up in a "Five films for a tenner" deal somewhere, and it caught my fancy because one of the main parts is played by Robert Englund, most notably famous as Freddy Krueger.
I ended up, however, feeling pleasantly surprised, and definitely like I'd gotten my money's worth. 2001 Maniacs has a fairly simple plot: A village in Georgia was completely destroyed by Northern troops in the civil war, and its inhabitants take revenge for this by, once a year, holding a big barbecue feast, to which they invite several Northerners. Who they then slaughter and eat.
As this implies, the film is not subtle. Limbs get torn off, intestines fly, and penises get chewed. This often goes accompanied by some one-liner, which usually get a laugh simply because of how bad they are.
However, far less subtle than the gore is how utterly stereotyping this film is. Every single prejudice in existence about Southerners seems to be confirmed: There is copious inbreeding, they are utterly, blisteringly racist, sheep get buggered, and more jolly happenings like that. Now of course, as a European, I cannot view this from the viewpoint of an actual Southern American, but I can imagine that it would be hard to actually be insulted by this film, simply because the whole thing is so enormously over the top.
Another advantage 2001 Maniacs has is that none of the main characters are actually likeable. Therefore, it's not only bearable to watch them get splattered in horrible ways, it actually feels deeply satisfying. (Maybe I should go see that psychiatrist after all...)
Basically, the key word for this film is "excessive." Excessive violence, excessive racism, excessive stereotyping, excessively bad jokes... If all of this appeals to you, you're on to a winner here. And if it doesn't, you're probably a far saner, healthier person than me. But hey, a little mindless violence never hurt anyone.
...wait, what?
