Daily Archives: April 6, 2018

Two Thousand Maniacs!
Directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis
Written by Herschell Gordon Lewis
1964/USA
Jacqueline Kay/Friedman-Lewis Productions
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] [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! [/box]

This is schlock-meister Herschell Gordon Lewis’s favorite of his films.  That perhaps is not a recommendation to be relied on but it is a lot of fun if you are in the right mood.

The plot gimmick was borrowed from Brigadoon in which a town reappears once every hundred years.  In this case, the Southern town of Pleasant Valley has reappeared to celebrate the centennial of the end of the Civil War.  The event does not include happy memories for the town, which was destroyed and its population massacred by Union soldiers.  So festivities are planned in which Yankees will be lured to the town to participate in the celebrations as “honored guests”.

The “guests” consist of three young good-looking couples.  One by one they are featured in events which will end in their deaths.  You may be sure that the imaginative townspeople will come up with something as terrifying and gory as possible.

If you like a good exploitation flick once in awhile you could surely do worse than this one. The gore is so fake that it is less disgusting than it might otherwise be.

The DVD includes a commentary by Lewis, producer David F. Friedman, and a film scholar.  The participants have fond memories of making the film and its fun to listen to them reminisce.

The Glass Cage
Directed by Antonio Santean
Written by John Hoyt and Antonio Santean
1964/USA
Futuramic
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] The only safe thing is to take a chance. – Mike Nichols[/box]

On a shoestring budget, Antonio Santean crammed the only film he ever directed with every experimental device he could think of.  The resulting psychological thriller/murder mystery is interesting if not great.

Ellen Sawyer is a prime suspect for the murder of a prowler in her apartment building.  It is hard to believe such a delicate, sensitive, troubled girl could do such a thing.  The prowler had been called into the police by Ellen’s sister Ruth.  Detectives have a hard time tracking down the elusive Ruth.  In the meantime, one of the cops starts to fall for Ellen who is having a hard time fighting off the advances of one of her neighbors.  With Elisha Cook Jr. as the girls’ evangelist father.

The film’s low-budget origins are betrayed in the post-synched dialogue and no-name acting.  However, the director used his artistic freedom with a lavish hand and there are many surreal sequences and unusual camera angles to enjoy.  The mystery itself is easily solved by the observant early on.

No video from the film so here’s a candidate for unofficial theme song.