The film, which is written and directed by the same duo who brought us the 2005 feature, follows the basic formula of the first entry. A group of hapless teens (shooting a crappy reality TV series) stumble into a small community lead by Mayor Buckman (the ubiquitous Bill Moseley filling for the equally ubiquitous Robert England – who was unavailable). At first, things seem fairly normal, but one-by-one our hapless teens are brutally butchered and eaten by the hungry community, who turn out to be vengeance-seeking ghosts locked in eternal torment, or something like that.
Right off the bat, the film makes little sense. Our villains learn that no one is really visiting the south anymore (?) so they decide to take the gang on the road. But, for some reason, when our hapless teens find them, they're still mostly in the south as they've set up shop in Iowa (okay, I guess it's the Midwest, but I digress). Why not take the gang further north, to say, New York or Massachusetts – prime locations for northerners?
Obviously, Field of Screams doesn't really shoot for high-end intelligence or thought-provoking metaphors, which is fine – the first one wasn't a particularly smart film, either. But since writer/director Tim Sullivan spends his time jabbing at just about every potentially offensive subject imaginable, from politics to Judaism to lesbianism and southern simplicity, one would hope he'd be prepared to actually have some sort of message to it all – even if it's an irreverent one.
Alas, the film stumbles along attempting to be as offensive as it can be, but fails to truly ignite anger because it never really takes any sort of stance other than the most offensive one producers can think of. Honestly, I'm surprised they didn't toss in an artist depiction of the Prophet Muhammad just to tick off the Muslims for no apparent reason.
I'm sure Field of Screams will have its fans. It's certainly gory, crass, riddled with female nudity and off-the-wall antics – the comic panel transitions are well-done, too. But the narrative never amounts to anything interesting. We've seen the setup in a dozen films. We've seen these characters in other, better films. We know how it will end.
With horror (and horror-comedies), producers will almost always be dealing with not-so-fresh material, so it's important to make the journey from A to B to C interesting. 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams fails to do so. Instead, it provides more of the same, only duller (albeit colorfully dull).
This film, like its villains, is destined to live forever, like a ghost, plaguing video store shelves for decades to come, tormenting young teens from the all regions who haplessly pick up the DVD and wrongfully assume they'll get a satisfying genre picture. At least the film won't kill you like Mayor Buckman and gang would. But it will drain 90 minutes from your life.
Score: 3 out of 10
Video and Presentation
2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. In short, this is one ugly little film that gets an equally ugly encode. Shot on low-quality video (I'm not even sure if it's HD), the film's low budget is felt in nearly every single scene. Bad lighting distorts depth and shadows. Noise distracts indoor setups and nighttime sequences. Colors are milky and saturated thanks to spotty contrast and sunny locales. Scrambled with interlacing issues, washed-out visuals and uninspired cinematography, there's nothing about this transfer that looks nice.
Score: 3 out of 10
Languages and Audio
Audio choices are English Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Stereo with Spanish subtitles and English captions for the hearing impaired. First Look delivers a ferociously uneven, disgusting listening experience that'll make you hate the movie even more. It's clear this film was shot in stereo using what sounds like in-camera mics. The mix was then cheaply upconverted to 5.1 with horrendous results. Surrounds have no guidance whatsoever. The center channel barely holds the dialogue. And the film's score drowns out pretty much everything else. Honestly, skip the 5.1 mix and listen to the slightly more stable stereo mix instead, though admittedly, both are pretty unbearable.
Score: 2 out of 10
Extras and Packaging
This single-disc DVD comes packed in a clear case. Extras consist of some trailers, a production slide show (running 27 minutes), a fairly straightforward conversation with the cast and crew about at the making of the film (it runs 18 minutes) and a commentary from writer/director Tim Sullivan featuring select members of the cast. It's a pretty interesting listen detailing how everyone worked around the film's incredibly low budget, and how the story came to be. Ultimately, if you don't like the film, the commentary won't win you over, particularly because Sullivan admits he didn't really want to have a point to his unfunny crassness. But for fans of this unusual little series, this track is a must-listen.
Score: 4 out of 10
The Bottom Line
Painfully mediocre and inept in nearly every way imaginable, this sequel doesn't live up to the 2005 original. Still, if you're a gorehound, or a hardcore fan of the first, give this film a spin. But be warned – it's pretty disappointing.