This may not be the first example of a Hicksploitation movie, but it’s certainly one of the more important ones. It pretty much paved the way for similar entries in the genre like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), The Hills Have Eyes (1977), or even Wrong Turn (2003). Without this one, you wouldn’t have those. Degenerate inbred illiterate hillbillies as the bad guys? Check! Naive city folk as the victims? Check! A twisted mix of Southern Gothic, Bugs Bunny Cartoons, and Exploitation Movie atmosphere? Double Check! This is the good stuff. This is the kind of movie that begs to be watched while sitting in the back seat of a musclecar at a seedy Drive-in, drunk on cheap beer, and making out with a stripper you picked up hitchhiking. There’s just no other way to truly appreciate insanity such as this. Hold on to your horses, because I’m going to review H.G. Lewis’ Two Thousand Maniacs!
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