2001 Maniacs 2005

Anderson Lee [Jay Gillespie], Nelson Elliot [Dylan Edrington], and Cory Jones [Matthew Carey] are three college students heading to Daytona Beach for Spring Break, planning to crash at Cory’s brother’s beach house. While stopping at a truck stop, they meet three travelers named Ricky [Brian Gross], Kat [Gina Marie Heekin], and Joey [Marla Malcolm], and the group agrees to join them there.

The next day, the group gets lost and stumbles onto a faded Detour sign that points them to the southern town of Pleasant Valley, led by the eccentric mayor, George W. Buckman [Robert Englund]. Soon after, Ricky, Kat, and Joey join them, and Buckman explains that for the next two days they’re honored guests at the town’s annual Guts N Glory Jubilee. A biker couple—Malcolm [Mushond Lee] and Lea [Bianca Smith]—arrive and are taken to a hotel run by Granny Boone [Lin Shaye], who keeps a watchful eye on the proceedings.

Shortly after settling in, Kat is killed in a brutal display when Harper Alexander [Giuseppe Andrews] has her hands and feet tied, drawing and quartering her before her body is served as part of the town’s feast. Later that evening, Nelson is murdered after being forced to drink battery acid by the Milk Maiden [Christa Campbell], who mistakes it for moonshine. The following day, the group divides and wanders through different corners of Pleasant Valley, noticing how the townsfolk behave in unsettling, almost ritualistic ways.

As the locals’ odd behavior grows clearer, Lea—dressed in a southern dress—heads toward the town podium during the celebration, only to be killed when Granny Boone pulls a rope and a large bell crashes down on her. Ricky sees the carnage and hurries to warn the others, but Buckman’s son, Rufus [Brendan McCarthy], and a pair of female residents overpower him; they force a poker up his rear and out his mouth, killing him as Boone licks the tip. The remaining members begin to suspect something is terribly wrong, especially after Joey finds Kat’s dog tags and realizes the friends have been missing for some time.

They hatch a plan to recover their belongings and escape, but Buckman’s subtle threats deter them for the moment and the group splits up. Malcolm ventures out to find Lea and heads toward a cotton press, only to be crushed by the machinery in a deadly trap set by the townsfolk. Cory and Joey head to the hotel to gather their things; Cory realizes his phone is in his room and leaves Joey behind to fetch it. Inside, Joey discovers a cabinet filled with jars of various body parts and dates from past Jubilees, but before she can flee, Rufus captures her. Cory, meanwhile, is confronted by Miss Peaches [Wendy Kremer], who seductively approaches him, then reveals metal fangs and mauls his crotch, killing him.

Anderson seeks the group’s rides and finds Malcolm’s motorbike in a barn guarded by Buckman’s son Hucklebilly. He’s knocked out with a slingshot before the night ends. That same night, Anderson and Joey find themselves bound and taunted by the townsfolk for intruding on their town. Buckman shows them the heads of their deceased friends—barbecued as a cruel warning—and offers Anderson a grisly choice: kill Joey or be killed. Anderson refuses and the two lovers escape on Malcolm’s bike as the townsfolk watch in silent anger, Buckman muttering, “an eye for an eye.”

The next day, Anderson and Joey reach local authorities, who are skeptical but follow them back to Pleasant Valley, only to find the town has vanished, leaving behind only a graveyard. A commemorative plaque reveals that during the Civil War, Union troops massacred the town’s inhabitants, and the vengeful spirits of those townsfolk forever haunt anyone who disturbs their resting place. As Anderson and Joey drive away on the motorcycle, they are decapitated by barbed wire placed by Hucklebilly; he retrieves their heads and disappears into the road, leaving the fate of Pleasant Valley and its ghosts as a chilling warning about meddling with the dead.