Review by Stuart O'Connor
Stars Bill Moseley, Lin Shaye, Christa Campbell, Nivek Ogre, Andrea Leon, Ahmed Best,
Katy Marie Johnson, Asa Hope, Alex Luria, Larayia Gaston | Written by Chris Kobin & Tim Sullivan
UK certification 18 | UK RRP £19.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 82 minutes | Directed by Tim Sullivan
Another schlocky, low-budget but lots-o-fun flick from the vivid imagination of Tim Sullivan that actually improves on the first film, which itself was a remake of Herschell Gordon Lewis's 60s classic Two Thousand Maniacs!
This time, Bill Moseley takes over the role of wacky one-eyed Mayor Buckman from Robert Englund. The evil, undead Pleasant Valley residents – as ever keen to slaughter as many Northerners as they can get their hands on – decide to take their "show" on the road when tourism to the town dries up, for they need some victims for their annual Guts N’ Glory Jamboree. They invariably come across a film crew shooting a reality TV series called Road Rascals, with a pair of Paris and Nicole look-and-act-alikes. Fun and (gory) games ensue, with plenty of vicarious topless shenanigans thrown in for good measure.
Sullivan is an assured filmmaker, and delivers a much better film here than the first one, which is probably down to the lack of interference this time around. He knows what the fans want to see, and he shamelessly goes for it. The killings are messy and imaginative, the tone of the film quite un-PC and most of the gags are groanworthy in the extreme. Field of Screams – which even features scenes of sheep shagging, so it should play well in New Zealand – is just good, messy fun.
EXTRAS ★★ An audio commentary with writer/director Sullivan; a Behind the Screams making-of featurette; a Shock n Roll slideshow; the theatrical trailer.