Small creepy towns with a secret have always gone hand-in-hand with horror movies.  Originally intended to be made in 2001, 2005’s 2001 Maniacs takes this concept and puts a comedic spin on it.  So in honor of the 15^th anniversary of its US Premiere today, we thought it would be fitting to look at 15 fun facts about 2001 Maniacs!

1. The role of Mayor Buckman was written specifically for Robert Englund, who had befriended director Tim Sullivan at the New Line Cinema Christmas parties. Englund’s involvement helped get development and funding rolling.

2. 2001 Maniacs serves as both a sequel, as well as soft reboot to Herschell Gordon Lewis’ 1964 cult classic Two Thousand Maniacs.

3. Originally planned to be filmed in Los Angeles, but there was a fire near the location, forcing them to shoot on location in Georgia.

4. The plot point of the massacred town in Georgia was loosely inspired by the General Sherman’s destructive march through Georgia, which left Atlanta burnt to the ground.

5. One of the biggest challenges for Tim Sullivan was casting the roughly 300 extras needed for townspeople, especially given the film’s low budget.

6. Because of this, several crew members served as extras and were credited as “Additional Maniac”.

7. In order to keep to budget, he held extensive rehearsals at his house.

8. Sullivan had previously worked as production assistant on Coming to America, which led to a friendship with John Landis, which ultimately led to his cameo in 2001 Maniacs.

9. Reunites Robert Englund and Lin Shaye from A Nightmare on Elm Street, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, and Wish You Were Dead.

10. According to Eli Roth, his cameo is the same character as Cabin Fever (he also served as a producer on the film).

11. Partially film in and around LaGrange, Georgia. The city was also used for many of the exteriors of Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House.

12. The film’s composer Nathan Barr went on to compose Hostel, Hostel II, True Blood, Hemlock Grove, The Turning, and The Hunt.

13. Kane Hodder also has an incredibly meta cameo as a character named Jason.

14. It was nominated for Best DVD Release at the Saturn Awards, but lost to The Sci-Fi Boys, a documentary about special effects in the sci-fi genre.

15. Both Tim Sullivan and Chris Kobin (screenwriter) returned 5 years later to make a sequel, 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams. However, Robert Englund was recast without his knowledge (despite being involved in pre-production) and the film was very poorly received.

Which of these did you already know?  Which ones surprised you?  Let us know in the comments!

2001 Maniacs is currently streaming on Tubi

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