Redneck Zombies

I lowered all of my horror standards when I picked this up at Hollywood Video, knowing that it was a Troma production, though, for some reason, it said it was made by Full Moon Production, too. Even better, it was the new director's cut, so I knew I wasn't going to be spared.

And by the end, I must say, I was amazed.

The storyline is quite weird (but then again, this is Troma and/or Full Moon) but very cool. An army soldier is taking a bin of radioactive material through the redneck south, and loses it while driving. A redneck takes it, forcing the army guy to leave without it, and is then robbed of it by more hicks making a new alcohol still. Yet, the infamous Ellie May--if you've seen this, you know who it is--drops the barrel and the radioactive stuff goes into their still. They leave it, though, and are impressed with the new stuff they've made.

Meanwhile, a group of campers are out looking for their campsite ("And it has a pond to piss in!"), unaware of the carnage about to unfold.

I think we can all guess what happens next. The alcohol is distributed around town, turning everyone who drinks it into a flesheating zombie. No one's safe--especially not the campers, who find themselves attacked and killed off with no mercy, all leading up to the bloody climax.

This is truly a great movie. Especially for big fans of zombies and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre." (Like I am.) Fans of TCM are sure to notice the great spoofing, even in the end, with the gory showdown at the house between Lisa and the zombie family.

For anyone looking for a fun horror movie, this is it. It has plenty of gore, plenty of comedy, and plenty of fun for anyone. But if you're looking for the next "Silence of the Lambs," avoid this film at all costs. You will hate it. But anyone else, you'll love this like I do.

For some of the people that posted about how bad and stupid this movie was: actually, i'm stumped. I don't know what to tell you. The intention of the producers of Redneck Zombies was to make a really bad movie. In fact, if anyone has the Troma DVD, they should watch the short interview with director, Pericles Lewnes. He basically says they wanted to make a really awful gory horror movie. Knowing that movies shot on video automatically come off as being cheesy, they went all the way with the bad acting, bad jokes, bad special effects, etc. And that is why this movie has become one of the gems of modern day b-movie gore flicks. If this was shot on film, it wouldn't be the same.

I wouldn't laugh in the same way. If the cast included well trained actors- once again, I wouldn't laugh in the way that I do. This movie is the epitemy of being "so bad that it is good",

So for all of you wannabe Siskel and Eberts out there, keep on renting Scream 1-100, I know What You Did Last Spring (or was it Summer?), and any other modern day over produced horror flick with a soundtrack by Creed. I'll keep watching (and loving) all the trash that goes straight to DVD. Of course you can't rent any of the wonderful sleazy trash flicks at Blockbuster or Hollywood, so I am forced to purchase these fine films at conventions and off the internet. Thank God for the internet.

I will say I was happily impressed with the big budget Dawn of the Dead for the most part.

Okay, so it's not a masterpiece. But this movie is freakin' hilarious. I don't like Troma movies, but this movie is so funny. It's only for die-hard fans of horror films. This movie is definitely stupid and the acting is nothing short of horrid, but it's fun and it makes you laugh. What's more important than that?

When a film begins with a mental patient in a hospital putting out a cigarette on an already very scarred forearm (his own), you know you've got a twisted film on your hands. This is certainly a gore splatter, but the nastiness and quality of the gore push it beyond another sad blood fest. Loaded with humour and revolting stuff. There's a very weird acid freak out scene when the first rednecks become zombies, and later a guy on acid freaks out while performing an autopsy. The tobacco man is hilarious (a tobacco salesman who has to cover his head with a blood strained sack as his face is so hideous from years of chewing tabacco). There's also some great imagery, and at times even threatens to create some atmosphere! Miles ahead of anything else the Troma team has come up with.

On a strange note, I've rented this film twice, at two different flats, & watched it with two different flatmates. They both fell asleep half way through. Inexplicable.

Everything about this (with the exception of a few forced attempts to be funny) is pure fun. And most of the time, the humor is done well. I've considered this a favorite for a long time. It's dumber and more offensive than most movies that come out, and it utilizes this in some very entertaining ways. As Mike Mendez described his film "The Convent", this movie is an equal opportunity offender. DO NOT TAKE THIS FILM SERIOUSLY. And remember that, no matter how cheezy and low-budget this is, the truckloads of blood and guts in this are more realistic than in most horror movies out there. I feel compelled to believe that these people went to some butcher shops, big-time. The humor is great nine times out of ten, the gore FX are nifty, and some of the characters really are memorable. To make a needlessly review short, this is the kind of party movie that you just get together with friends and kick back and enjoy. Still, if you are expecting one of the "masterpieces of the ages" from a shot-on-video movie from Troma, what makes you think you deserve your HOUR AND A HALF back?