Ozone: The Attack of the Redneck Mutants

I know you're not supposed to have any positive expectations towards an 80's film called "Attack of the Mutant Rednecks" but this is really terrible beyond belief. Even when you're familiar with really bad, no-budget amateur film-making, this piece of junk is STILL unendurable! I usually have a soft spot for enthusiast genre fanatics that deliver their own self-made film with bad acting and over the top gore effects (like "The Dead Next Door" for example!) but this is simply atrocious and I can't mention one reasonably decent aspect about it. Ozone! Attack of the Redneck Mutants tells the filthy story of a remote town where the retarded inhabitants turn into decomposing corpses after an accident with chemical sprays. On the DVD-cover is stated that this film carries an environmental message. Um…showing a bunch of idiots ripping flesh out of each other and then blaming it on ozone-problems isn't exactly helping the environment, guys. The people (I can't really refer to them as actors) playing in this trash are the most irritating ever! I'm not demanding outstanding acting performances in this type of cinema but these hillbillies can't even properly speak. You often feel the desire to pull them through the screen and hit them in the stomach for looking so ridiculous. The gore and blood normally would be the obvious reasons to check out this film but it really isn't worth it. The gore is uninspired, lame and gigantically over the top. And when the gore isn't dripping from the screen, the film is very tedious and boring as hell. I take it you're not interested in seeing a group of elderly redneck having a karaoke-evening?? Avoid at all costs…unless you get a kick out of tormenting yourself. Then you should definitely watch it.

This direct-to-video comes straight from the tradition of Hershell Gordon Lewis : it features bad directing, some humour and no budget. Once again, the filmmaker's enthusiasm tries to make up for the flaws and almost succeeds. But, once again, this is strictly for the gorehounds.

According to one of the covers for this movie, legendary gore director H.G. Lewis praised Ozone director Matt Devlin, saying he was "one of the brightest young lights in the world of exploitation films" and that Mr. Lewis is "following his career with much anticipation". Now, for all I know that could have been an excerpt from a not-so-enthusiastic criticism, It could have been altered from what Mr. Lewis actually said, or it could just be complete bulls**t. But assuming it's not, I find it amusing that the same man who trashed Tim Ritter's Killing Spree live on his radio show could have possibly praised something like this.

The make-up on the actual redneck mutants looks great, and so does the gore, unfortunately the gore is way too sparse. There is a lot of vomit of various colors, but the gore (what we actually came to see) sure takes it's sweet time.

Sometimes SOV movies with a disappointing amount of gore can be saved by a certain so-bad-it's-good factor (see my review of Andrew Jordan's Things), but this doesn't have that either. There are too many dragged-out scenes with nothing happening. There are some parts that are amusing (the chicken chasing scene comes to mind), but again, these scenes are way too sparse.

Bottom Line: Great make-up effects + decent gore + some enjoyable moments + many boring moments = a mediocre homemade splatter movie.

Highlights include the very first scene in the movie, the aforementioned chicken chasing scene, a hilariously nonsensical stand-up act at a bar, and a gut-munching scene towards the end.

5 out of 10 (and I think that's being a bit generous)