Having grown up in the Baltimore area, Pericles Lewnes knew that he always wanted to be a filmmaker. With his friends Ed Bishop and Bill Decker, he decided to work on something that could be gory and slapstick. They came up with the title Redneck Zombies, and from there, started brainstorming various ideas for gags and gore effects. Working on a very shoestring budget, they said that the film should play more like a parody than something serious. Towards the end of filming, Lewnes saw The Toxic Avenger at a local theater and fell in love with Troma. He took the film to Troma and made a distribution deal, which led to Lewnes working for the company. Lewnes got to work on Troma’s War, The Toxic Avenger Parts 2 & 3, and Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. Finally, in early 1989, Lewnes’ Redneck Zombies was released to video store shelves.
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Synopsis
While driving through the backwoods, a soldier named Tyrone Robinson (Tyrone Taylor) accidentally loses a barrel of toxic waste. A family of moonshiners, the Clemsons, finds the barrel and decides to use it for their still. Meanwhile, some young people are hiking through the woods for a camping trip led by Wilbur (James H. Housely). One night, the young people get high on weed while the local rednecks drink the radioactive moonshine the Clemsons made. Unfortunately, the following day, the rednecks who drank the moonshine have turned into flesh-eating zombies wandering through the woods. As the zombies tear their way through the area, the remaining campers, including Lisa Dubois (Lisa M. DeHaven), try surviving. The drugged-out Bob (Anthony Burlington-Smith) discovers that deodorant kills the zombies, but will that be enough to stop them? It’s a good old-fashioned hoedown of horror as our heroes try surviving the Redneck Zombies!
Review
Redneck Zombies is one of those movies that you should go into with shallow expectations before watching it. With a title like that, you really shouldn’t go into this thinking it’s going to be a terrifying zombie film. This film has its tongue planted firmly in its cheek and wants you to laugh along with it. There are plenty of over-the-top performances, a ridiculous story, and tons of gore like any good Troma movie. On that note, the gore effects are surprisingly decent given the meager budget they had on hand. Admittedly, the make-up effects are pretty cheesy, but the filmmakers were fully aware and are rolling with it. Seeing many people with black eye makeup and putty-covered faces stumbling around has a charming quality to it. As goofy as most of the film is, there are some genuinely sickening scenes in the last few minutes. It’s a mixed bag.
Given that the filmmakers were trying to make a fun, cheesy monster movie, it seems pointless to critique this seriously. For instance, the movie was shot on video instead of on film since it’s much cheaper than using film. Also, don’t expect deep characterization or a richly compelling story since the filmmakers weren’t concerned about that. Still, there are tons of filler scenes, and several of the jokes don’t land quite as well as they hoped. Plus, some of the more exaggerated performances can get grating at times, but it seems intentional given their ultimate fate. Thankfully, at just slightly under 90 minutes in length, the movie won’t take up too much of your time. If you’re looking for a fun bad movie to watch with some friends and some drinks, look no further. Overall, Redneck Zombies is no Night of the Living Dead, but it doesn’t have to be.
Buy Redneck Zombies from Amazon: https://amzn.to/2UKMOW8.
