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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Redneck Zombies: Director's Cut (1987)

Redneck Zombies: Director's Cut (1987) (NTSC)

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Released 16-Jun-2005
Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General		Extras
Category	Horror	Menu Animation & Audio Introduction-Lloyd Kaufman (President Of Troma) Introduction-Steve Blackhart Featurette-Tour Of Troma Trailer-Aroma DuTroma TV Spots-PSA's Gallery-Photo Interviews-Crew-Pericles Lewnes (Director) Interviews-Crew-Ed Bishop (Producer/Editor) Featurette-Interview - Ron Jeremy And Charisma Credits
Rating
Year Of Production	1987
Running Time	82:59
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu	Cast & Crew
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Pericles Lewnes
Studio Distributor	Troma Studios Stomp Visual	Starring	Steve Sooy Anthony M. Carr Keith Johnson Ken Davis Stan Morrow Brent Thurston-Rogers Lisa M. DeHaven Tyrone Taylor Anthony Burlington-Smith James H. Housely Martin J. Wolfman Boo Teasedale Darla Deans
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip	Starring
RPI	$14.95	Music	Adrian Bond

Video (NTSC)		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	Full Frame	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (384Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.29:1
16x9 Enhancement	No
Video Format	480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.29:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No	Miscellaneous
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

It's becoming increasingly harder for me to argue in favor of Troma films when I keep finding myself subjected to their worst; outside of their homegrown classics, the huge glut of awful films they've picked up for distribution reek of desperation, most with little understanding of the craft of filmmaking matched with a total lack of creativity and invention that results in nothing but unwatchable, juvenille amateurish garbage.

Redneck Zombies is yet another of these. Shot on video by director Pericles Lewnes, the film follows the tragic events following a bunch of redneck stereotypes distributing radioactive moonshine leading to widespread zombie outbreak. (Probably not a metaphor for this film. Probably.) Meanwhile, a bunch of young, unlikeable morons in the vein of Jason Voorhees fodder camp nearby, soon battling for their useless teenage lives when they encounter the living-dead-who-really-like-their-cousins. There's little in the way here of character development, or characters at all - you'll come to know the folk onscreen by whichever stereotype they represent - yet the film is too stupid to have any kind of social commentary or any real value at all. It's frequently racist (there's a really stupid scene in which a black man's dialogue is subtitled because, hell, I don't know, us white viewers can't understand the way black people speak?) and is, on the whole, dull and overacted, to the point of chest pain. There's no use talking about things like framing and pacing; when filmmakers have such a struggle making a film look like a film there's much more important things to consider, like drug abuse.

To be fair, the special effects actually stand out as being reasonably impressive for a very-very-low budget zombie feature, and it's no wonder that the director went on to do special effects on other better films. The practical effects look pretty good, on par with something like Shaun of the Dead that doesn't shoot for serious realism, and several of the nastier gags kept me amused, such an as axe to the head and a hammer to the head, both with amusing sound effects and overdone bloodletting. But then the film is let down with intrusive Troll 2 style bright green gunk that looks fake and appalling, even by Troma standards.

I've heard this is a pretty decent "drunk with your friends" style bad film, but I simply don't buy it - it's just too boring and uninspired and boring to hold interest and really offers nothing but headache. File this one under "avoid" in the Troma file - there are much, much better out there.

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Transfer Quality

Video

The video is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio.

Redneck Zombies was shot on digital video and looks generally awful. Although I admire people who just get out there and make a film, there is definitely something to be said for the look of film over the look of someone's holiday camcorder footage, and the entire film wallows in this. The colours change from shot to shot due to the lack of detail in low-grade-digital video, but worse is that there's frequent digital breakdown from 35:00 onwards, including weird errors at 61:48 and 71:06. The look of the film changes entirely when the film cuts to stock footage, such as that of chickens at 50:19.

It's best not to get on this film's case about how bad the video and audio quality is - this film is what it is, a very low budget horror film shot on camcorder about two decades ago, it isn't going to look or sound good. The poor quality would probably be part of the film's charm, if only the film actually had some charm.

There are no subtitles.

*Video Ratings Summary*
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 (Mono).

Redneck Zombies sounds awful, clearly being shot with minimal equipment, quite possibly the microphone built into the camcorder. It's clear that the filmmakers weren't aware that you're supposed to shoot background sound to insert into all cuts in a scene, since each shot features different background noise (see 7:00 for an astonishing example). Some credit must be given that most of the dialogue is audible, but it's a mixed blessing - everything sounds tinny and awful.

I am unsure of the composer of the music, which is a decent mix of country-style music and more horror-themed compositions that rattle away occasionally across the viewing.

*Audio Ratings Summary*
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

Animated Menus with Sound

The menus here feature a taste of the soundtrack in the background over promo pictures and confusing menu choices. Usually I'm not so put off by the bizarre and awkward menus favoured by Troma, but it felt like a real pain trying to locate anything on the disc.

Steve Blackhart Intro (3:11)

Who the hell is Steve Blackhart? This deeply unfunny, never-ending opener eventually segues into an idiotic discursive joke after some discussion between a much-younger Lloyd Kaufman and Sgt Kabukiman.

Lloyd Kaufman Intro (1:31)

Lloyd's introduction isn't much funnier but is much more informative, discussing Pericles Lewnes bargain with Troma wherein he would work for the studio in exchange for distributing his movie. If you're a fan of this movie, or anything else Lewnes has done, then it's kind of interesting.

Interactive Tour of Troma Studios

The same interactive tour as seen on many of the Troma DVDs, this is great fun for fans with several sections to explore. Features extreme violence and gratuitous sexual content!

Aroma Du Troma (2:00)

An extremely violent two minute montage of Troma clips advertising their most infamous films, with all the nudity and gore you can poke a stick at. It ends with a car flying through the air into a boat and exploding.

Lloyd Kaufman Reveals His Secrets (1:15)

A short trailer for Lloyd’s book, featuring Michael Herz, Sgt Kabukiman, and a random scantily dressed girl.

Radiation March (0:53)

An extremely strange, surreal dance clip that’s really a public service announcement against pollution. I have no idea what this is doing on this DVD, aside from being very clearly in the vein of Troma, it’s a bizarre though enjoyable addition to the package.

Kabukiman's Public Service Annoucement (2:47)

Sgt Kabukiman discusses the dangers of compulsive masturbation with various amusing sight gags.

Public Service Annoucement (3:36)

An excerpt from Troma’s Edge TV offering 90 seconds of uncut gratuitous nudity as a solution to those trapped in a hotel room unable to afford the cost of inhouse pornography.

Public Service Annoucement #2 (2:28)

Al Gore (who's black) appears to talk to us about Global Warming, while two nearly-naked girls undress and make-out, rubbing ice on their bodies. Then there's fart jokes. This is actually my favourite special feature on the DVD, much much better than the film itself, and achieving exactly what Troma is attempting to do.

Gyno Talk (1:59)

One of the random Troma girls of the month ("Tromettes") talks about the benefits of starring in Troma films as well as the roles of women in Troma in this short interview.

Photo Gallery

Four - count 'em - four gory photos from the making of the film, in very low quality. Hooray.

Undead Interview with Director Pericles Lewnes (2:00)

This sitdown with the man behind the movie reveals that these were people making a bad film, who knew they were making a bad film and achieved pretty much exactly that. Only that. It cost them around $5000 to make, which was gathered before they knew what the film was that they wanted to make, and overall he seems pretty pleased with the results. Power to him, I guess.

Producer, Editor and Zombie Man Ed Bishop (1:53)

Close friend of the director Ed Bishop discusses the creation of this film and his role, with a slightly different version of how everything came together than the director. He also seems to like the film, so, yay, whatever.

Ron Jeremy and Charisma take Troma Naked (2:26)

Ron Jeremy discusses why he loves Troma, blah blah.

Censorship

There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

The R1 and R4 are identical except for the same ommissions plaguing other Aus Troma releases - the Troma Intelligence Test and Trailers are missing - I'd recommend whichever is cheapest, unless you HAVE to own the two extras.

Summary

Although not quite up to the standards of Rabid Grannies, Redneck Zombies is still legitemately terrible and should be avoided.

The video and audio transfers are awful and what you'd expect for a film shot on camcorder in the 80's.

The extras are the same as on every other Troma disc with few exceptions.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Review Equipment
DVD	Sony Playstation 3 (HDMI 1.3) with Upscaling, using Component output
Display	Philips 47PFL9732D 47-inch LCD . Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio Decoder	Logitech 5500 THX. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL).
Amplification	Logitech 5500 THX
Speakers	Logitech 5500 THX

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