From outhouse to tractor, a dude is absolutely taking the coughing crown until he finally begins a puke sesh, vomiting up what looks to me like the filing from those Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pudding Pies from the early ‘90… but can’t be seeing as this here fright flick came out in 1986…
Anyway, our pal finally turns into a still puking, red faced mutant (with sweet bladder effects) and thus begins Ozone: The Attack of the Redneck Mutants…
We soon learn the reason for the mutant mayhem is a chemical spill that leads to a hole in the ozone layer that turns the rural populace into flesh chompin’ monster-types!
And when that does happen… which is admittedly “occasionally”… we get a ton of devilishly delightful, incredibly inventive, practical gore and creature effects that are grade-A rad-ass awesomeness through and through… and bring to mind the effects achieved for Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead!
But there is that rather important “occasionally” mentioned up yonder…
A large portion of Ozone: The Attack of the Redneck Mutants consists of padding… but where that would usually be a bit of a negative in most films, here it is enthralling… and often batshit insane…
Such padding consists of (but is not limited to): a frisky watermelon farmer and his hose, a tipsy aspiring-singer of dubious talent, a scientist (technically our main character) named Arlene (Blue Thompson) and her rich, maybe sex pest “friend” Kevin (Scott Davis) driving around with little (or barely audible dialog), a comedy routine performed in a General Store focusing on shit and bestiality, an old woman cuts onions and cries as a chicken with it’s head sticking out of a barrel observes her daily routine… its as fascinating as it is a fever dream descent into a psychotronic interpretation of life in rural America.
Adding to the aesthetic is a baffling score that’s equal parts Dixieland jazz and soundtrack to a Tom & Jerry cartoon from Eastern Europe… oh, and most of the dialog is dubbed in… poorly…
As if those gifts detailed above weren’t enough reward for diving into this Blu-ray release from Visual Vengeance, we get a wicked wealth of bonus material!
Things kick off with a duo of audio commentaries… one a first hand detailing of Ozone: The Attack of the Redneck Mutants’ production courtesy of Producer Bret McCormick (Abomination) and Actress Blue Thompson (moderated by Visual Vengeance’s Matt Desiderio), and the other an examination of the film from the fan’s perspective courtesy of B&S About Movies’ Sam Panico and Drive-In Asylum’s Bill Van Ryn.
Next comes an interview with Thompson, a visit to the locations utilized to bring Ozone: The Attack of the Redneck Mutants (and Abomination) to life, collections of deleted scenes and outtakes, a VHS intro to the film (and others) on it’s Muther Video label, an interview with the film’s Director, Matt Devlen (followed by a Producer’s reel and short film from the same), Actress Barbara Dow’s acting reel, an interview with Filmmaker Mark Pirro (A Polish Vampire in Burbank) detailing his involvement in the picture, a review of Ozone from public access TV, an image gallery, and a duo of trailers (one for Ozone, and one for one of Devlen’s other films, Tabloid).
Also included in the package are a cardboard slipsleeve, a double sided insert, a folded mini-poster, stickers for both Muther Video and faux VHS rentals, a barf bag, and a totally awesome mini-comic book adaptation of the film!
Gory, goofy, and ghoulishly glorious, Ozone: The Attack of the Redneck Mutants is a shot on video blast of mind-warping insanity served up with a side of beastly biscuits n’ gravy!
