Comfort food can come in many forms. Music, drugs, even food itself. My comfort food has always been bad Horror films. One bad Horror film in particular has been a comfort to me above all others. A shot-on-video cheesefest, made in 1986 and distributed by Troma, called Redneck Zombies. And this isn't just any old 80's S.O.V. This 'un's special. You can just tell how much thought was put into making this a fun movie, and how much fun the cast and crew must have had. It's so stupid, so cheap looking, yet, so amazing at the same time. Redneck zombies really captures the Troma feel more so than any other "Non-Kaufman". And even more so than some Lloyd Kaufman himself directed.

But let's back up a little. The year is 1999, and I rent Redneck Zombies for the first time. And I am not one bit amused. Although, it was a step up from the only other two S.O.Vs I had seen. That being Blood Lake and Violent Shit. In all fairness, this was the R-rated version I saw, which might as well have been PG. Something I didn't realize for many years. Even aside from the misplaced gore and fuckedupness. my brain wasn't quite ready for the genius level of retardation Redneck Zombies had to offer. It wasn't until 2008 when I bought the unrated Tromasterpiece DVD which was packed with extras, that this pefect shit storm finally won me over. Although, it took quite a few viewings to convince me. And now, 8 years after that, and possibly 100 viewings later, I am ready to admit that Redneck Zombies is good. Actually, I would go so far as to say Rednecl Zombies is God!

I'll get to the story in a minute. But first, what exactly is a redneck? An ignorant, white asshole, possibly living in a rural area? Yeah. Something like that. I always found it funny that the people in this movie who turn into zombies are more on the hillbilly side, with some white trash thrown in. Not so much rednecks. Atleast we never get to see that side of their personalities. But they did get the zombie part right... Or at least close enough.

Somewhere, out in the sticks, Tyrone the soldier is hauling a barrel of toxic waste. But when he burns his finger on a joint that he's trying to share with a dog, he accidentally has a wreck, and said barrel tumbles on down a hill. Not sure what happened to that dog, as he seemed to vanish right before this happens, never to be seen again. Some lardass "redneck" sees the barrel, and decides it's his. Proving so with a gun he pulls on Tyrone. As Tyrone hightails it, four more rednecks, the Clemsons, all pull guns on Ferd and run his fat ass off. So, now the barrel belongs to Jed Clemson and his boys, who just happen to make the best moonshine this shithole town has to offer. Jed and his idiot boys ponder on what this barrel could be for a while, and come to the conclusion that it's a still. And if not, then, they're perfectly willing to use it as one. And that's exactly what they do.

Meanwhile, we got a group of campers looking for a nice spot with a pond to piss in. Wilbur leads this pain in the ass group of friends, who don't really seem to know or like each other too well, deep into the woods, as the Clemson family prepare their new batch of 'shine that they're convinced will fuck everyone up nicely. How right they are. And as the Clemsons try it out, they soon realize This stuff packs one hell of a buzz, which, of course, leads to death, which leads to resurrection, which leads to a craving for human flesh. And all of that leads to a lot of gore, and dark, slapstick humor, as well as some unusually surreal moments possibly only there to confuse us city folk.

When things aren't so great, my chosen comfort food isn't always Redneck Zombies. But when I dust off this magnificent P.O.S. off a couple times a year, it never fails to put a smile on my face. And it never gets old. Little hearwarming qualities like the obvious change in seasons in a single scene, to the drunk guy who is never acknowledged, to the bad spoofing of The Beverly Hillbillies. Even witnessing this trainwreck for the 1,000th time, it will probably still not get old. Redneck Zombies is more than just another shot-on-video abomination from the 80's. More than just another bad Troma movie. Redneck Zombies is one of a kind. God-like comfort food. 10/10