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OZONE! ATTACK OF THE REDNECK
MUTANTS (1986)
Directed by Matt Devlen
Muther Video VHS
Reviewed 01.10.08
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
"If we lose the ozone layer,
we'll all become mutants."
Well, there you go.
In 1986, writer-director Bret McCormick and partner-director Matt Devlen
grabbed a Super 8 camera, hit the
backyard, and went to town. The
results were Ozone! Attack Of
The Redneck Mutants and The
Abomination; two trash-gore
films which were shot back-to-back
in Texas, edited on video, then
subsequently lost to the sands of
video store time. As they say, patience
is often a virtue. Within months
of procuring a copy of the elusive
Abomination, the nearly
invisible Ozone quietly
crept into my collection. Its sedate
arrival could not have been more
apt. However, I cannot speak for
the red stains, spoiled odors, and
structural damages which blanketed
my home in the aftermath. Goddamn
that ozone layer.
Things are tough all over for the
hillbillies of Poolville, USA. Coughs.
Pukes. Mutations. Murder. The cause?
You got it. Ozone depletion. It
is within this oh-so-very-1986 framework
that Ozone quietly makes
a stand for uncomplicated mayhem.
Plot is scarce; outcome is nil.
Basically, tough cookie Arlene and
big time nerd Kevin (Blue Thompson
and Scott Davis respectively, both
from The Abomination) run,
drive, and look around while a few
mutated zombies maim the townies.
Incidental scenes of redneck character
development (shotgun blasting, making
out, flossing) are interspersed.
A superbly frightening mad beast
appears in a hole, but is soon overshadowed
by a stirring stand-up act. And
a mid-panic lunch break. Complete
with more pukes.
The Abomination stands
as a bizarrely inventive, lo-fi
trash epic. Its stature grows and
grows with each passing day. Ozone
is that film's afterthought; still
focused on repetition, rampant gore,
and arbitrary weirdness, but with
a lazier attitude. Dark layers are
exchanged for odd comedy. Growling
synths make way for vaudeville library
cues. Visuals hop between leisurely
desolation and anxious stutters.
But technical stuff aside, Ozone
is all about the extremes. Blood
on the walls. Guts on the floors.
Barf on the appliances. Cars and
houses destroyed. Faces lost in
a sea of black, purple, and yellow
muck. The insane level of dedicated,
hands-on havoc is a spectacle in
itself, and that fact, combined
with an avoidance in overt junior
high snickering (bite it, Redneck
Zombies), is what makes Ozone
attractive. Even when it's dead
boring.
If we lose the ozone layer, we'll
have more movies like this one.
Pass the Aqua Net.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Super 8. Still the best.
EXTRAS
Good Christ almighty!! There is
a trailer park. There is also a
woman who might be John Candy impersonating
Divine on SCTV. On three
separate occasions (intro, mid-point,
outro), she screeches at us to shut
off the VCR and return Ozone
to the video store. Why? 'Cause
she's yer Muther! And these movies
are "tewwrible...just tewwrible!"
Congratulations, Muther Video. You
have made me feel very uncomfortable.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Breezy, film-stamped, and rough
around every edge, Ozone's
backyard charm rarely decays. It's
less grandiose than The Abomination,
but what do you expect? More Bible
riffing?! C'mon, already! Obscure
trash-gore aesthetes will find much
to appreciate. Everyone else will
fall asleep. Place yourself in either
of those two categories and singe
it up.
Thanks to Eric Robitaille for
providing a copy of this film! |
My Blue Heaven
Nightmare In A Damaged Terlet
Save me
Word to the Muther
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