Hillbilly-Bob Zombie. 2009. Reviewed by Brian Kirst
With nods to Troma (and including appearances from Lloyd Kaufman and featured Troma players Sal Lizard and Brenna Lee Roth), Ray Basham’s Hillbilly-Bob Zombie is a bit too rambling and incoherent at times to have the desired effect of offending – but when all is said and done, it seems to be exactly the film that Basham wanted to make.
When Billy-Bob makes his moonshine in a contaminated barrel, soon all hell – and zombies – are busting loose in Hillbilly County Kentucky. Basham has fun playing into all the slow mentality and incestuous stereotypes found in backwoods lore, but too much of his running time is devoted to barely audible conversations filmed in long shot at the party that causes the initial outbreak.
A funny bit does include Basham, making an appearance himself, running over an unsuspecting zombie on a country road and actor Chris Burdulis brings some heart and fun to his role of Junior, the slow witted son of Lizard and Roth’s characters. Burdulis, also, supplies the film’s finest moment when Junior launches into a sweet rendition of ‘Babyback Ribs’ after a distraught character wails “I want my baby back!” during the penultimate zombie attack.
Elsewhere, it is truly nice to see Roth, an upcoming horror-independent film actress, in a featured role and bringing some presence and style to the project. (Roth, who has an abundance of credits, has mostly been seen thus far in cameo and background roles in projects such as Frat House Massacre.)
Ultimately, though, Hillbilly-Bob Zombie feels more like an improvised first draft of a future project rather than a ‘proper’ full length film – but Basham truly seems to be having fun here keeping the DIY enthusiasm intact.
