“A Free Bird” DVD (director Gregg Russell)

Charming indie redneck comedy

Endorsed by Headline News vixen (and amateur country pop singer) Robin Meade, this indie comedy certainly has its perks. Down-and-out slackerly country boy J.T. gets fired from his steakhouse job, sees his car break down, and has a jealous common-law wife on his ass about, well, everything (his slutty side girlfriend notwithstanding). 

Anyway, J.T. meets up with his not-so-upstanding friends to plot a robbery of the same steak house he was once employed by. So after hundreds of steaks end up stolen, and the boys can't find a buyer for the stolen meat, things just go further South. Equal parts comedy and silly drama, “A Free Bird” is a charmingly well scripted and acted film, albeit not as “hilarious” as the packaging proclaims. Still, this was an enjoyable little film that won’t get much notice, but could end up a sort of cult indie hit, given the right exposure. Well-done

MVD Visual

"Season In Hell: Evil Farmhouse Torture" DVD (director: Elliot Passantino)

This low-rent "Texas Chainsaw" knock-off has so little going for it. Where do I begin? The goofy redneck farmer is reminiscent of a mix between Billy Bob Thornton in "Swingblade" and Larry The Cable Guy. But his accent comes and goes. And the overwhelming (and overbearing) use of digital effects is annoying, perhaps covering up some bigger mistakes in the filming.

The acting is terrible, the plot barely exists, the characters lack any depth, and, with the over-reliance on psychedelic effects, "Season In Hell" is a truly tedious experience. I could go on. Even the tortured girls in the basement are annoying, and, dare I say, deserve what they get. I could barely get through this one. (World Wide Multi Media)

"Inbred Redneck Vampires (aka "Bloodsucking Redneck Vampires")" DVD (director: Joe Sherlock)

This ultra low-budget horror-comedy is, thankfully, as tongue-in-cheek as the title blatantly proclaims. It won't go down as a classic in anyone's book, but it is chock-full of tacky dialogue, snappy one-liners, flat acting, and tasteless redneck jokes. Yes, there are bean-eating fart contests, window peeping, tripe-eating, beer drinking, strip pokering, cat-shit eating, and shotgun-toting moments strewn throughout this one, alongside the usual genre staples (extravagantly over-the-top gore and some rampant breastiness). The storyline, you ask? Well, I say, "Does it matter"? Let's just say that a sexy vampiress mistakenly chooses a deep-Southern hillbilly backwoods town called Backwash to start a vampire colony. Soon, the kinfolk are infected, and all manner of wacky hijinks ensue, as you can imagine. Bad accents, bad vampire teeth, and buckets of blood.

I admire the tenacity it took to realize this film, but it seems to go on far too long. Maybe more editing would've made this one a mite more palatable. Kudos to the diminutive Cletus (played by Bill Bradford), who steals the show and is easily the most convincing and charismatic of the actors. If good, ultra-trashy B-movie fun is your thing, look into "Inbred Redneck Vampires". I'll stick with "Redneck Zombies" myself. (SRS Cinema
via MVD Visual)