'S

This Stuff'll Kill Ya!

(1971) Director:  H.G. Lewis  Starring: Jeffery Allen, Tim Holt, Gloria King, Ray Sager

Well....color me blood redneck........

...if'n this ain't the dumbest damn movie I've ever did see'd.  You'll have to excuse my grammar and spellin' for the remainder of this review, dear reader...because after watching this Herschell Gordon Lewis masterpiece, I've lost a few brain cells in the process..... Now...I'm of Appalahcian stock, and have spent the majority of my life doing my damnedest to leave all those hill-billy trappings behind.  But, as someone wiser than I once said, "You can take the boy outta the sticks, but ya can't take the sticks outta the boy...".  This is one case where I know I can blame my upbringing....

The older I get, it seems the more and more I long for the days of my childhood spent there.  I know that hindsight sometime embellishes the past, but it honestly does seem to me now that those days were a simpler, happier time.  Alot of good all this "book larnin'" has got me, I guess.... The Plot:  Roscoe Boone (Jeffery Allen of 2000 Maniacs fame) is the local preacher-man in a yokel community that makes the cast of The Beverly Hillbillies look like friggin' rocket scientists.  Noteable Skeleton in the Closet:  Larry Drake of L.A Law and Darkman fame plays one of his corn-fed brood.  Boone runs a ministry whose worship is based around alcohol consumpsion (no...before you ask, they're not Catholic), primarily of the "corn likker" variety.  Y'see, ol' Roscoe has the most productive shine still in the area, and the church is a clever front for it.  And all is well and good... During the openning of the film, we're treated to one of his "services" and a marriage ceremony, wherein two hick kids are "makin' it legal-like".  After the seemingly ceremonial rape by the menfolk of the community of the bride (offscreen, thankfully..."keepin' it in the family" takes on a whole new definition, if ya get my drift), the service ends, and then we get some good ol' timey footstompin' music.  Who says rural towns don't have no culture?  Yee-hoo. Then the trouble starts.... Roscoe goes into town and causes a ruckus at the state liqour store, samshing bottles like a madman, whicih gets the law called on him and his parish.  Two "revey-noo-er" men (one played by Hollywood veteran Tim Holt, in his last screen appearence) bust up the show, and what follows is some fairly gruesome deaths (mostly caused by Boone and his clan) including the crucifixtion of two female tourists. If that's some of that "downhome hospitality" I've always heard about, thank god I moved to the city when I did. Roscoe and his clan git themselves in a jam, and most of his brood are deader'n doornails by the bloody climax.  The End.

This odd mixture of black comedy, hillbilly flicks and the patented Gordon grue is somewhat the disorienting experience to watch.  A real hackjob of editting, alot of jerky camera work and such....you'll feel as if you've had a nip of the ol' "mulekick" yerself.... But, all in all, an experience that must be had for all die-hard H.G. Lewis fans and hick-ophiles. The Something Weird double feature DVD, pictured at left, which I own, paired with Lewis's final hillbilly flick, Year of the Yahoo!, is enjoyable enough, packed with some nice special features and trailers for nearly all of Lewis's flicks...highly recommended for fans...

The Something Weird DVD release