Bath Salt Zombies

Director - Dustin Mills (The Puppet Monster Massacre, Night of the Tentacles)

Starring - Josh Eal (Zombie A-Hole), Brandon Salkil (Night of the Tentacles), and Ethan Holey (The Puppet Monster Massacre)

Release Date - 2013

Genre - Horror/Comedy

Tagline - "Drugs, Sex, and Cannibalism"

Format - DVD (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     When a director really "wows" me with a film, or two, I will continue to buy his films regardless of the quality.  I guess that is the collector side of me instead of the fan side.  Directors John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper, and my all time favorite George A. Romero, all have crafted great films.  However, on occasion they turn out some that are not the same quality as what I am used to by them.  Anyway, director Dustin Mills blew my mind with The Puppet Monster Massacre and I was hooked ever since.  I try to support him any way I can by purchasing all his films and donating to the ones he would like to make.  I pre-ordered this one a few weeks back and when it finally came in I had to give it a go and write a review for it. 

     The film follows junkie Ritchie (Salkil) as he tries to score another high.  Ritchie is fond of bath salts and scores a new batch created by a chemist.  The bath salts come in the form of a cigarette and once smoked turns the smoker in to a face eating fiend.  The designer drug was designed to be highly addictive forcing the smoker to smoke more and more.  Ritchie does not remember what happens once high.  Special Agent Forster is waging a war on drugs and is investigating the bath salts being sold in the city.  After a run in with Ritchie, Forster is able to get one of the bath salt cigs to test.  The tests come back positive for a chemical the government had created that turned the subjects in to face eating zombies.  Ritchie raids the lab that made the drug and steals the liquid used to make bath salts before Forster is able to arrive.  He drinks the liquid straight turning him in to a complete bath salt zombie.  Forster sends in a S.W.A.T. team to capture Ritchie but they all fall prey to his hunger.  After he slaughters the entire force, Ritchie pours the liquid on to the S.W.A.T. team re-animating them.  Forster is able to put the undead task force down before going toe to toe with Ritchie.

      Mills continues to blow my mind with each film.  Sure, I like some films more than others but that is just the way the cookie crumbles.  Now, as for this flick.  I enjoyed this one, but it is not Mill's best work.  The acting in this one is very good.  Mills recast some of the stars of his previous films and I really respect that.  The story is very original and a clever spin on the zombie sub-genre.  The zombies are not your typical undead or infected re-animated corpses.  They are actually just human beings under a trance like state.  Unfortunately for the story, it is not that in depth but it does get to the point and I really like that.  Finally, the visual effects in this film are outstanding and I did not expect anything less from the mind of Dustin Mills.  He once again uses CGI, something I have come to hate, and animation in a way that it looks good.  It gives the film a fun vibe and atmosphere.   Mills is able to craft the CGI and animation in such a way that it feels like you are actually watching a comic book tale be told.  The film looks amazing, however, the special effects are not that great.  The zombie at the beginning of the film and the victims that had their faces ripped off look ridiculous.  Overall, this is a solid effort by Mills and another film I am happy to add to my collection. Order it and give it a go.