Movie Review: Bath Salt Zombies (2013)

The drug known as "Bath Salts" made huge news about a year or so ago after a hobo using the drug went into a rage and chewed off a man's face. For some reason I didn't see this coming, but filmmaker Dustin Mills (Puppet Monster Massacre, Night of the Tentacles) and co-writer/producer Clint Weiler jumped at the chance at making a horror comedy about this odd, very heinous incident. Could it reek of genius... or it could reek of something else? 

Bath salts are a huge hit in the inner city, so much so that an even more potent dose of bath salts has been put together by a chemist (writer/ director Mills). One such junkie, Ritchie (Brandon Salkil, Night of the Tentacles, Zombie A-Hole) gets a hold of of these cigarettes and instead of getting a solid high he transforms into a face-ripping, flesh-eating bath salt zombie.

Mills opens Bath Salt Zombies in creative fashion with a quirky little cartoon preaching the dangers of bath salts. He follows this with some early graphic bath salt zombie carnage and explicit nudity by an attractive brunette. So far, he's got my attention. 

The story also follows a cop on the bath salt beat. Agent Forster (Josh Eal) takes it upon himself to make a dent in the bath salt epidemic by taking out groups of drug-dealers using his snazzy fighting moves. Is it enough to dispose of these flesh-eating freaks? You'll have to see.

Before catching Mills' Bath Salt Zombies I had the opportunity to watch a few of his previous efforts - Puppet Monster Massacre, Zombie A-Hole and Night of the Tentacles and I will say that he has just continued to improve as a filmmaker. I wasn't a huge fan of Puppet Monster Massacre, which was produced a few years back but now. That was a fun idea that just didn't work for me, but Zombie A-Hole on the other hand and now Bath Salt Zombies has converted me into a fan. Growth is an awesome thing to see with indie guys like Mills who seem to prefer busting their asses with features instead of shitting out pretentious short films. 

Bath Salt Zombies is a blast. If you’re looking for an off-the-wall splatter comedy on a budget look no further than Mills' latest effort. Recommended.