Zombie Strippers! (2008)

A movie such as this is always a toss up. One is certainly given enough information from the title about what to expect, and as such the result can be utter crap, or a devilishly guilt ridden B movie indulgence. I will leave my personal classification open to interpretation based upon the rest of this critique.

B movies are a quirky little niche of the movie industry, slipping past the radar and existing as poor in many aspects of traditional film-making standards, yet somehow rising to the occasion to please grinning audiences. Sometimes a movie is intended to be a B, and sometimes it happens by accident; usually in the hands of an amateur and underfunded auteur. Regardless of how a movie like Zombie strippers came to be (even though it is fairly apparent in this case) the polished result, and I use that term loosely, can be perceived in three ways. The first, is a movie that is the bonafide gold standard of schlock, the second is one that has a burning admiration for this genre and directs an homage as a salute. The final and obnoxiously common result is a film that tries desperately to exist as a B movie, but fails on every level and unfortunately, Zombie Strippers is a direct offspring of the latter.

I have stated before that I am a sucker for zombie films, but I have no such admiration for this picture; this zombie film just sucks. 2008 as a whole has shown a weak display of this genre, the best being the disappointing Diary of the Dead by legend George A. Romero. Also more notable is the more successful B movie, the Romero remake, Day of the Dead. Perhaps the largest flaw of Zombie Strippers (I assure you, there are a number) is the decision to forfeit most elements of the classic "zombie" picture. This lack of tradition is even more clear, due to the fact that it is supposed to be traditional; a homage; a throwback. I won't disclose exactly how it fails to meet these expectations, with fear of disclosing the "plot". Other issues range from the sometimes intolerable script which only occasionally descends into something gleefully tacky, the acting, while not vital to a picture of this calibre needs to be watchable, and pacing. Forgoing all else, this garbage unfolds at a snails pace (make that a crippled snail), mostly consisting of random and supposedly politically satirical humour and extended strip scenes, which lose their appeal quickly when the go-go's start to go-bad. There is some well done gore for the budget, but it is most certainly not worth your time.

Called to a chemical lab, a group of elite soldiers are shocked to discover the result of a government re-animation program; zombies. Dispatching of the threat, the virus escapes into a nearby strip-club, run by the devilish Robert Englund of Nightmare on Elm St. fame, who I am sure was full after filming, from all the scenery he had been chewing on. Among the sultry strippers is Kat, played by Jenna Jameson, whose boyfriend Jay Lee directed. The virus affects men and women differently, leaving only women with their pre-existing mental capacity, but tacking on a degrading demeanour and hunger for flesh. The catch, it appears in death that these women can strip up a storm, and soon, despite pushing a few bodies under the rug, business is booming. All is perfect for Ian (Englund) and his group of co-workers and friends, until the gals get a tad antsy and things get out of control.

Despite the possibly good intentions, Zombie Strippers is simply dreck; an overlong and ploddingly paced humourless mess and your

Fmovies: Zombie Strippers! starts off with the most stupidly pathetic attempt at political humor ever attempted. What possesses a filmmaker making a genre picture to purposely alienate a decent portion of his audience in the first scene of his movie with an unfunny series of heavy handed jokes that not only beat a dead horse but were almost instantly dated at the time of the film's release?

What's with the Mexican jokes and stereotypes in this movie? I thought the filmmakers were open-minded and compassionate liberals. Isn't it supposed to be the Republicans that are racist and hate Mexicans?

Of all the people I know, the type of people this movie purposely insults (right-wingers) are more likely to watch a movie called Zombie Strippers! than my left-wing friends! Mr. Jay Lee, take a trip outside of L.A. sometime and meet the rest of your audience!

The rest of the movie was even worse than the first scene with painfully unfunny jokes and even worse characters. Did the strip club patrons in the movie actually think these dead women were sexy? I know that the people who visit strip clubs aren't exactly rocket scientists but are they that stupid? I wouldn't know. I've never been to a strip club.

Apparently Robert Englund will do anything for a paycheck. What is he doing in this? He's beginning to make Gary Busy, Dennis Hopper, and Billy Zane look like they choose their projects very carefully. Mr. Englund, there's such a word as "no". People click it all the time when reading my comments!

And finally, what's up with Jenna Jameson's face these days? She used to look cute but lately she's looking a bit more plastic than she used to. Her eyes are beginning to get longer and skinnier while her lips look like she's suffering from an allergic reaction! Lay off the plastic surgery AND the crappy movies Ms. Jameson!

I thought of giving it a higher mark because the moments that work do work extremely well. Problem is is that sometimes it's hard to tell why we are laughing. One moment it seems like the filmmaker is not in on the joke but then along come moments so blatantly outrageous with cues (such as music or the way something is framed) that make one thing the filmmaker is aware of the tone of a scene and how the acting and the comedy and the horror, etc. are working. In any case the shifts in tone were a little hard to get used to. The gore is sometimes very delicious and creative with attention paid to fans of organic gore. Sometimes it looks plain old cheesy, bad CGI style gore. The acting is overall good, even when over the top. However for my taste no matter how aware they were of their own "bad" performances I think the movie could have benefited from a lot less "Look at my bad performance wink wink" acting and more of the playing-it-straight acting (believe it or not Jenna Jameson is one of the more successful at keeping this in mind). Robert Englund strikes just the right balance between over-the-top and playing it straight, he stops shy of taking it too far. O yea and although not really partial in that hormonal way to T & A I must admit what the movie offers is sure to please. The dancing is fun to watch in the first section and bizarre and hilarious in the second (I refuse to spoil).

Zombie Strippers! fmovies. OK the title says it all, but don't be fooled this movie has a lot going for it. The writing is crisp (the Mexican American jokes in particular) and the actors clearly get the idea that it's supposed to be funny and schlocky. I think most viewers and reviewers will miss the commentary on strip clubs and the objectification of women here. Yes Zombie Strippers has a message!

The FX and makeup are outstanding and of course over the top.

This is not a rip off or a copy (any more than any other zombie movie is)and I found it funnier than Shawn of The Dead and at least as funny (if not more) as Return of The Living Dead.

Kudos to Jenna for poking fun at herself and her profession.

BTW the audience at the screening LOVED IT.

I was once a big fan of zombie movies, but then I caught a number of the barrage of 'low budget' zombie flicks and quickly lost interest in the genre. It's not that the zombie film doesn't work well with a low budget; the main problem was that a lot of them work from the same idea and it gets boring quickly. It seems, however, that certain filmmakers have noticed the problem and modern films such as Zombie Honeymoon and this one have decided to deliver something a bit different - and while still silly, the result is much better than 'just another' low budget zombie flick! The plot supposedly takes inspiration from a French play called 'Rhinoceros' (referenced by the strip club, called "Rhino") and focuses on a group of strippers. As the Bush Administration enters its fourth term, America has found itself looking for a way to make its soldiers last longer to help the war effort on multiple fronts. The solution comes in the form of a virus that brings the dead back to life. When the virus infects a stripper at the club, sleazy owner Ian (Robert Englund) realises the girl's new potential and puts her back on stage. After whipping the crowd into a frenzy; the rest of the girls find themselves with a choice to make. Do they stay human and stay second best to the zombie stripperÂ…or do they conform to the latest 'fad'?

There's no denying that Zombie Strippers is a silly low budget zombie film, but perversely it would seem that the filmmakers actually wanted to make something of it; and we also get a muddled social satire along with a commentary on conformity. I have to admit that none of this really comes through in any sort of meaningful way, but you have to give a low budget zombie movie with a porn star in the lead role credit for trying! The thing I liked most about this movie is undoubtedly the club where most of the action takes place. Director Jay Lee creates a dark and seedy atmosphere which really benefits the tone of the film and makes for a great backdrop for the girls' strip dances! The leading lady is the lovely Miss Jenna Jameson. I can't say I've ever seen anything else with her in it, and while she's not really my 'type', she certainly knows how to put on a performance - her introduction and first dance as a zombie are the highlights of the film. The movie also features the talent of the lovely Roxy Saint; both in the acting and music department. The soundtrack for the film really is awesome too and helps to enhance the sleazed qualities of the movie; 'Salute You' by Roxy Saint is a memorable track. The film doesn't hold back in the gore department either, which is nice. The film is already pretty silly from the beginning and it just gets sillier as it goes along. At times I felt things were getting just a bit too silly, but after a while you realise that it's easier just to sit back and go along with it. Zombie Strippers is a long way from being a masterpiece; but I'm sure that this film will find it's audience and anyone that enjoys this sort of stuff will have a blast with Zombie Strippers!

In a near future, President George Bush has been just elected for the fourth time with his vice Arnold Schwarzenegger and the USA is in war against many nations, among them Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Venezuela, France and Alaska. In order to compensate the loss of soldiers, the government is researching a virus to reanimate the dead tissue of deceased soldiers and reactivate their brains, to form a powerful army of undead. When the experiment goes wrong and gets out of control in a facility in Sartre, Nebraska, the efficient Z Squad is summoned to destroy the zombies. However, the soldier Byrdflough (Zak Kilberg) is bitten by a zombie and afraid of being killed, he escapes to the underground Brademus strip-club owned by the greedy Ianna Esco (Robert Englund). Byrdflough bites the star Kat (Jenna Jameson) and the stripper spreads the virus, turning her colleagues into zombies and eating the flesh of their clients.

I am a big fan of zombie movies, and "Zombie Strippers!" is an underrated B-movie with potential of cult-movie. The predictable story is very similar to "Planet Terror" and other movies of zombies, i.e., a military experiment that accidentally releases a deadly virus that transforms people into zombies, but the joke in the beginning with President Bush is unique. Further, there are many sexy strippers, black humor, hilarious lines and situations and great special effects and Gothic music score, and this gore film is very entertaining. I am not familiar with adult movies, but the sexy Jenna Jameson is a porn-star from this industry. Jennifer Holland is also extremely gorgeous and sexy and I liked this movie a lot. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "As Strippers Zumbis" ("The Zombie Strippers")

Note: On 20 February 2016 I saw this film again.