Fetish Factory

"Fetish Factory" ("Cabaret of the Dead") delivers what is titled-and then some! Pin-up vixens perform acts on stage to an enamored group of paying customers in this sexy zom-com (zomedy). However, just because this feature film is visually appealing doesn't mean that there aren't some deeper messages (which, thankfully, don't disrupt the aesthetic flow). For example: a darkly delightful twist near the end, where surreptitious survival is involved, supports sexual equality, in a sense, and there's an anti-ageism vibe throughout as well. One of the femme fatales who stands out is Irma (played by Diane Ayala Goldner). Her sexy stand-up comedy keeps the audience captive alright! Unfortunately for the performers and patrons alike who've gathered for the risqué entertainment, a zombie outbreak has transpired. Safely inside the American Queen Anne-style house, at least for some time, the erotic group gathered has no idea that zombies are shambling outside. I consider these zombies retro-fetch, as they are awesome because they remind me of the zombies from one of my favorite zombie flicks: "Night of the Comet."

In addition, the title doesn't just point to the human fetishists gathered. Fetishism is also represented in the creepy broken-faced doll, the mannequin, the red shoes and even the house itself-all which greatly add to the visually menacing atmosphere. Stellar auditory ambience is delivered through the music of Mars Homeworld and The Ventures.

This artistically inclined movie proves that you don't have to have a huge budget to make an impressive film. This would be so much fun to show at a Halloween Soirée!

GL Giles

The 2017 movie "Cabaret of the Dead" (aka "Fetish Factory") is labeled as being a horror comedy. Well, that might be debatable.

I didn't really know what I was getting myself into when I sat down to watch this movie. Sure, I had read the synopsis, and a movie with zombies is always something that I will sit down to watch.

Well, I endured 40 minutes of the ordeal that is known as "Fetish Factory" at the hand of director Staci Layne Wilson, and then I just was ready to claw my eyes out.

First of all, the storyline in the movie was just atrociously bad and ridiculous, offering nothing of any worth to the audience. And the characters in the movie were bland and mundane, again offering nothing to the audience, unless you enjoy looking at scantily clad women. Then there were the actresses, portraying these stale characters, and they were uniformly unable to perform well; their acting was questionable, their dancing was dubious and they just felt awkward on the screen.

And that leads me to the zombies. This was low budget. Really low budget. And what was going on with the eyes that sometimes were flashing a poorly CGI added white effect only to revert to normal eyes moments later? This was just stupid.

I am not counting "Fetish Factory" as a proper addition to the zombie genre, because this was an abysmal movie. I am rating it a mere one out of ten stars, and it truly is among some of the worst of zombie movies I have ever had to sit fully or partially through. With no intention of returning to finish the rest of this movie, I can honestly say; don't bother with this stinker.

The only thing that I found enjoyable about this movie was Tristan Risk.

WORST EVER! I AM ZOMBIE MOVIE LOVER AND THIS DIDN'T EVEN QUALIFY. I BET A MILLION PENNIES I COULD ACT BETTER AND I HAVE NO EXPERIENCE AT ALL. A BUNCH OF MEN REALLY WELL GO TO A FETISH FACTORY TO WATCH CARD TRICKS, BANDS, AND A VENTRILOQUIST. PLEASE!

Working in a high-class cabaret act, a group of women are determined to play true to the old-school ideals of the profession for their customers, and as they go about their nightly routine as normal they are suddenly attacked by a swarm of zombies forcing them to try to survive the creatures.

Overall, this was a fairly fun throwback effort. One of the better features here is the gleefully old-school setup and approach that allows this to wallow in the kind of charmingly cheesy atmosphere present. The whole concept of the Cabaret showcase being playfully erotic without being outright sleazy means that it manages to go through the numerous instances of getting the women into various stages of skimpy clothing or undergoing ornate costume changes while keeping a classy and respectful vibe throughout, which is a great touch. Despite getting the girls backstage changing into their outfits or out on stage performing routines for their fans, the idea that it never crosses the boundary into more overt territory makes this one incredibly fun with the antics of the dancers in this environment starting incredibly well. While this works nicely, the genre aspects here are a bit hit-or-miss. The main scenes of them invading the cabaret club and attacking the girls while trying to perform their routines and sexual indulgences on customers makes for a strong enough idea that it does have some fun moments of the group getting swarmed and ambushed. Given that there's some decent enough gore and action here to make it somewhat entertaining, this is also done quite late into the film with only brief bits of the creatures advancing to help give it the tone and appearance of a genre effort. As this also sets up the somewhat bizarre finale where far too many victims are left alive, the whole thing is dismissed with an air of indifference that makes everything feel less imposing than it should've been, and the outcome of the survivors is dependent on a nonsensical twist, it does have some minor issues.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.