Zombie Strippers!

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.

This is poorly made in most respects, and that's part of its appeal. In fact, I liked it. It has more jokes, and better jokes than any of the parody movies I've seen in years.

Here's the setup. W Bush has stolen a fourth term and declared war on a dozen countries, including France. So many soldiers are getting killed that labs have invented a virus that reanimates them so that they can keep on fighting, and harder. This virus gets into a stripper establishment with the result that the strippers once infected get "better," or at least more popular with the goofs.

Sounds like it could be a mess, and it is. I think of it as some sort of triangulation among Tarantino's fake sleaze "Death Proof," but more genuine, "10,000 Corpses" but with something other than snarls and "Shaun of the Dead" but with more clever jokes.

The interesting thing is that there are breasts here. But they are part of the irony, the big joke. They are deliberately depicted to be as artificially defective as the zombie countenance. In fact, the folding here is that we have an on-screen audience of male louts who reward the zombie strippers above the "regular" girls, so they willingly become zombies to be sexier.

The jokes range from cinematic jokes to comments on social issues, and they are at a higher level than usual.

One of the strippers is a former Playmate and that's supposed to be some sort of draw. Its hard to tell which one.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

This movie is suppose to be bad. It was made that way. The actors knew it was bad, the director knew it was bad, the producers knew it was bad, that's why they made it... and that's what makes it so good.

If you like 'B' movies, especially zombie 'B' movies then you should have no problems appreciating the over-the-top soft-core sex and head-exploding gore in all its glory.

All you need to know about the plot is that ex-hard-core porn star Jenn Jamison and her stripper buddies get infected by a government super virus that is suppose to make soldiers continue to be able to fight... even after they're dead. In effect, making them Super Soldiers. Well this works for the girls making them into Super Strippers, except that their dead. So their Super Zombie Strippers.

Gratuitous sex and violence, exploding heads, zombies, strippers, gore, T & A. What more could you ask for? As for those who have rated this movie so poorly... they just can't appreciate the genius behind Zombie Strippers.

P.S. Look for a cameo by Jenna Jameson's long-time boyfriend and UFC icon Tito Ortiz as the bouncer/doorman.

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 money would be better spent on Romero's latest venture, or renting last years Grindhouse. In Zombie Strippers, the only memorable thing stripping away is your patience and the dignity of those involved.

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.

Note: On 29 September 2020, I saw this film again.