Powertool Cheerleaders vs the Boyband of the Screeching Dead

I was lucky enough the catch this indie gem at Frightfest London 2022 and it did not disappoint. A horror comedy musical filled with heart, gore and some really fun performances from a clearly passionate cast that put everything into the movie.

The movie follows a misfit cheerleading group called 'Power Cheer', the girls enter a reality TV contest and come up against the Starmen (whose intro harmony had me in stitches every time) and things soon veer into the supernatural territory with a cursed wishing necklace that brings a load of Zombie/Demons to the party, resulting in some great splattery gore. There's also a really fun love story involving a severed hand but I'll let you find out about that for yourself!

The writing is spot on with one-liners and jokes that land well, both in dialogue and the songs which had me tapping my feet quite a few times.

This film is a very pure example of micro budget indie filmmaking at its best and I had a fantastic time watching it. It can be scrappy around the edges in some places but all that is totally forgiven moments later when the next hilarious song kicks in. Check this out as soon as you can, you won't regret it.

Struggling with a crippling phobia, a woman decides to go on a reality show designed to exploit the fear so that she can help overcome it, but when the experience turns into a zombie outbreak following a sacred ritual must bring her group together to stave off the undead hordes involved.

Overall, this was a fantastic entry with so much to enjoy about it. One of the better features of this one is the fantastic setup that provides this one with a far more heartwarming tale than expected. The initial reason to get the band of women together as cheerleaders and go on the show due to her phobia of the profession following the stories she's been told about the grandmother that torments her into this situation makes for a fun and immensely cheesy set up to bring the group together for the show. With enough background work to showcase the group coming together and bonding over their professional ambitions the further they go in the competition which also manages to include some fun sidestories in their interactions with the other contestants. Outside of this, the film's sense of fun that comes about before and after the amulet comes into play releasing the zombie outbreak is immensely fun. Since the cheerleaders have spent as much as they have getting bonded together, the plight they share makes for a fun enough time here as the series of zombification of the opposing band spreads throughout the area turning everyone they come across into creatures just like them leading to encounters at the remote garage studio or the hysterical encounter at the cabin they're rehearsing at which has some bizarre concepts alongside several insanely funny musical numbers that add a fantastically cheesy atmosphere to everything. This all leads nicely into the wild finale where the various storylines turn into a lot of fun encounters with the big musical numbers matching the zany action featuring the ability to come together and stop the rampaging zombies in a slew of zany encounters and bloodshed. These all come together to provide a lot to like here although there are a few slight issues bringing this down. The main factor with the film is that it spends so much time getting to the finale where the zombies run wild that it can run a little longer getting to the more genre-focused material. Going through the bonding with the team, the interactions with the boyband trying to sabotage their rehearsals, and the other backstage politics that carry on with the competition that it can feel a bit too long in this part before getting to the zombie action which could be a factor that turns off some. Other issues, like the musical nature of the film which might not be appealing for all, and the low-budget origins found here, but these are just personal preference factors and not truly detrimental.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

Unlike anything I've seen! Powertool Cheerleaders vs the Boyband Zombies is a film that knows what it is and delivers. Breaking the fourth wall, middle aged women dressing like teenage cheerleaders, breaking into song, death lighting cues, zombies, a credit roll BTS song, and of course a severed hand straight outta Adams Family! It doesn't take itself seriously and that is the best thing for a film like this.

The film takes big swings stylistically and due to its comedic nature certain forgivable allowances are given to its production quality and the effects. That being said the musical numbers are a fun escape from the dark humor that is the film.

Grab a beer, pop the corn, turn out the lights and enjoy!

This film is so funny, some brilliant one liners and also plenty of blood and guts. The plot is well thought out with some really rememberable scenes, the songs are catchy.

The characters in the cheerleaders and the boyband are great and you get to see their individual traits and the dynamics of each of the groups. Plenty of other characters that are well thought out and have their moment in the limelight before most of them meet their demise.

I seen it at the world premier and frightfest and it got a massive round of applause when the credits ran so it is a film well worth watching must be the No.1 film that crosses over the 3 genres of Comedy, Horror and Musical ;-)

Powertool Cheerleaders vs The Boyband of the Screeching Dead is an indie horror-comedy-musical that's as wild as its title suggests. It follows waitress Emily, who must overcome her fear of cheerleaders to lead a misfit squad in a TV talent show. Things go haywire when a cursed talisman turns their boyband rivals into zombies, forcing the girls to use friendship and power tools to survive. The film is packed with self-aware humor, catchy but campy songs, and practical effects that shine on a budget. It's chaotic, clever, and wonderfully trashy, with fourth-wall-breaking antics and meta references. A love letter to Troma-style horror and a fun, bloody romp for those who enjoy campy musicals with a twist.