Zombies! Zombies! Zombies! - Strippers VS Zombies

Now here is a film that was highly anticipated for months by many the horror fan and zombie fan alike. Okay, the topic alone, strippers and zombies, is pure fluff for the gratuitous B-movie blood-and-boobs crowd (the B&B crowd). So if you like 1970's exploitation cinema or today's popcorn horror, you must be saying to yourself that you have to see this. So let's talk about the film.

The movie takes place around a gentleman's club right at the closing. As one would figure, the film's characters are either bouncers or exotic dancers. With a few setup scenes, we are brought to understand that an amoral scientist at a private/government facility has a connection with a small time suburban drug dealer. The dealer, a swarmy overweight man, steals some experimental drugs while the scientist retrieves a fix for the man. Eventually the dealer hooks up with a streetwalker and shares the experimental drug with her resulting in the beginning of a zombie outbreak (in the likes of 28 Days Later). Since the streetwalker and her friends hang out waiting for johns at the gentleman's club, the epicenter of the outbreak is the parking lot of the club itself. So far, so good, right?

Well, this film could have been great for its genre. Unfortunately it takes itself for what it is rather than trying to play out as a true horror or true exploitation film. I'm as big a fan of horror comedy as anyone but the issue here is that there were too many characters that were true caricatures and obviously written to be that. In most horror-comedies, the main protagonists are unaware that they are in such a film (i.e. Shaun of the Dead, Evil Dead 2, Feast, Dance of the Dead, etc.). Here, however, we get a few characters that just don't work (specifically the pimp character and his main girlfriend). As a result, we get a fun and entertaining film but ultimately a film that unrealized its potential. Being a zombie stripper film, one would think that their would be a lot of blood and boobs. Unfortunately, that isn't the case. The gore will satisfy the B&B crowd but the boobs are few for such a film.

All in all, the film gets 3 stars. There were a few standout performances especially Jessica Barton and many of the actors in smaller roles (such as the drug dealer, the main streetwalker, the DJ, and the scientist). The screenplay was worthy with constant zombie and guts action, and the film had good set pieces. The unrealized potential of the film, however, is unfortunate since this film could have been a cult classic; a true blood-and-boobs classic. Instead, we only get a popcorn film to enjoy.

The DVD deserves mention as a standout. The extras and documentaries were great. The people behind this film, the writer and director, have great futures ahead of them. And don't forget the cameo by Tiffany Shepis in a pre-credit five minute scene at the beginning of the film. As always, she was great.

I'm rating this movie at three stars because of audio problems. Volume dips down in some areas, nothing more. Otherwise! I loved this movie! This film is great fun. Don't expect great acting. At best it's below average. But thats okay, it works for this film. Besides there are plenty of blood-soaked babes running and bouncing around to keep you glued to your seat. I loved this movie. I want to see a Stippers VS Zombies II with higher production value!

To start, I am a bit biased - I knew many of the people involved in this film from High School and College, though I have fallen out of touch with many of them over the years. So keep that in mind while reading my review.

I was terrifed going into this film... sure if I hated it I could tell them that I hadn't watched it yet... but I wanted so badly for them to have made a good movie.

And they did - well, good movie if you are a B-movie Zombie fan. ZZZ is a strict B movie, filled with sub par acting, questionable sfx, and low production quality. Where this movie excels is in it's fun factor. So some junkie drug dealer steals some glowing crystals from a bio lab mistaking them for crack... then it ends up in the hands of a pack of crackwhores hanging out near the den of their arch-nemesis, the strippers. Of course strippers and whores don't get along, so when the hoes turn man-eating zombie, it's up to the strippers and their flavor of the week boyfriends to try to defeat them.

What surprised me most was how well thought out the script actually was - if you can get past the poor execution, they really did have a pretty decent script. Since many of the bit parts were played by one of my favorite sketch comedy troupes (doodiehumor) there were plenty of laughs involved. I wasn't going to review this because I was afraid I would love it just for seeing all of their faces (it's been too long) but my husband who has never met any of these people before had to pause the movie twice because he was laughing so hard. (Once was a line in the diner, and the second was in the club with the pimp). The best actors were our main hero who played an excellent deadpan normal guy, The Bouncer, and I've wavered back and forth on the pimp. At first I hated him, but by the end of the film he had really grown on me.

Do I recommend this film to everyone? NO! But I do recommend it to B movie Zombie fans. There are boobies but not as many as you would expect given the setting, and there is plenty of blood and gore, in all shapes and colors, both good and bad.

In the end I would summarize this as an excellent group popcorn and beer flick for everyone to laugh and enjoy provided you have low expectations on production value and acting.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 20 reviews  3.2 out of 5 stars