Zombie Strippers [DVD] [2008] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

I grew up on low budget horror flicks of the 70s and 80s and over the years it's just not the same anymore. There's just something about these newer low budget horror flicks that are just overall rather bad. While there are some truly great low budget horror movies being produced it just seems like there are much more that are terrible.

Nowadays there are so many methods to shoot on besides film and movies are being produced on very low budgets that may not have been possible as little as 10-years ago. So due to that a lot of people who shouldn't be making films are now getting the chance. With a name like Zombie Strippers you know what you're getting into. A lot of movies coming out these days that aim for cult fans are kinda bad; when I say bad I mean they aren't enjoyable and lack compared to the movies they are homage's to.

Zombie Strippers on the other hand gets it right; again with a title like Zombie Strippers right off the bat you know what you are getting. It's kinda hard to mess a movie like this up. I think most horror fans like zombie movies and honestly who doesn't love strippers? So you get the best of both worlds. Zombie Strippers is schlock horror and never tries to be more than that, which is something that plagues a lot of movies like this these days.

The screenplay by Jay Lee is simply entertaining; the script isn't gonna win any awards and I don't think anyone is watching this movie for the screenplay. The goal was simple; entertain and that's exactly what it does. Jay Lee also directs and he actually works well with his limited budget. Where other filmmakers fail he succeeds. Bottom line is this; Zombie Strippers isn't a movie you watch to learn how to craft a film. I don't mean that as a knock against Jay Lee, like his script as director he aims to simply entertain and he does that.

He isn't trying to make one of the all time greats he isn't taking this concept and trying to play it straight. He's making a silly horror/comedy and that's it. The budget was quite low and I'll give Jay Lee a lot of credit for what he pulled off. Working on a budget this low isn't easy and he manages it well. A lot of filmmakers really fail with these kinds of movies, but Jay Lee knows what the audience wants and delivers that.

You know what I hate? Movies that have strippers, but yet they're never naked. What's up with that? Thankfully there's a whole lot of nudity. There's some zombie action early on, but after that the next 30-minutes are mostly spent with some very hot women getting naked. Due to that you'll never be bored with the lack of zombies. After the zombies come into play it's pretty much the same scene over and over again, stripper becomes a zombie, strips and kills someone, but yet it never loses the fun factor. Who knew strippers becoming zombies enhances their stripping skills.

Believe it or not the gore isn't bad. There's a lot of really bad CGI, but surprisingly enough there's some decent CGI and the practical F/X actually don't look bad at all. The movie would have been better off with more practical F/X, but for a really low budget flick the F/X don't look bad at all for the most part.

Some people have commented on the acting, but my question is what were you expecting? Did you really think there would be Oscar worthy performances? I think it's safe to say none of the actors will have Oscars in their futures, but they all put in the performances they were meant to. The performances are fun and never meant to be taken seriously; the actors get that and never try and be serious. Who knew Jenna Jameson could put in such a fun performances? Robert Englund also puts in a fun performance, but it's Joey Medina as Paco that steals the show.

Ultimate Fighter Tito Ortiz has a really funny cameo as a bouncer at the strip club. I'm not into ultimate fighting I'm more of a boxing fan, but I'm quite aware of Tito Ortiz and once the first zombie attack happens he's the first to haul out of there.

When it comes to Zombie Strippers you'll either hate it and think it's a travesty of filmmaking or you'll be entertained. Zombie Strippers isn't one of the greats, but it does serve as a fun time. It's got hot women, hot women naked and some gore. While not the perfect cult flick it's a damn good time.

I suppose if you were really expecting something of great meaning with brilliant performances, brilliant script and cinematic genius, you'll be quite dissapointed. However, you just bought a ticket (or the DVD) for ZOMBIE STRIPPERS, come on! You know what you're getting into and moreover, you KNOW WHAT YOU WANT. You're going to get it.

The movie takes itself just serious enough not to gloss over what fans are expecting and to take the time to justify the crazy stuff that happens. JJ holds her own and really couldn't have been better cast, so there's no feeling that this is some vehicle for her to be in a 'legit' movie.

It's funny, deliberately offensive, sexy, crazy, gorey and all that. My wife saw it with me (who would normally NEVER be interested in either gore or the extensive nudity) and had a great time. By the way, the nudity is in the context of the strip club -- there really isn't any sex in this movie at all, except Zombies biting parts you'd rather they leave alone...

"They're zombies. They're strippers. They're zombie strippers." Heavy on zombies, heavy on strippers. Do you need to know more? This is an offensive, willfully retarded, insulting, and moronic undead breast-fest that delivers precisely what it promises. The catch is, it's pretty goddamn funny in spite of itself and has some amusing political commentary to boot. If you come in knowing you are going to see Z-grade garbage on an epic scale, you'll have yourself a fun time. If you go in expecting a cerebral horror masterpiece then you're that A-hole that goes to see Kill Bill and then writes to the local newspaper to complain about the horrible and unexpected violence you were subjected to. DIE! True story, by the way.

The film opens with a glimpse at America's possible future under the W Corporation. The only merger more insidious than zombies and strippers: government and big business. But Chief Justice Jenna Bush (shown in her robes giving double metal horns with her tongue hanging out) thinks it's totally awesome. It's a laugh riot that brings to mind films like Idiocracy and definitely sets the tone for the story. And a stupid story it is. With the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, etc. killing Americans in droves, our Commander in Chief decides that re-animating dead soldiers for re-use is the way to go. Because that zombies as biological weapons thing always ends well. The virus ends up in a strip club where we see every nearly every single female character there strip for about 20 minutes straight. Porn legend Jenna Jameson is the first to be infected and rises from her grisly demise with superhuman stripping skills and a bit of a taste for human flesh. Seeing her bloody act driving the crowd wild, some of the other strippers (each an annoying stereotype, but also hot enough to overlook that fact) want in. Soon, the club is doing record business and the zombified patrons/mid-show snacks are building up in the cellar. I'm sure they won't ever wind up getting lose. Never. Yes, this movie is that audacious and dimwitted. Even after the strippers are all rotting and icky the crowd loves them. Even when they start ripping limbs off of patrons to beat each other with they don't notice something is amiss. If you would find this funny, then this is your movie. If not, walk on by.

But the stupid doesn't stop there. There's the janitor, Paco; a deliberately offensive Mexican stereotype with the worst fake mustache I've ever seen. Seeing him kiss the picture of his wife and daughters (all named Maria), or bid his burro (which suddenly appears out of nowhere) goodbye, or reference a famous line from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (you know the one) not once but twice was pretty funny. I mean awful! Just plain awful! I did laugh, though. A lot. As dumb as this movie is, it never becomes unaware of it's inherent stupidity and remembers to make fun of itself. Robert Englund seems to be having the time of his life playing the over-the-top germphobic club owner, Jameson looks really cool with her black contacts in, seeing Tito Ortiz wuss out at the first sign of trouble was worth a snicker or two, and hearing the awful Eastern European woman -the kind who fits "how you say..." into every sentence- finally break down and say "looook into my eyes" in that dumb faux-Romanian accent was great. Also. gore and nudity. Lots and lots of gore and nudity. There's also gore WITH nudity. Mmmmm...gooory nudityyy.

Add a zombie stripper catfight incorporating the old ping-pong shooter trick as a weapon, some ridiculously out of place existential musings, and a crack military unit called Z-Squad (oh look, the Asian chick knows karate!) and you've got a retarded good time on your hands. There is almost 40 minutes of extended and deleted scenes, including the true conclusion to Paco's tale of immigrant stereotypes. A few behind-the-scenes featurettes and a commentary track round out the bonus features. "Zombie Strippers" is the precise definition of stupid fun, guilty pleasure, cheesy sleazy trash, so bad it's good, or whatever you call movies like this. You are either in or out; do not freakin' complain if you don't like it because if that is the case, you had no business being there in the first place. It's zombies. It's strippers. It's "Zombie Strippers" and in it's own way it is gore-geous.