Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		2.0
Audio		2.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.0

Zombie Strippers Blu-ray Movie Review

'Zombie Strippers' fails to live up to the campy fun potential the title suggests.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 23, 2008

I could just eat you alive!

One cannot blame Zombie Strippers for giving it the old college try. The film's title alone was probably enough to get the project green-lit, as studios, financiers, even potential actors and actresses likely saw the potential for a campy, but obviously Z-grade, horror picture. After all, zombie lovers are a rabid segment of movie fan-dom, and no self-respecting Dead-head would pass up the opportunity to shell out an hour's wage on the film at theaters, or now, on Blu-ray. Zombie Strippers definitely knows its place, and never once does the film take itself seriously, and puts all the elements in place for that Z-movie camp-fest it promises to be. Unfortunately, it also fails to accomplish even that goal, instead becoming a dreadfully dull, repetitive, and spiritless picture with props, effects, dialogue, and acting that are superficially appropriate for a Z-grade classic, but the conglomeration of elements simply never gels into any sort of likable, whimsically fun low budget zombie film.

This movie is so totally going to be better than 'Dawn of the Dead!'

In the fictional world of Zombie Strippers, George W. Bush has just been elected to a fourth term, Congress has been dissolved, and the United States is fighting a multi-front war. To combat the massive loss of troops in combat zones, the government has authorized the creation of a serum that will re-animate dead tissue and allow slain soldiers to continue on. When a zombie outbreak wrecks havoc in the laboratory, the Z-squad, a heavily armed military unit, is sent in to put down the uprising. One soldier becomes separated from the unit, is bitten by one of the undead, and escapes to an underground strip club by the name of Club Rhino. He infects one of the club's dancers, Kat (adult film star Jenna Jameson), and much to the surprise of club operator Ian (Robert Englund, A Nightmare on Elm Street), Kat becomes an immediate sensation -- dancing better than ever as a zombie. As her co-workers become jealous of her success, they succumb to the dark side, become zombies themselves, and devour their fans, creating an army of male zombies that, for the moment, are safely tucked away in a cage deep in the bowels of Club Rhino.

The only thing separating Zombie Strippers from the worst of the late-night Sci-Fi channel movies is its excessive use of foul language, gore, and nudity. Otherwise, the film's bad props (including some obviously fake-looking guns), ugly lighting, some fly-by-night special effects, and terrible acting (only horror veteran Robert Englund seems to have captured the spirit the film was striving for) fit right in with the worst of the worst. In the film's defense, Zombie Strippers does revel in some unique gore and make-up. The zombie make-up is impressive, and as the film wears on, and the zombie stripers take on a more rotten, decayed look, one cannot help but to be mostly impressed with the effort. The gorier segments are also eye-catching when the film takes the time to do right by its effects. For example, a Club Rhino patron has his head torn at the jaw, and his re-animated corpse is seen several times throughout the movie with his jaw dangling around his chest. Otherwise, the effects are poorly-rendered computer graphics that don't look much better than what artists might have been able to create a decade ago. The computer-generated effects are anything but seamless, and each and every one sticks out like a sore thumb. The acting is exaggerated and over-the-top, as it should be in a film such as this, but most of the cast fails to hit that right note that makes the script ludicrous and fun rather than downright painful to experience. There are a few laugh-out-loud moments, primarily when the film invokes other, better films, including Day of the Dead, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (and UHF).

Zombie Strippers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Zombie Strippers dances up a storm on Blu-ray -- but it may get booed off the stage. Presented in 1080p high definition and framed at 2.35:1, the transfer shows its low budget, shot-on-video roots, and the results are not impressive. Like the quality of the film, the video has that made for television look, a look shared by Otis, for example. The film takes on a vomit-like color scheme, with sour greens and yellows dominating the palette. Black levels are rather poor, looking more gray or even blue than true black in most every scene. Noise is not present in abundance, but the darker corners of the film will see their fair share. The film does nothing more than capture its subjects and pick up on the make-up and general look of whatever the camera is pointed at. Forget strong detail or colors. It's all bland and boring, and makes for particularly uninteresting high definition source material.

Zombie Strippers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Zombie Strippers takes a bite out of Blu-ray with a lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack. Dialogue is a bit tinny and sometimes hard to hear. The music spreads out across the front channels, but lacks much of a presence. Surrounds work throughout the picture, trying to create just the right atmosphere at Club Rhino, or filling the soundstage with gunfire during the film's bookends, but the key word is "trying." Both sound lifeless, canned, and generic, befitting the low budget nature of the film. The sound is never terrible, but it is certainly never upper tier. The subwoofer is allowed to rattle a few times, but never all that deeply. Zombie Strippers presents listeners with a wholly underwhelming listen, one that satisfactorily moves the story along but never stands out as impressive or even average.

Zombie Strippers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Zombie Strippers arrives on Blu-ray with a few supplemental features for fans to devour. A commentary track with writer/director Jay Lee and actors Jenna Jameson, Robert Englund, and Joey Medina is first. The track is fairly standard, lighthearted but also offering some serious discussions into various aspects of the process of making this film. From casting to dancing zombies, the participants enjoy reminiscing and sharing their thoughts on the film. Factoid Track is a basic pop-up trivia track that runs the length of the film and offers insights into various aspects of the movie and presents other information deemed pertinent to the film. Next are 20 deleted scenes (480p, 39:30) with optional commentary by Lee and Englund. The Champagne Room: Behind the Scenes of 'Zombie Strippers' (480p, 7:53) features the cast and crew discussing their involvement in and enthusiasm for the film, the origins of the film and the characters, the political under- and overtones of the film, and more. The Dressing Room: How to Glam a Zombie (480p, 4:50) is a brief examination of the film's make-up effects. Also included are 1080p trailers for Resident Evil: Degeneration, The Fall, Starship Troopers 3: Marauder, Lakeview Terrace, Hancock, Casino Royale, Felon, 88 Minutes, Pineapple Express, You Don't Mess With the Zohan, and The House Bunny. This disc is also BD-Live (Blu-ray profile 2.0) enabled, allowing viewers to visit Sony's standard page with trailers, a FAQ, and the opportunity to register this disc and participate in Sony's rewards program.

Zombie Strippers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Zombie Strippers is a film that may have worked better with a somewhat larger budget, a slightly more serious tone while retaining the tongue-in-cheek mentality, a more coherent script, actors who understood the nature of the material, and better, more consistent gore. Perhaps more than anything, it was the film's lame computer-generated gore that proved to be its own worst enemy. There is low budget, and then there is Zombie Strippers. The other fatal flaw is its repetitious second act. As it is, Zombie Strippers is a major letdown, a movie with fine potential but one that clearly fails to provide campy fun and instead veers straight off a cliff and into downright bad movie country. Sony's Blu-ray release of Zombie Strippers is fairly poor, but the film's original elements seem more to blame than anything else. The film's HD video transfer is particularly ugly in appearance, and the soundtrack is mundane at best. Sony has provided a solid selection of supplemental materials to round out this offering. Zombie Strippers is a movie that banks on nothing more than its title and the presence of a horror icon and an adult film star to sell tickets. In that regard, it shouldn't really come as any surprise that the film lacks not only in substance, but fails to even be worthy of the title "cult classic." Nevertheless, the film will likely find a following on home video and do brisk business at the rental houses, but this is a film that will soon be forgotten to time.