Sunday, April 27, 2008
A+E, Movies, Reviews

Zombie Strippers

Campy ‘Zombie Strippers’ packs fun bite

CREDIT: Courtesy of Sony Pictures
Art imitates life? Jenna Jameson stars in “Zombie Strippers.”

“ZOMBIE STRIPPERS”
Robert Englund, Jenna Jameson
Directed by Jay Lee
Rated R
Landmark Midtown Art Cinema

Even if you won’t respect “Zombie Strippers” in the morning, you have to give props to writer-director Jay Lee for staying true to his low aims (mostly at the crotch level of teenage boys). Basically, think Roger Corman meets Russ Meyer, as a strip club is infected with a reanimating virus developed by the U.S. government to keep dead soldiers fighting – the ultimate stop-loss.

Whether soldiers or strippers, all the women are well-endowed, either by their creator or their plastic surgeons. Among the, er, exotic dancers, there’s a catfight waiting to happen between top dog Kat (Jameson) and Jeannie (Shamron Moore). Being zombified improves Kat’s game, so Jeannie can’t wait to get some of the horror movie equivalent of steroids. Once the girls get infected, they start chewing on the customers, who are then kept in a cage downstairs.

The movie’s central portion gets redundant with all the stripping, biting and philosophical debates; but Jameson’s scene with ping-pong balls lifts it out of the doldrums and political satire resurfaces at the end (one of the movie’s best jokes is the fact that George W. Bush has been reelected for his fourth term as president).

For the intellectuals in the crowd, Lee peppers the script with names of European playwrights and philosophers. The setting is Sartre, Nebraska; there’s a Dr. Genet, and Robert Englund plays Ian Essko (Ionesco, whose play “Rhinoceros” inspired the plot!).

It’s not perfect—bad acting, intentional or not, can only get you so far. But in an alternate universe, “Zombie Strippers” would enjoy a release like “Prom Night’s” and do even more business. 2.5 STARS—Steve Warren