ZOMBIES VERSUS STRIPPERS

What's this one about then, I hear no-one ask.

Spider (Circus-Szalewski) arrives in his car at his strip club, The Tough Titty, one evening. He's accosted almost immediately by a tramp who tells him people have become so hungry they're starting to eat on another. Spider simply brushes the transient off and rushes into his club.

He is, after all, a man with other things on his mind. The club has been under-achieving for some time. Perhaps this is in no small part due to the hapless doorman Marv's (J Scott) policy of letting stray punters in for free, or maybe doped-up DJ Bern (Tanner Horn) who gets so high he can't tell one of his own records is skipping a beat. The barman's a drunk, while Spider presides over the place in a blue blazer, tidy moustache and loud Hawaii shirt - looking like he's modelled himself on Burt Reynolds circa BOOGIE NIGHTS.

Yep, this place certainly seems undesirable in light of all of the above. But then there's the girls: Bambi (Victoria Levine), Vanilla (Brittany Gael Vaughn), Sugar (Eve Mauro) ... surely the club's decline isn't down to them, as they're HOT.

On this particular night, they have managed to entice a couple of punters into the club. The only trouble is, these somnambulist fuckers aren't really interested in Bambi's amazing wares. They'd rather concentrate on the raw meat they're discovered to be devouring.

Having swiftly booted these freaks out of his club and chastising Marv for yet again letting strays in for free, Spider then gathers his employees round and gives them some bad news: in-between watching re-runs of his favourite kids' TV character, Hambo (imagine Mr Bungle on acid), he's received a telephone call from someone who's been chasing him for an outstanding debt - the club will be a "parking lot" in a weeks' time.

The staff are understandably miffed. But not too much to sniff at Spider's idea of locking the doors to the public for this night and having one final party together. Marv's especially excited, as he has $1,000 to spend on his favourite strippers.

It's at this point that rocker Spike (Adam Brooks) gatecrashes the party and warns excitedly about the groups of people outside who have taken to rabidly attacking others. As if to prove his point, the bar is soon invaded by several wild-eyed zombies, one of whom bites Marv's hand while being restrained.

Well, that's the synopsis ... up to a point. But, let's face it; you already know where this one's headed...

Which is nowhere in particular. It's one of those films that exists purely for the sake of realising the potential of its high-concept title. That 'potential' here is hot women being scantily clad and openly exploiting their more voluptuous assets, and the odd moment of minor (cheap) gore courtesy of some rudimentarily made-up zombies.

Broadly performed and ridiculously scripted (the comedy aspect is quite painful at times, though never slapstick - just not funny), ZOMBIES also suffers from a playful score that tries to signpost the gags a la "Curb Your Enthusiasm". I'm sure American audiences aren't thick, so this tactic really does comes across as supremely patronising.

But I don't entirely dislike this film. It's not very good but it does have an agreeable energy in terms of pacing and cast. And, hey, I can look at these women all day long if required to.

Beyond that, there's very little merit to this film - it's brainless fun, probably best enjoyed by stoned teenage boys at the end of a very long night. The film is presented uncut here in anamorphic 1.78:1. This is its original aspect ratio and, of course, being such a recent production (2012) it looks pretty spiffing. Colours are eye-grabbing, detail is fine and sharp, blacks are solid throughout.

English audio enjoys its source 2.0 treatment and offers a very reliable, clean playback.

88 Films' region-free DVD opens to an animated main menu page. From there, an animated scene-selection menu offers access to ZOMBIES VERSUS STRIPPERS by way of 12 chapters.

Of the extras of offer, an 18-minute Making Of featurette is undoubtedly the most substantial. This proves the shoot to be a jovial but nonetheless committed one and will probably benefit anyone who thinks this film had simply been cobbled together.

An original 67-second trailer offers little; nor does a limited stills gallery.

This being an 88 Films release, one should expect a healthy dose of trailers for other titles in their roster. They don't disappoint on this front: on this occasion, we get previews for PUPPET MASTER X: AXIS RISING, REEL EVIL, TOURIST TRAP, CREEPOZOIDS, PUPPET MASTER, PUPPET MASTER 2, PUPPET MASTER 3, THE DEAD WANT WOMEN, SUBSPECIES and CASTLE FREAK.

I'm perhaps 20 years too old to fully benefit from the craic that ZOMBIES VERSUS STRIPPERS touts. I'm not dismissing it, just saying its charms perhaps weren't as obvious to me as they may be to someone a little younger and more carefree.

The film certainly looks fine on 88 Films' solid DVD.

By Stuart Willis