Movie Review | 'Zombie Strippers' mixes two winning movie genres
Four out of five stars
Lauren Herstik
Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: Arts
The concept is really simple, totally ridiculous and absolutely brilliant. Strippers in an illicit Midwestern strip club suddenly turn into zombies in the long-overdue collision of two winning genres: zombie satire and porn.
But it's not only that. "Zombie Strippers" expertly blends lowbrow debauchery with sophisticated cultural reference. The movie is (very) loosely based on the French existentialist theater of the absurd play "Rhinoceros" by Eugène Ionesco. In the play, all of the people in town suddenly turn into rhinoceroses, leaving only the protagonist Berenger to decide whether to become one of the hulking, stinking beasts in order to fit in. "Zombie Strippers" is almost exactly the same - just replace "town" with "Rhino's strip club," "people" with "strippers," "Berenger" with "Jenna Jameson" and "rhinoceroses" with "zombies."
One of these things is not like the others, and that thing is Jenna Jameson. Mostly known for her illustrious career in hardcore pornography, Jameson covers up (a little) for this more mainstream R-rated film.
In the starring role as Kat, Jameson's performance is actually much more animated and lifelike than her omnipresent breasts. As the first to get bitten and subsequently reanimated, Jameson spends most of her screen time as a zombie. She fully embraces the advancing decay that comes with undeath, donning some impressive makeup and an exceedingly passable lurch in her step. And she doesn't let a little thing like undeath stop her from doing what she does best, which in this case includes a spectacular sequence of minimally clothed pole dances.
These dances are expertly choreographed and heavily backlit body roll-fests that seem to take place at least once every four minutes or so for the bulk of the movie. These are not average college girls writhing on the windowsill at a frat party. These are hard-bodied, experienced dancers working a paying crowd. And as much as one might not appreciate the sleaze of it all, one should at least give them credit for the skill. Zombification in this situation means an unstoppable ability to take clothes off. Apparently, the best strippers are undead strippers.
But it's not only that. "Zombie Strippers" expertly blends lowbrow debauchery with sophisticated cultural reference. The movie is (very) loosely based on the French existentialist theater of the absurd play "Rhinoceros" by Eugène Ionesco. In the play, all of the people in town suddenly turn into rhinoceroses, leaving only the protagonist Berenger to decide whether to become one of the hulking, stinking beasts in order to fit in. "Zombie Strippers" is almost exactly the same - just replace "town" with "Rhino's strip club," "people" with "strippers," "Berenger" with "Jenna Jameson" and "rhinoceroses" with "zombies."
One of these things is not like the others, and that thing is Jenna Jameson. Mostly known for her illustrious career in hardcore pornography, Jameson covers up (a little) for this more mainstream R-rated film.
In the starring role as Kat, Jameson's performance is actually much more animated and lifelike than her omnipresent breasts. As the first to get bitten and subsequently reanimated, Jameson spends most of her screen time as a zombie. She fully embraces the advancing decay that comes with undeath, donning some impressive makeup and an exceedingly passable lurch in her step. And she doesn't let a little thing like undeath stop her from doing what she does best, which in this case includes a spectacular sequence of minimally clothed pole dances.
These dances are expertly choreographed and heavily backlit body roll-fests that seem to take place at least once every four minutes or so for the bulk of the movie. These are not average college girls writhing on the windowsill at a frat party. These are hard-bodied, experienced dancers working a paying crowd. And as much as one might not appreciate the sleaze of it all, one should at least give them credit for the skill. Zombification in this situation means an unstoppable ability to take clothes off. Apparently, the best strippers are undead strippers.
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