Zombie Strippers

The funniest thing about Jay Lee's Zombie Strippers—which is obviously designed to be instant camp (although real camp only happens by accident)—is the title. The plot kicks off when one of the commandos assigned to eradicate workers-turned-zombies at a government lab becomes infected himself and flees to a nearby gentlemen's bar, where he bites one of the strippers, who then becomes an enormous hit with the clientele (the other dancers eagerly follow suit—drawing more tips). Of course, the customers eventually fall victim too, and before long a small army of the undead are threatening the still unaffected souls—the joint owner, a few employees, a virginal young stripper who's signed on to raise money for her grandmother's operation, and the lovesick lad who follows her around. This scenario might have resulted in a darkly humorous genre exercise, but the director instead opts for a full-scale send-up, while also encouraging the cast (which includes former porn star Jenna Jameson and Robert “Freddy Krueger” Englund) to mug incessantly. All might be forgiven if the script were funny, but Zombie Strippers doesn't really develop its premise so much as endlessly repeat it. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary (by costars Jenna Jameson, Robert Englund, and Joey Medina, and director Jay Lee), 40 minutes of deleted scenes w/optional commentary, the behind-the-scenes featurettes “The Dressing Room: How to Glam a Zombie” and “The Champagne Room” (13 min. total), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a “Titillation and Sass” pop-up trivia track and the BD Live function. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a lame horror flick.] (F. Swietek)