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Zombie Strippers (2008)

9/27/2012

9 Comments

 
Zombie Strippers
Despite a title that meant I had to watch it, my expectations for Zombie Strippers were pretty low.  There's a long tradition of schlocky horror films relying on nothing more than an exploitative title to put bums on (usually home furnished) seats, and this one is perhaps more genius than most.

As predicted, it wasn't exactly brilliant, but better than perhaps you'd think it deserved to be, given its cheap and cheerful production values and its crass attempt to cash-in on people's love for trashy cult films of yore.  Firstly, the fact it doesn't take itself at all seriously, goes in its favour.  Secondly, that it is so stupid that you don't take it at all seriously, also helps.  Nudity and gore are both in abundance, so you don't feel cheated on that front.  In addition, spending a large chunk of the budget on Jenna Jameson and Robert Englund was a shrewd move, both of whose fans would probably watch it no matter how terrible it was.

Lazy, clumsy, and occasionally spot-on political points are dotted throughout the picture.  My personal favourite is a retort given by the latest girl to join the strippers at Club Rhino.  Driven to stripping to raise funds for her grandmother's colostomy, and hassled by her pious Christian boyfriend, she succinctly illuminates some of society's class and gender problems when explaining her decision: "Maybe there's, more truth to the human condition, than taking my clothes off for emotionally stunted men, so my grandmother can shit in a bag, than me staying virginal and pure for you".

Sadly it is now de Rigueur(mortis) to have shamefully crap CGI effects in every low budget horror film, and I wish these guys had opted for old fashioned SFX, because even if equally shoddy, some old-school charm would have suited the knock-off retro-cult feel better, and would have in all likeliness elevated the film a little higher.

Is it trying to highlight people's attraction to freakish curiosities over the genuinely erotic?  Has it got something clever to say about neo-liberalism in America?  No, probably not.  Has it got stripping zombies?  Yes it has!



9 Comments

Untouchable (2011)

9/18/2012

5 Comments

 
Untouchable Intouchables
Untouchable's box office takings, currently at over £350,000,000, have already reached those that could be expected from a Hollywood blockbuster.  That it hasn't played yet in several significant countries, and given the hype surrounding it, you can be sure there is plenty of cash still to be rinsed from the cinema going public.

Okay, so I found the 'rich disabled tosser, hires feckless young povo to be his carer, but they both learn a lot from each other' storyline to be a little tiresome, but as a human drama it was engaging, touching and extremely funny.  Also, if you can look beyond the irritating class politics, the portrayal of the everyday challenges for a person with a severe disability has garnered it well deserved respect. 

Both the leading performances are excellent and if you're looking for a classic feelgood movie, you'll not leave disappointed.  Out in cinemas on Friday 21st September.

5 Comments

The Pirates!  In an Adventure with Scientists! (2012)

9/7/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
Despite finding much of Aardman's output a touch too twee for my taste, I was hopeful that Pirates! would deliver nonetheless.  After all, the trailer looked good fun, plus as I was viewing it at a budget 99p screening, I didn't have a lot invested in the trip.  I shouldn't have worried, my three year old daughter and myself enjoyed ourselves and we both managed to sit through it without getting too restless.

Our hero, The Pirate Captain, is the subject of mockery by his peers, and thus desperately wants to win The Pirate of the Year Award to achieve the recognition and respect he feels is due.  With this goal in mind, he and his loyal shipmates capture a ship, expecting treasure but instead acquiring a captive, one Charles Darwin.  Darwin persuades the Captain to visit England (despite the dangers posed by Queen Victoria's hatred of pirates), with promises of fame and fortune, and much swashbuckling and silliness ensues.

With a healthy disrespect for authority, Pirates! is a notch above most of the kids' fare out there.  Out on DVD on 10th September.

0 Comments

    Tug Wilson

    The editor of Now or Never! mulls over a selection on cinematic oddities for your amusement. More about Tug

    Tug Wilson

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