In the near future(..during George W Bush’s *fourth* Presidential term!),a commando unit(..the Z Squad)are called upon by governmental scientists to eradicate a compound riddled with zombies thanks in part to the release of a chemo-virus..this virus was designed to reanimate soldiers for combat against the enemy. One of the unit is bitten, escapes from the compound in fear that he will be shot, and finds himself in an illegal strip joint. Biting the *star* stripper, Kat(porn star Jenna Jameson), he is put away in the basement at the insistence of lecherous scheming germaphobe, Ian(Robert Englund, having the time of his life) who runs the illegal stripper establishment. Ian realizes potential when Kat, who, now a zombie, seems to be an even better stripper dead than alive, as the response by those in attendance is overwhelmingly positive. Seeing dollar signs as lusty males seeking a new brand of entertainment are entering with green to throw around, Ian will allow Kat to continue working even though she craves human flesh and often eats her lap-dance-clients! Soon other strippers are profoundly interested in experiencing what Kat has..becoming a zombie so that they can achieve the level of popularity and admiration showered upon her. It seems that, once bitten and turned into a zombie, the strippers seem more willing to satisfy their audience, athletically superior(..the way they take to the pole displays their new found ability)than ever before, and go for broke on the stage, uninhibited and free without restraint, not holding back..and, in turn, winning the adulation of males only more than willing to go back stage with them not knowing that they are to be on the zombie menu. Meanwhile, the Z squad are on the look-out for the member who got away, soon to find their way into the stripper club. At first, Ian is able to contain those bitten by the zombie strippers, using his hired help to imprison them in a cell in the basement, only to lose control once they are freed after a series of unforeseen circumstances.
Well, if you are looking for zombie carnage, gory flesh-ripping, CGI heads exploding, strippers swinging the pole as the male audience, eyes bulging, cheer in unison with dollar bills raining on the stage, then this will more than satisfy. The film features Englund easily walking away with the movie, with Jameson perfectly cast(..not sure this is a compliment, though)as the star stripper(..I like how the door to her isolated dressing area has a star written in crayon to establish her as the headlining girl of the club). As the film progresses, the zombie strippers’ flesh slowly rot, their eyes an eerie black, as they continue performing admirably for the crowd. Features some stunning gore, like a face ripped apart at the mouth and a head pried apart, the skull forced open revealing the brain as the zombie eats away. A very funny sequence features a victim, turned into a zombie, attempting to bite with his lower jaw hanging and tongue sticking out, wagging. There are backstage dramas/comedy featuring the variety of strippers, in constant competition/conflict with each other, and their response to Kat’s emergence as a greater threat when the customers embrace her new persona on stage.
A sub-plot concerns farm-girl Jessy(Jennifer Holland), needing cash to help her grandmother(Nana), during a crisis of faith, questioning life having been brought up in a Christian environment, and how her decision to possibly perform affects boyfriend Davis(John Hawkes)and fellow melancholy stripper, Berengé(Jeannette Sousa)who often finds her peers annoying and trivial, rolling her eyes and scoffing at their behavior. Carmit Levité is Ian’s trusty aid, Madame Blavatski, often providing ideas that he can utilize to make a profit, a foreigner often waxing nostalgia over memories of her homeland. Asante Jones is Terrence, Ian’s MC who also helps him store away victims, rather reluctantly. Joey Medina is janitor, Paco, his Latin ethnicity used as a constant running gag(“Badgers!We don’t need no stinking badgers!”). Shamron Moore is Kat’s arch nemesis, Jeannie, striving to achieve top-level status as the very best stripper of the club, and often failing despite going the distance for her audience(..who are now transfixed with the new wave of zombie-stripping). While many will flock to see this because of Jameson who gets top billing, I thought Roxy Saint, as the raven-haired goth Lilith(..who secretly admires Kat)was quite a babe as well, emerging as a possible future horror star in the making. While I really enjoyed the practical gore effects, the CGI splatter where heads explode, when machine guns are used, less impressed me. Some nasty flesh devouring delivers the bloody goods. I wasn’t particularly fond of the ridiculous, over-the-top supernatural abilities that take precedence over the story as Kat and Jeannie compete(..swinging around the poll with extra speed as if a fireman on his way to a burning building and popping pool balls from the vagina as if a sling-shot device to harm!)with each other as zombies tear away at customers in the balls-out finale while the Z Squad raid the joint, prepared to alleviate the world of an infestation out of control.
