H D - S E N S E I

A view on Hi-def DVDs by Gary W. Tooze

Zombie Strippers - Special Unrated Edition [Blu-ray]

 

(Jay Lee, 2008)

 

 

Review by Gary Tooze

 

Studio: Sony

Video: Sony Pictures

 

Discs:

Region: FREE

Feature Runtime: 1:34:21

Chapters: 24

Feature film disc size: 29.2 Gig

One dual-layered Blu-ray

Case: Standard Blu-ray case

Release date: October 28th, 2008

 

Video:

Aspect ratio: 2.35:1

Resolution: 1080p

 

Audio:
English TrueHD 5.1 Portuguese True HD 5.1, French, Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Subtitles:
Feature: English, English HOH, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Indonesian and none
 

Supplements:

Commentary with writer/director Jay Lee, Jenna Jameson, Robert Englund and Joey medina

Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary

Titillation and Sass: The Zombie Strippers Pop-Up Trivia Track
Gory Scenes Not Shown in Theaters
BD-LIVE
The Champagne Room: Behind the Scenes of Zombie Strippers
The Dressing Room: How to Glam a Zombie Featurette

 

Product Description: The world's most famous adult film star, Jenna Jameson stars in this thrilling zombie adventure. In the not too distant future a secret government re-animation chemo-virus gets released into conservative Sartre, Nebraska and lands in an underground strip club. As the virus begins to spread, turning the strippers into "Super Zombie Strippers" the girls struggle with whether or not to conform to the new "fad" even if it means there's no turning back. They're not just strippers...They're Zombie Strippers !

 

 

 

The Film:

Those excited by the words “Zombie Strippers” alone won’t be disappointed by Jay Lee’s unabashedly schlocky film, which he wrote, directed, shot and edited. (Need it actually be said that everyone else can safely sit this one out?)

Strewn with some surprisingly decent effects, this unevenly paced film delivers, if nothing else, on the promise of its title: lots of surgically enhanced nude dead women strutting their stuff.

 

Voice boxes intact — uncharacteristic for screen zombies — the bloodied pole-dancers become more desirable to the strip club’s clientele of drooling idiots, many of whom serve as postshow snacks. The undead’s popularity sparks jealousy among the still-living performers and intensified greed in the club’s sleazy boss (Robert Englund), who realizes there’s a killing to be made (in more ways than one, of course).

Excerpt from Laura Kern's review at the NY Times located HERE

 

Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

With pragmatic HDV shooting this dual-layered Blu-ray, feature taking up 29.2 Gig, looks acceptable if never really stellar. Detail and colors (neon green) are quite strong but it lacks the depth of similar modern transfers we have seen - this may be the limitations of DV - I'm not sure. Still, the average purchaser of this Blu-ray is certainly not being deceived that this is another Citizen Kane - they want Jenna Jameson's boobs in 1080P and that is exactly what they will get. The film is mostly in darker locations (the strip club or out in the alley) so the high-definition never really gets to shows its stuff. Brighter scenes are remarkable and can look more impressive when infrequently shown. Hopefully, the caps below will give you a good idea of the transfer. It's pretty god actually - better than the film. 

 

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio & Music:  
The TrueHD lossless is fairly weak - supporting the lower-scale technical productions used. When it does crank a bit it can tend to sound tinny like a very old speaker might export. The track, available on CD, didn't do much for me either. Although, loud garish 2nd tier rock'n roll is probably totally suitable to the strip club environment. Anyway, the TrueHD is one of the lesser of that variety that we have heard so far - certainly a notch below this video quality. There are optional DUBs and a host of subtitled leadings us to conclude this is a region free Blu-ray edition.

 

Extras:
The commentary is amusing and it's great to hear iconic porn legend Jenna Jameson talk with three guys around her. Jay Lee - the maestro behind this whole thing is the chief contributor and he sets a nice relaxed pace with some jovial camaraderie and it generally flows very well. Some may find it more intriguing than the film. There are also 3/4 hour worth of, mostly, tasteless deleted scenes with an optional commentary and various, shortish featurettes on the production with a few interview sound-bites from some of the cast and crew. Sony have included some BD-Live options and a
Blu-ray unique 'pop-up' trivia track that can run simultaneous to the film. Overall there is more here than 'Zombie Strippers' deserves but the inclusions are a decent bonus for those less satisfied after the film.  

 

 

Bottom line:
Well, come-on what are you expecting. The trouble with 'Zombie Strippers' is that it had real potential to evolve into a decent Grindhouse representative but it's weakness will be overlooked by those keen on the obvious accoutrements of a bare-breasted - albeit silicone - Zombie flic! That's all this is - no subtle nuances or homage to past zombie films - nothing like that. It's probably exactly what they wanted to achieve though - lots of nude girls dancing and lots of blood and gore Zombies eating penises and the like. The part I found the most amusing were the guys in the club are reveling in the new gore action - even to their own deaths. If that sounds like your cup-of-tea then the title is not misleading and the
Blu-ray looks as good as this film ever will I suppose.

Gary Tooze

October 23rd, 2008

 

 

 

Introduction: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 7500 DVDs and have reviewed over 3000 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.

Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction. So be it, but film will always be my first love and I list my favorites on the old YMdb site now accessible HERE.  

Gary's Home Theatre:

Samsung HPR4272 42" Plasma HDTV
Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD player (firmware upgraded)

Sony BDP-S300 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player (firmware upgraded)
Sony DVP NS5ODH SD-DVD player (region-free and HDMI)

Marantz SA8001 Super Audio CD Player
Marantz SR7002 THX Select2 Surround Receiver
Tannoy DC6-T (fronts) + Energy (centre, rear, subwoofer) speakers (5.1)

Gary W. Tooze

 

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