The best thing about the horror genre is that you can pretty much find a film to watch no matter what mood you are currently in. If you want to be spooked, you can turn off the lights and more often than not, a good supernatural ghost story will do the trick; if you want to have a few friends over and just sit back, relax, and have a good time, you can rent, purchase, or stream any number of silly horror comedies. One of the newest flicks that I’ve watched that fits perfectly into the latter is Jordan Rubin’s killer animal/zombie mash-up, Zombeavers.
Mary has planned an all girl, no boys or phones allowed, weekend getaway with Zoe in order to get Jenn’s mind off of her cheating boyfriend. The first night, however, the all girl bash is crashed by said boyfriend along with the other girls’ partners, Tommy and Buck. That same night, the group of youngsters is also visited by a ravenous group of undead beavers who are trying to devour them all.
Zombeavers is exactly what you’d expect when hearing or reading its title. Actually, scratch that, it’s way better than what you’d expect! I had an absolute blast with this movie. From the opening scene with cameos from Bill Burr and John Mayer to the very end, which I’m pretty sure is leading us on for a sequel, there is plenty of fun to be had.
With the exception of some pretty cringe-worthy screaming and crying on the part of Lexi Atkins who plays Jenn, the acting was a whole lot better than what I originally psyched myself to put up with. I was ready for some real terrible b-movie performances, but was pleasantly surprised from all parties. My favorite character, Buck, is portrayed by Peter Gilroy. He has some of the greatest one liners and everything he said was a hoot. There is plenty of laughs to be had, but when the time comes to be serious, the entire cast was able to bring it down a notch and really play to the terror that they were experiencing. I mean, it’s not every day you get attacked by friendly, wood-chomping herbivores that just so happened to be infected by a barrel of toxic waste!
While the acting is great and the writing is hilarious, there are two things horror fans are probably looking for when pressing play on a movie called Zombeavers. The first is nudity and I’m glad to report that you won’t be disappointed on that front. The second and more important of the two is the damn beavers! The animatronics and special effects team did a fantastic job creating realistic and terrifying looking beavers that come back from the dead. They are menacing and life-like and the movement on them is outstanding. Director Jordan Rubin and his team could have easily opted for hokey CGI to create their monsters, but I’m extremely glad they didn’t. The practical effects helped bring some legitimacy to a pretty outrageous film.
If you are looking for a film that is a good time all around, you better get your hands on Zombeavers. What starts out as a silly, mindless horror comedy actually ends up being a pretty kickass zombie movie. The acting is way better than expected, the writing is entertaining, and the special effects are superb. Pick up a copy of Zombeavers on DVD and Blu-ray, available now from Freestyle Releasing.
I give this flick 4.5 zombie beaver bears out of 5.
